Samuel Barber: Medea
BMOP, 2021
8/10
Listen to Samuel Barber: Medea
The world renowned Boston Modern Orchestra Project, which is led by conductor Gil Rose, bring us a very exciting body of work here, where they interpret the mid-twentieth century American composer Samuel Barber, which includes a pair of vocal works, something that Barber was especially known for.
“Knoxville: Summer Of 1915” starts the listen with 15 minutes of gentle, soothing musicianship surrounding Kristen Watson’s stunning soprano as she hits some very high notes alongside the very pretty strings complementing the warm mood.
The middle track, “Medea”, assembles the complete original ballet across 9 movements that emit an adventurous landscape of firm strings, dreamy woodwinds and often cinematic qualities as the very flexible chapters each emit a very specific tone and mood.
“A Hand Of Bridge” exits the listen with Angela Gooch and Krista River handling soprano and mezzo-soprano, as well as Matthew DiBattista’s tenor and David Kravitz’s baritone, where the vivid storytelling is illuminated with their poetic and expressive delivery that resonates long after the track ends.
It’s no surprise that BMOP have been Grammy Nominated many times and even took home the award for 2020’s Tobias Picker: Fantastic Mr. Fox, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this project sees a similar fate as they execute flawlessly and with a timelessness that few others could replicate.
Travels well with: Ofer Pelz & Meitar Ensemble- Trinité; Boston Modern Orchestra Project- Walter Piston: Concert For Orchestra