Ecstatic Music Festival at Merkin Concert Hall, February 6, 2013
The New York Times, Feb. 11, 2013
Given that Penelope, a large-scale song cycle composed by Sarah Kirkland Snider and sung by Shara Worden and recorded for the New Amsterdam record label, was my top classical [sic] recording for 2010, it should come as no surprise that I'd be interested in hearing its successor, Unremembered, an even larger song cycle featuring Worden, Padma Newsome, DM Stith and five supporting vocalists. Based on wistful poetry by Nathaniel Bellows, and augmented with projections of his art and animations, the piece was an involving and moving success on first brush - not as instantly assimilable as Penelope, but with depths that urge repeated listening.
Speaking of which, you can hear Unremembered – a work evidently still in-progress, since Snider has said she plans to add several more songs – streaming in full on the Q2 website, along with the Newsome, Stith and Worden songs that preceded it.
Finally, for those aware of the hardships that New Amsterdam endured after Superstorm Sandy blew through last October, some very welcome good news appeared on Thursday, in a blog post on the organization's website.
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