JUDITH WEIR (b.1954): The Vanishing Bridegroom.

Description: Folklore is a recurring motif in Weir's distinguished career as composer for the stage; here she taps the rich vein of folk legend from her Scottish heritage. Three separate stories, with the common factor of a vanished bridegroom, and with a supernatural element (malign faeries and the devil were a constant threat to the well-being of Scots peasantry) form a kind of continuous narrative parable about the domestic lives of country folk. Weir's idiom is very tonal, with background suggestions of Busoni, neoclassical Stravinsky, and Britten, and passing similRities to another great opera co poser of our time, Sallinen. Passages of pulsating ostinato patterns occasionally recall John Adams, and throughout, the vocal lines and choral lines are richly eloquent, with meticulous attention to natural word-setting and beautifully crafted melodic contour. 2 CDs. Libretto included. Ailish Tynan, Anna Stéphany (sopranos), Andrew Tortise (tenor), Owen Gilhooly (baritone), Jonathan Lemalu (bass-baritone), BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra; Martyn Brabbins.