CHRISTOPHER THEOFANIDIS (b.1967): Creation/Creator for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra.

Catalogue Number: 09R077

Label: ASO Media

Reference: CD-1006

Format: CD

Price: $18.98

Description: This is a huge cantata/musical theatre piece which explores a wide range of ideas about creation and our place in it, and creativity and our relationship with it. A grab-bag of philosophical and religious sources, it incorporates creation myths from different cultures, poetry by Rumi, Verlaine, Whitman and others, dramatized statements attributed to scientists, artists and authors throughout history. As in the case of the previous works by the composer that we've offered, the execution of this grandiose scheme is bold, extravagantly scored, in a technicolor neo-romantic idiom, very tonal for the most part, with a few surprises such as the electroacoustically processed reading of the Verlaine poem. Most movements are opulently orcehstrated, though for variety of texture there are a cappella passages and several narrated texts. Much of the work, as you would expect, aims for grandeur and impressive effect, but prudently the piece doesn't take itself seriously throughout, and several episodes - a fantastical Chinese creation myth, the Rumi prologue, a metaphorical reminder of the inevitability of personal perspective in the perception of a mystery, or a gloriously hyperbolic essay by the prolific 17th-century author, scientist and English aristocrat Margaret Cavendish - are presented with a deft humorous touch. Texts included. Jessica Rivera (soprano), Kelley O’Connor (mezzo), Thomas Cooley (tenor), Nmon Ford (baritone), Evan Boyer (bass), Shannon Eubanks, Steven Cole (actors), Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Orchestra; Robert Spano.

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