American Classics - Bolcom: Songs Of Innocence And Experience

Notes and Editorial Reviews

William Bolcom's ambitious setting of William Blake's complete Songs of Innocence and Experience for soloists, multiple choral forces, and orchestra occupied the composer on and off, beginning as far back as the late 1950s, with most of the work completed between 1973-74 and 1979-82. The composer's renowned eclectic bent makes itself felt in the work's nearly two-and-one-half-hour length. Musical eras, styles, and performance practices leapfrog back and forth in unpredictable progressions, keeping the listener in a constant state of suspense as to what might occur next. For example, in the opening Songs of Innocence, Bolcom's neo-Schoenbergian setting of "The Lamb", replete with difficult, Read more leaping intervals for the soprano soloist (brilliantly dispatched by Measha Brueggergosman), erupts into a thick, dissonant orchestral tutti that gives way to a lazy country-fiddle lament treatment of "The Shepherd". No sooner do Peter "Madcat" Ruth's hoary pipes twang out the tune than a bomb of orchestral cacophony crushes the Grand Ole Opry to smithereens. A brilliant children's chorus ("Infant Joy") emerges from the ruins, insidiously slipping into a funk-watered-down-for-Broadway-consumption groove for "The Little Black Boy". Along the way we also encounter Handel oratorio, peppy English madrigals, Stephen Foster naiveté, Ivesian mysticism, Berio's fractured folk songs, industrial-strength Varèse percussion ensembles, and effective speech-sung passages.

Bolcom's thoroughly internalized command of such disparate idioms is matched and arguably surpassed by his gift for transitions, plus his ability for keeping orchestral and choral textures fresh, varied, and always interesting to the ear (his use of the harmonica within delicate string passages, for example). And even when some of his juxtapositions seem a bit far-fetched, such as the finale's bloated Reggae pretensions ("I Shot the Sheriff" versus "Also Sprach Zarathustra"), at least Bolcom knows when long enough is long enough. In general, the longer Songs of Experience section contains darker, more serious selections, although the constant stylistic shifts make it difficult to immediately perceive the dramatic arc implied by Blake's ordering of texts.

You couldn't imagine a more varied group of vocal soloists. They run the gamut from Joan Morris' unique cabaret approach and Thomas Young's stentorian yet supple tenor, to Nathan Lee Graham's ringing, focused baritone and Ilona Davidson's attractive, silvery timbre in "The Angel". The numerous choirs and the University of Michigan Orchestra obviously put in serious rehearsal hours (going into overtime, I'll bet), and the sense of occasion hovering over these live performances certainly colors their first-rate contributions. And when you can't help focusing your attention on the music rather than the musicians, as I did, it's clear that Leonard Slatkin's leadership does ample justice to Bolcom's artistic vision and inner ear. Naxos provides full texts plus booklet notes by the composer. [10/12/2004]
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com Read less

Works on This Recording

1. Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Bolcom

Performer: Thomas Young (Tenor), Linda Hohenfeld (Soprano), Joan Morris (Mezzo Soprano),
Carmen Pelton (Soprano), Ilana Davidson (Soprano), Christine Brewer (Soprano),
Marietta Simpson (Mezzo Soprano), Measha Brüggergosman (Soprano), Nmon Ford-Livene (Baritone),
Peter "Madcat" Ruth (Harmonica), Nathan Lee Graham (Spoken Vocals), Tommy Morgan (Harmonica),
Jeremy Kittel (Fiddle)
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
Orchestra/Ensemble: University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, University of Michigan Chamber Choir
Period: 20th Century
Written: USA
Date of Recording: 04/2004
Venue: Live Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan
Length: 137 Minutes 11 Secs.
Language: English
Notes: Composition written: USA (1956 - 1982).

Sound Samples

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 1: Introduction

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 1: The Ecchoing Green

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 1: The Lamb

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 1: The Shepherd

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 1: Infant Joy

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 1: The Little Black Boy

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 2: Laughing Song

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 2: Spring

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 2: A Cradle Song

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 2: Nurse's Song

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 2: Holy Thursday

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 2: The Blossom

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 2: Interlude

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 2: The Chimney Sweeper

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 2: The Divine Image

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 3: Nocturne

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 3: Night

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 3: A Dream

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 3: On Another's Sorrow

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 3: The Little Boy Lost

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 3: The Little Boy Found

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Part 3: Coda

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 1: Introduction

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 1: Hear the Voice of the Bard

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 1: Interlude

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 1: Earth's Answer

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 2: Nurse's Song

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 2: The Fly

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 2: The Tyger

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 2: The Little Girl Lost

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 2: In the Southern Clime

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 2: The Little Girl Found

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 3: The Clod and the Pebble

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 3: The Little Vagabond

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 3: Holy Thursday

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 3: A Poison Tree

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 3: The Angel

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 3: The Sick Rose

Songs of Experience, Volume I: Part 3: To Tirzah

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American Classics - Bolcom: Songs Of Innocence And Experience

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