Music
Swiss composer Richard Flury’s engaging comic opera is a celebration of the life spirit, and a criticism of celibacy as a practice that cramps and distorts an individual’s basic humanity.
A Far Cry’s program of new and old music revealed that the simplest gestures can generate wonder.
Maybe The Zombies are not quite as elaborately visionary as they used to be, but after all this time that is no great sin. And Colin Blunstone and Ron Argent’s breathy but soulful voices have held up magnificently.
The saxman and his usual band (including vocalist Patrice Quinn instead of the billed Ami Taf Ra) easily adapted to the 200-seat venue, barely modulating their visceral delivery while also highlighting their softer dynamics and a personal rapport.
Singer Marc Jordan has earned his voice the hard way, trekking through the music business for 50 years, and there’s a weathered honesty in his music now.
So much of David Sakura’s narrative in Shared Spaces reminded me of the stories of other traumatized groups.
In both performances tempos are fleet but not rushed. The big moments – from the hellish apex of the first movement’s development to the screaming climax of the Scherzo and the cathartic resolution of the finale – pack heavy punches.
A marvelous first recording of a highly engaging opera by Baroque composer Bernardo Pasquini, known until recently for a single piece: “The Cuckoo.”
From beginning to end, the Aizuri Quartet’s performance delivered invigorating delights.
From beginning to end, this was a magical concert: beauty, poetry, and yes, unbelievable chops.
Fest Review: IFFBoston Shorts — Part One