Heggie: Unexpected Shadows (CD) – Jamie Barton

Composer: Jake Heggie
Artists: Jamie Barton, Jake Heggie, Matt Haimovitz
Number of Discs: 1
Label : Pentatone
CD Available: Early October 2020

Star mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton presents a recital of songs by American composer Jake Heggie, with the composer at the piano. Unexpected Shadows is a celebration in words and music of powerful, exceptional women, featuring four song cycles, a single song, and an opera aria.

The Work at Hand, set to poetry of the late Laura Morefield, contemplates on the brave fight against cancer that she, and millions with her, went through. Matt Haimovitz, on cello, adds an extra layer to this profoundly moving song cycle.

Iconic Legacies, on texts by Gene Scheer, offers four portraits of remarkable First Ladies. Also featuring text from Scheer are Statuesque, inspired by five iconic sculptures of women and the deeply human stories within them; and the so-called “Ice Cube Aria” from Heggie’s opera If I Were You, showing the female demon Brittomara reflecting on the delicious predictability of human nature.

Of Gods & Cats, based on poetry by Gavin Dillard, offers playful parodies on religious allegories; while “Music,” from The Breaking Waves by Sister Helen Prejean, addresses the transformative, healing, and humanizing power of music, featuring multi-award-winning mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton.

Jake Heggie has a vast discography, including the opera It’s a Wonderful Life (2017) and song recital albums by Melody Moore, Lisa Delan and Joyce DiDonato.

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