William Bolcom - Songs of Innocence and of Experience (William Blake)

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, 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.

Jed Distler@ClassicsToday.com

Tracks CD 1:

01. Songs of Innocence, Part I - Introduction (Thomas Young) [0:03:06.30]
02. Songs of Innocence, Part I - The Ecchoing Green (Combined Choruses [0:02:32.25]
03. Songs of Innocence, Part I - The Lamb (Mesha Brueggergosman [0:03:19.15]
04. Songs of Innocence, Part I - The Shepherd (Peter "Madcat" Ruth) [0:02:13.45]
05. Songs of Innocence, Part I - Infant Joy (Marietta Simpson, MSU Children's Choir) [0:01:58.10]
06. Songs of Innocence, Part I - The Little Black Boy (Nathan Lee Graham) [0:04:06.17]
07. Songs of Innocence, Part II - Laughing Song (U-M Chamber Choir) [0:00:33.03]
08. Songs of Innocence, Part II - Spring (Thomas Young, Combined Choruses) [0:01:45.60]
09. Songs of Innocence, Part II - A Cradle Song (Linda Hohenfeld) [0:04:04.02]
10. Songs of Innocence, Part II - Nurse's Song (Joan Morris) [0:01:35.18]
11. Songs of Innocence, Part II - Holy Thursday (U-M Chamber Choir Soloists, Combined Choruses) [0:01:08.22]
12. Songs of Innocence, Part II - The Blossom (Mesha Brueggergosman) [0:00:40.40]
13. Songs of Innocence, Part II - Interlude (Orchestra) [0:00:25.43]
14. Songs of Innocence, Part II - The Chimney Sweeper (Nathan Lee Grahm, U-M Chamber Choir) [0:03:14.00]
15. Songs of Innocence, Part II - The Divine Image (Joan Morris) [0:03:48.72]
16. Songs of Innocence, Part III - Nocturne (Orchestra) [0:02:04.25]
17. Songs of Innocence, Part III - Night (Thomas Young) [0:05:00.70]
18. Songs of Innocence, Part III - A Dream (Hana Davidson) [0:01:41.28]
19. Songs of Innocence, Part III - On Another's Sorrow (Combined Choruses) [0:01:52.62]
20. Songs of Innocence, Part III - The Little Boy Lost (Carmen Pelton, Combined Choruses) [0:02:48.13]
21. Songs of Innocence, Part III - The Little Boy Found (Nathan Lee Graham) [0:01:56.32]
22. Songs of Innocence, Part III - Coda (Orchestra) [0:01:34.43]

Tracks CD 2:

01. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part I - Introduction (Orchestra) [0:02:17.50]
02. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part I - Hear The Voice Of The Bard (Nmon Ford) [0:02:54.70]
03. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part I - Interlude (Orchestra) [0:00:51.47]
04. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part I - Earth's Answer (Christine Brewer) [0:04:53.63]
05. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part II - Nurse's Song (Joan Morris) [0:01:09.02]
06. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part II - The Fly (MSU Children's Choir) [0:01:43.43]
07. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part II - The Tyger (Combined Choruses) [0:01:49.52]
08. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part II - The Little Girl Lost (Nmon Ford) [0:01:09.38]
09. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part II - In The Southern Clime (U-M Chamber Choir) [0:02:08.40]
10. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part II - The Little Girl Found (Combined Choruses) [0:04:46.30]
11. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part III - The Clod And The Pebble (Thomas Young) [0:01:47.35]
12. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part III - The Little Vagabond (Joan Morris) [0:02:30.52]
13. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part III - Holy Thursday (Carmen Pelton) [0:02:44.23]
14. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part III - A Poisin Tree (Nathan Lee Graham) [0:02:09.17]
15. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part III - The Angel (Ilana Davidson) [0:03:15.00]
16. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part III - The Sick Rose (Marietta Simpson) [0:03:13.70]
17. Songs of Experience, Vol. I, Part III - To Tirzah (Nathan Lee Graham, Combined Choruses) [0:03:34.40]

Tracks CD 3:

01. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part IV - The Voice of the Ancient Bard [0:02:24.07]
02. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part IV - My Pretty Rose Tree [0:01:44.25]
03. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part IV - Ah, Sun-Flower [0:02:30.55]
04. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part IV - The Lilly [0:01:35.10]
05. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part V - Intro to Part V [0:00:50.03]
06. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part V - The Garden of Love [0:02:03.05]
07. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part V - Little Boy Lost [0:02:27.17]
08. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part V - A little Girl Lost [0:04:43.43]
09. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part V - Infant Sorrow [0:02:23.42]
10. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part V - Vocalise [0:02:58.50]
11. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part VI - London [0:03:52.18]
12. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part VI - The School Boy [0:03:22.37]
13. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part VI - The Chimney Sweeper [0:01:20.03]
14. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part VI - The Human Abstract [0:03:21.57]
15. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part VI - Interlude: Voces Clamandae [0:01:32.53]
16. Songs of Experience, Vol II, Part VI - A Divine Image [0:05:31.25]