NICO MUHLY - Mothertongue
Nico Muhly's day job as assistant to Philip Glass is a particularly pertinent backstory when confronted with the Einstein-ian barrage of rich low-end and flutttering operatic chatter (with mezzo-soprano Abigail Fischer instructed to incorporate as many past street addresses lived at into said overdubs) on Mothertongue's first, eponymous piece. Harpischord, celeste and trombones back Helgi Hrafn Jonsson's recitations riffing on various early-1600s texts for the duration of "Wonders", but nu-folk wunderkind Sam Amidon threatens to steal the show with "The Only Tune"'s cheery telling of a murder ballad involving two sisters, slowly drawn out additively.
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