Carl Orff

Album Review: Sault- Air

The infuriating baptism sequence in “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” is among my favorite scenes in Terence Blanchard’s heart-rending 2019 opera.  I’m haunted by the Metropolitan Opera’s staging broadcast by PBS on April 1.

Neither have I stopped thinking about the Latin vespers presented by the Kansas City choral group Te Deum in a drafty Episcopal church last July.  And just last week I discovered Claude Debussy’s proses lyriques and attended a Joyce DiDonato and Il Pomo d’Oro concert.  

All of which is to say I was unwittingly primed for Sault’s new album Air.  Far removed from the previous output of the anonymous collective, Air is a symphonic choral suite that synthesizes much of my recent listening.

In addition to the music cited above, Air’s expanse nods to Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana,” the holy minimalism of Arvo Pärt, Brian Wilson’s pop orchestrations and Kanye West’s Sunday Service celebrations. Sing it, my nameless brothers and sisters!

O Fortuna

Screenshot of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s 1975 lurid interpretation of Carmina Burana by There Stands the Glass.

Screenshot of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s 1975 lurid interpretation of Carmina Burana by There Stands the Glass.

I’m mutating before your very eyes.  With the task of making life-and-death decisions such as whether or not the slightly cloying adult pop of Lianne La Havas’ self-titled album really belongs on my year-end album list finalized, I have time to begin exploring the alien sonic terrain I’ve discovered through my ongoing opera binge. Examples:

*What in the wide, wide world of sports is a-goin’ on here?  I may never recover from witnessing a German troupe’s lighthearted depiction of sensual pleasures and eternal damnation set to Carl Orff’s infamous canticle Carmina Burana.

*I stumbled upon the Empty Concertgebouw Sessions series via Brad Mehldau’s breathtaking entry, but the Van Baerle Trio’s stunning interpretation of Beethoven’s “Ghost” floored me.  I’m also pleased to learn of Lilian Farahani.

*Back on the opera beat: 1992 production of Claude Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande”- #264 in my daily binge- shook me.

My tiny world is rapidly expanding. Paraphrasing Aristotle, the more I know, the more I realize I don’t know. Yet it’s still too soon to say farewell to the old me. I recently admired Shawn Mendes’ latest homage to Paul McCartney, the Kansas City rapper Rich The Factor’s eighth release of 2020, Doug Carn’s solid contribution to the excellent Jazz Is Dead series and Kelly Finnigan’s impressive new Christmas album.

Mingus, Nils and Orff

Original image of Nils Frahm at the Big Ears Festival by There Stands the Glass.

Original image of Nils Frahm at the Big Ears Festival by There Stands the Glass.

I’ve waved off criticism concerning the presence of songs by a couple of notoriously awful men on my Best Songs of 2020 list.  One’s a compulsive jerk.  The other is a convicted criminal.  While many of their actions disgust me, I’m not willing to pretend I don’t admire their work.

Charles Mingus was an unsavory character.  His problematic behavior doesn’t lessen my appreciation of his brilliance.  After obsessing over @ Bremen 1964 & 1975 in recent days, I admire Mingus more than ever.  The new four-hour set documents of a pair of ferocious German concerts.

Even though I’d previously heard hours of Mingus’ material from these eras, I’m struck by the immediacy of the Bremen shows.  The message of the artistic and societal prophet is just as urgent today as it was decades ago.  Bursting with caustic rage, absurd pastiches and futuristic blues, both sets contain the best type of protest music.

The bands operate as cohesive units, but pianist Jaki Byard occasionally outshines saxophonist Eric Dolphy on the first date while the genius of pianist Don Pullen stands out amid the 1975 all-star band.  A mountain of Mingus- including instructive footage of the 1964 tour- has long been available.  But when it comes to one of the most consequential artists of the previous century, too much can never be enough. 


---

I might have dismissed Tripping with Nils Frahm had I not caught an hour of the talented cult hero’s appearance at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville last year.  The new live set showcases the German’s remarkable range.  Frahm offers safe harbor for people who’ve aged out of electronic dance music but have yet to dig Bill Evans.

---

In order to keep my daily opera streak alive- the count is now up to 261- I turn to relatively compact compositions when I’m busy or suffering from opera-induced ennui. Grainy footage of the Bavarian State Opera’s rowdy 1965 staging of Carl Orff’s “Der Mond” recently reminded me that a curious gander at a 71-minute obscurity can be as rewarding as a three-hour immersion in a classic work.