#4472, Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone, Part 1
New Sounds goes to hell and back in two parts in works centered on the Orpheus myth - the musically inclined Greek hero who journeys to the underworld to negotiate for his lost love, Eurydice. Spoiler alert: doubt ruins the happy reunion and Orpheus ultimately loses her a second time. But what about Eurydice? What does she think? AND – what of the other players, Hades and Persephone? Listen to musical interpretations of the Orpheus story, including those from Eurydice's perspective - by vocalist/composer Majel Connery, the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, and singer/songwriter Anais Mitchell. This is part one of two, taking on stories involving Orpheus and Eurydice.
Majel Connery is a composer, vocalist, keyboardist, and member of the art-rock/post-classical group Oracle Hysterical, who tours her own music as “electro-art-dream-pop with repressed classical influences.” Listen to selections from her Orphea, a song cycle reimagined from a woman's perspective as her Baroque-rock retelling of Monteverdi's opera, L'Orfeo.
Also, from the New Orleans jazz-folk-musical song cycle, Hadestown, by Anais Mitchell (not the show version), hear the retelling of the myth involving love, choice, and doubt, which follows Orpheus on his journey to the underworld, and adds agency to the character of Eurydice, in addition to involving Hades and Persephone in a love-quadrangle.
There's also music from Toby Twining's "Eurydice," which began as a score for Sarah Ruhl's play of the same name. The work evolved into a many voiced interpretation of the Orpheus myth, telling the story from Eurydice's perspective and including a reunion with her father in the underworld. Plus, hear music by the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, who sets a short text from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, “Orphic Hymn,” as sung by Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices, and more. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4472, Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone, part 1 (First Aired 3/15/2021)
ARTIST: Emmanuelle Haim, Le Concert d'Astree, et al
WORK: Monteverdi: L'Orfeo, prologue [1:00]
RECORDING: Monteverdi: L'Orfeo
SOURCE: Virgin Veritas / Erato
INFO: Available at Arkiv Music
ARTIST: Majel Connery
WORK: Of Music [2:54]
RECORDING: Orphea
SOURCE/INFO: majelconnery.bandcamp.com/album/orphea
ARTIST: Majel Connery
WORK: Song for the Lyre [3:33]
RECORDING: Orphea
SOURCE/INFO: majelconnery.bandcamp.com/album/orphea
ARTIST: Steven Mackey with Jason Treuting
WORK: Act II, Sub Terra: Lyre Music [3:30]
RECORDING: Orpheus Unsung
SOURCE: New Amsterdam Records
INFO: newamsterdamrecords.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Johann Johannsson
WORK: Orphic Hymn [3:21]
RECORDING: Orphée
SOURCE: Deutsche Grammophon
INFO: Available at AppleMusic, Spotify, Amazon.com, Youtube
ARTIST: Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices Johann Johannsson
WORK: Orphic Hymn [3:21]
RECORDING: Orphée
SOURCE: Deutsche Grammophon
INFO: Available at AppleMusic, Spotify, Amazon.com, Youtube
ARTIST: Anais Mitchell, with Justin Vernon
WORK: Wedding Song [3:17]
RECORDING: Hadestown
SOURCE: Righteous Babe Records
INFO: Available at AppleMusic, Spotify, Amazon.com, Youtube
ARTIST: Too Sad for the Public, feat. Gabriel Kahane
WORK: Dick Connette: Orphee in Opelousas [4:55]
RECORDING: Vol. 1 – Oysters Ice Cream Lemonade: American Folk Fantasies
SOURCE: Storysound Records
INFO: storysoundrecords.com
ARTIST: Andrew Bird
WORK: Orpheo Looks Back [4:55]
RECORDING: Break It Yourself
SOURCE: Mom & Pop Records
INFO: andrewbird.net
ARTIST: Anais Mitchell, with Justin Vernon
WORK: Doubt Comes In [5:26]
RECORDING: Hadestown
SOURCE: Righteous Babe Records
INFO: Available at AppleMusic, Spotify, Amazon.com, Youtube
ARTIST: Rinde Eckert
WORK: Orpheus X: On a Dark River [3:59]
RECORDING: Live on Soundcheck, 12/11/2009
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: https://www.rindeeckert.com
ARTIST: Majel Connery
WORK: Eurydice's Lament [3:20]
RECORDING: Orphea
SOURCE/INFO: majelconnery.bandcamp.com/album/orphea
ARTIST: Toby Twining & vocal ensemble
WORK: The String Room [5:37]
RECORDING: Eurydice
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music CA 21068
INFO: cantaloupemusic.com
