Emily D’Angelo: Enargeia (CD review)

Hildur Guðnadóttir (arr. Jarko Riihimäki): Fólk fær andlit; Hildegard von Bingen (arr. Sarah Kirkland Snider): O virtus sapientae; Missy Mazzoli (arr. Riihimäki): This World Within Me Is too Small; Kirkland Snider: Caritas; Mazzoli: Hello Lord; Mazzoli: You Are the Dust; Kirkland Snider: Dead Friend; Kirkland Snider: Nausicaa; Hildegard von Bingen (arr. Mazzoli): For the Virgin; Mazzoli: A Thousand Tongues; Guðnadóttir (arr. Riihimäki): Lidur; Kirkland Snider: The Lotus Eaters. Emily D’Angelo, mezzo-soprano; Jarkko Riihimäki, das freie orchester Berlin; Kuss Quartett; Matangi Quartet; Wolfgang Fischer, percussion; Rene Flächsenhaar, Mikayel Hakhnazaryan, cello; Frédéric L’Épée, electric guitar; Jonas Niederstadt, glockenspiel; Marc Prietzel, drums; Marion Ravot, harp; Christian Vogel, bass clarinet; Norbert Wahren, double bass. Deuthsche Grammophon 486 0536.

by Karl W. Nehring

Enargeia is the debut album from Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo (b. 1994). As a glance at the program should tell you, this is hardly the typical debut recital album one would expect to hear from a rising young opera star. Rather than the usual familiar arias by famous operatic composers, she has brought together unfamiliar music by women composers both past and present, arranging them into a varied but coherent program that captivates from start to finish. As she remarks in her liner notes, “the pieces in this program are bound together by the ancient Greek concept of enargeia, whose spirit is found throughout the music of each composer and the texts they have made manifest on the sound waves. Each piece is part of a sonic journey, each track born out of the previous one as the listener is guided through a progression, a cohesive and exploratory listening experience.”

Regarding the composers represented on this album, D’Angelo first encountered the music of Hildegard (1098-1179) while singing in a choir during her youth and was quite taken by what she heard. Of Hildegard, D’Angelo writes that “her belief in music as a heightened communicative mode (is) woven throughout the songs on this album.” Moving ahead to our current time, D’Angelo has included music by the Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, of whom she observes, “creates compostions that evoke otherworldly, multidimensional qualities, which have translated into diverse mediums ranging from scores for film and television to solo recordings. The use of bowed instruments as a drone harkens back to medieval music but seen through a modern, ambient lens.”    The other two composers represented on Enargiea are the Americans Missy Mazzoli (b. 1980), whom D’Angelo credits as being adept at the “crossing of sacred themes and electronic instrumentation,” and Sarah Kirkland Snider (b. 1973), who D’Angelo observes is “known for her direct expression and vivid narrative.”

Although the music is by four different composers, the program is focused and unified. Certainly Ms. D’Angelo’s voice, which is rich and strong and persuasive, brings coherence to the music, along with conviction and great beauty. The songs focus on death, but not in a morbid, obsessive manner (texts are provided). The instrumental accompaniments are generally quite spare, but varied in timbre and texture, at times augmented by electronic effects; however, there is an overall rightness and naturalness to the sound that makes the whole effort sound as though it could be a contemporary version of a song cycle by Mahler, something along the lines of his Kindertotenlieder, or perhaps a scaled-down Das Lied von der Erde. If you are a classical music lover who enjoys that sort of vocal music, you should find Enargeia to be a most fascinating recording. D’Angelo has a truly special voice, the instrumental arrangements are apt and imaginative, and the engineering frames everything well. Brava, Ms. D’Angelo! Your bold vision has brought us something special indeed, and just in time for the holidays.

KWN

To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click here: