Brilliant musicians attract other brilliant musicians. Talent not only draws in audiences, but also draws in other talent ready and able to propel the musical world forward. Seldom has this been so well articulated as with the Jan. 25 concert by Theatre of Voices at Stanford Lively Arts. Propelled by the profound and celebrated music of David Lang (a Stanford alum), the singers will likely reach new heights of mastery and emotions, and take the audience along with them.
“They are amazing singers,” Lang remarks, “and of course they are the brainchild of Paul Hillier, who is really one of the most inspiring people in the vocal world.” Lang has no shortage of accolades when speaking of Theatre of Voices and of Hillier, the group’s founder. “The opportunity to work with them was really very flattering for me, but was also very inspiring. It really helped me to take myself to a different place because I was working with somebody who was so amazing.” This inspiration was also aided by the masterful musicians chosen to take part in this project. “I chose these particular musicians because they all started in classical music.… These are people that classical music couldn’t hold. I thought it was somehow appropriate to invite these people back, who started in our field and left.” The poetic nature of inviting those who had deflected from classical music to explore Franz Schubert’s tale of death is, in a way, lost on Lang. “This is where songwriting has gone from Schubert’s time.”
The poetic nature of the pieces being presented in the Stanford performance will not be lost on the audience, either. Lang’s Pulitzer Prize–winning piece, The Little Match Girl Passion, will share the stage with the premiere of its companion piece, Death Speaks. “I always feel guilty,” he says, “that people are moved at the end of Little Match Girl Passion and — I don’t know — am I supposed to feel happy that everybody feels so miserable? It always puts me in a very uncomfortable place, though I think the piece is exactly what I wanted it to be. I wanted to make a second half of a concert that would deal with that place where she is, but also that place where I am.… You write a piece of music and then you have to deal with it.” Lang has certainly dealt with the emotions of the piece as it has taken its place in the performance repertory. He has experienced the tremendous joy of hearing the piece performed some hundred times. “That’s been really rewarding for me, and really fun, but it also seems like an awesome responsibility.”
The responsibility and exploration will undoubtedly lead to an exciting close when Death Speaks hits its final note later this month.