Here is what the NY Times has to say. I will add some personal Cohenite stuff later.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/16/arts/ ... ref=slogin
July 16, 2007 MUSIC REVIEW | PHILIP GLASS
A Hypnotic Collaboration Sets 22 Poems to Music By ALLAN KOZINN
The notion of Philip Glass and Leonard Cohen collaborating seems so natural that it’s strange that Mr. Glass’s new “Book of Longing” brings them together for a full-length work the first time. Mr. Cohen’s earliest songs are built around repetitive melodic and accompaniment figures that, if simpler than Mr. Glass’s, are similarly hypnotic. The brooding that permeates Mr. Cohen’s music can be heard in some of Mr. Glass’s slow, minor-key mediations as well, and the droll, off-kilter wit and idiosyncratic religiosity that animate Mr. Cohen’s lyrics turn up in some Mr. Glass’s music as well.
For “Book of Longing,” which had its New York premiere at the Rose Theater on Saturday evening as part of the Lincoln Center Festival, Mr. Glass chose 22 poems from Mr. Cohen’s 2006 compilation of the same name. Mr. Cohen’s drawings are used as well, arrayed on a gallerylike wall behind the ensemble, with a central video screen showing a continually morphing selection.
Mr. Glass appears to have found the project liberating: “Book of Longing” is the freshest, most supple and varied score he has written in several years and a decisive step in what now seems a determination to abandon many of his trademark moves. Those gestures — chugging rhythms, repeating arpeggios and scale figures, specific rhythmic and chordal sequences, and the process of gradual expansion and contraction — arise only fleetingly in “Book of Longing,” just enough to remind a listener of the music’s provenance.
Instead Mr. Glass illuminates Mr. Cohen’s poetry with a chamber score that breathes naturally and gracefully. Settings for solo voice and vocal quartet alternate, and at times Mr. Glass’s melodies so thoroughly match Mr. Cohen’s rhythm and meter that they sound very much like the melodies Mr. Cohen writes himself. Even so, in “You Came to Me This Morning,” part of which Mr. Cohen recorded as “A Thousand Kisses Deep” on his 2001 album, “Ten New Songs.” Mr. Glass’s setting is quicker and lighter than Mr. Cohen’s, and if Mr. Glass’s and Mr. Cohen’s melodies share common ground, they are not quite identical.
The vocalists — Dominique Plaisant, soprano; Tara Hugo, mezzo-soprano; Will Erat, tenor; and Daniel Keeling, bass-baritone — addressed the music with a flexibility that individually drew on pop, jazz, theater and classical vocal styles, but melded into a coherent whole in ensemble settings.
Both Mr. Cohen and Mr. Glass provide interludes as well, solo moments within this collaboration. Mr. Cohen’s are readings of his shorter poems, heard on recordings and not set to music. Mr. Glass’s are strikingly idiomatic solo pieces for members of the ensemble.
The first, for cello, alludes at least obliquely to Bach’s solo cello suites. A violin piece has the bravura quality of a Romantic concerto cadenza, with hints of the solo violin music in “Einstein.” Mr. Glass gave his oboist a sweetly singing line and his saxophonist a piece that draws on the expressive phrasing and chromaticism of jazz. The final solo is a quietly virtuosic rumination for bowed double bass. The instrumental soloists — Wendy Sutter, cellist; Timothy Fain, violinist; Kate St. John, oboist; Andrew Sterman, saxophonist (he also played other winds in ensemble sections); and Eleonore Oppenheim, bassist — played with subtle expressivity, another quality newly prized in Mr. Glass’s music. Michael Riesman conducted from the keyboard, with Mr. Glass as a second keyboardist and Mick Rossi playing keyboard and percussion.
New York Book of Longing
Re: New York Book of Longing
and now from the New Jersey paper..
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ledger/ ... xml&coll=1
Glass takes Manhattan
Monday, July 16, 2007 BY BEN FINANE For the Star-Ledger CLASSICAL
His new collaboration with poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen is a legitimate departure for composer Philip Glass from his usual menu of broken chords, arpeggios and hypnotic, repeated progressions. His setting of Cohen's poems, performed in what could nearly be called a cabaret style, actually ends up sounding as much Cohen as Glass -- and not just because it's the Canadian's text.
On Saturday night, Lincoln Center's Rose Theater hosted the New York premiere of Philip Glass's Book of Longing, named after Cohen's 2006 collection of previously unpublished poetry. Cohen gave no "interference" beyond supplying the text, though the poet's rich baritone is occasionally featured (recorded) speaking his text throughout the work.
But Feldman has always been more lyricist than singer, and the lyrics are chiefly given to four singers who split the difference between classical and Broadway style. The singers stay low in their ranges to permit maximum lyrical comprehension, and are matched by chamber orchestration from Glass -- oboe, flute, violin, cello, double bass, keyboards and percussion -- which is rich without being overbearingly lush. Glass himself plays one of the keyboards, but his role is wildly ancillary, his presence more supportive than functional.
Michael Riesman, longtime musical director of the Philip Glass ensemble, directs here from the keyboard, and, for the most part, he held things together. Amplification brought the usual balance issues, but, apart from some mudiness, did not detract. Solo instrumental pieces, Glass as Bach-lite, serve to break up the context and permit pause for reflection on Cohen's words.
Not surprisingly, Feldman's poems seem best suited for bass-baritone, recalling the poet's own tone, and singer Daniel Keeling does well throughout to feel the pulse, notably in "This Morning I Woke Up Again," a classic Cohen poem of bitter love: "I'm angry with the angel / Who pinched me on the thigh / And made me fall in love / With every woman passing by."
The mood of the poems ranges from dark to dramatic to light ("You go your way / I'll go your way too"), and while Glass does little in the way of textual painting, Cohen's own paintings and drawings are grandly used, as slides, to illustrate the music. They're mostly of naked women, but there you are.
In 1986, Glass had a successful crossover album, Songs from Liquid Days, in which he set lyrics by Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, Paul Simon and Suzanne Vega. At its best, this collaboration between Glass and Cohen achieves a Kurt Weill-level of shabby elegance, giving us a glimpse, if not into Weill's underworld, then into Cohen's inner turmoil (I'm wanted at the traffic-jam, / They're saving me a seat. / I'm what I am, and what I am, / is back on Boogie Street).
Glass's music does best in Book of Longing when he pursues some form of counterpoint (notably with the cello). But even when the music sags and becomes static or overly unison, the poetry is enough to hold our interest and makes this work a worthy venture.
The Lincoln Center Festival runs through July 29. Full information is available at http://www.lincolncenter.org.
© 2007 The Star Ledger
© 2007 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ledger/ ... xml&coll=1
Glass takes Manhattan
Monday, July 16, 2007 BY BEN FINANE For the Star-Ledger CLASSICAL
His new collaboration with poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen is a legitimate departure for composer Philip Glass from his usual menu of broken chords, arpeggios and hypnotic, repeated progressions. His setting of Cohen's poems, performed in what could nearly be called a cabaret style, actually ends up sounding as much Cohen as Glass -- and not just because it's the Canadian's text.
On Saturday night, Lincoln Center's Rose Theater hosted the New York premiere of Philip Glass's Book of Longing, named after Cohen's 2006 collection of previously unpublished poetry. Cohen gave no "interference" beyond supplying the text, though the poet's rich baritone is occasionally featured (recorded) speaking his text throughout the work.
But Feldman has always been more lyricist than singer, and the lyrics are chiefly given to four singers who split the difference between classical and Broadway style. The singers stay low in their ranges to permit maximum lyrical comprehension, and are matched by chamber orchestration from Glass -- oboe, flute, violin, cello, double bass, keyboards and percussion -- which is rich without being overbearingly lush. Glass himself plays one of the keyboards, but his role is wildly ancillary, his presence more supportive than functional.
Michael Riesman, longtime musical director of the Philip Glass ensemble, directs here from the keyboard, and, for the most part, he held things together. Amplification brought the usual balance issues, but, apart from some mudiness, did not detract. Solo instrumental pieces, Glass as Bach-lite, serve to break up the context and permit pause for reflection on Cohen's words.
Not surprisingly, Feldman's poems seem best suited for bass-baritone, recalling the poet's own tone, and singer Daniel Keeling does well throughout to feel the pulse, notably in "This Morning I Woke Up Again," a classic Cohen poem of bitter love: "I'm angry with the angel / Who pinched me on the thigh / And made me fall in love / With every woman passing by."
The mood of the poems ranges from dark to dramatic to light ("You go your way / I'll go your way too"), and while Glass does little in the way of textual painting, Cohen's own paintings and drawings are grandly used, as slides, to illustrate the music. They're mostly of naked women, but there you are.
In 1986, Glass had a successful crossover album, Songs from Liquid Days, in which he set lyrics by Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, Paul Simon and Suzanne Vega. At its best, this collaboration between Glass and Cohen achieves a Kurt Weill-level of shabby elegance, giving us a glimpse, if not into Weill's underworld, then into Cohen's inner turmoil (I'm wanted at the traffic-jam, / They're saving me a seat. / I'm what I am, and what I am, / is back on Boogie Street).
Glass's music does best in Book of Longing when he pursues some form of counterpoint (notably with the cello). But even when the music sags and becomes static or overly unison, the poetry is enough to hold our interest and makes this work a worthy venture.
The Lincoln Center Festival runs through July 29. Full information is available at http://www.lincolncenter.org.
© 2007 The Star Ledger
© 2007 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
Re: New York Book of Longing
More from me tomorrow.... but just in case anyone's wondering, I don't understand why the NJ paper substitutes "Feldman" twice for Cohen. Have sent an email query,,,,,,
Re: New York Book of Longing
Ben and his proofreader aren't paying attention 
. Ben writes it and the proofreader misses it. Just because Feldman is a Jewish name doesn't mean they're interchangeable. A tad of evidence that neither are Cohen fans.
~ Lizzy
. Ben writes it and the proofreader misses it. Just because Feldman is a Jewish name doesn't mean they're interchangeable. A tad of evidence that neither are Cohen fans. ~ Lizzy
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde
~ Oscar Wilde
Re: New York Book of Longing
Another great review
http://www.nysun.com/article/58568
New York Sun, July 17, 2007 by Alan Lockwood
"Book of Longing," the latest large-scale vocal work in Philip Glass's prolific career, received an enthusiastic reception this weekend at the Rose Theater as part of Lincoln Center Festival. The song suite, which made its premiere in Toronto last month, sets the verse of Canadian singer and writer Leonard Cohen, taking its title from Mr. Cohen's collection published last year, from which Mr. Glass distilled 22 poems, imparting the stylistic and emotional concentration of his friend's work.
With those poems suspended as lyrics within the composer's nuanced repetitions (performed by Mr. Glass and his seven-piece ensemble, with a cast of four singers and a voice-over provided by a recording of Mr. Cohen), "Book of Longing" traversed themes of restless passion and unreachable opportunity — facets of the poet's dry humor and often mordant persona — while wielding a persistent erotic charge.
The ensemble opened before a black backdrop, in what might be enjoyed as a nod to Mr. Cohen's dress code. Mr. Glass and music director Michael Riesman faced one another across the stage at electric keyboards; manning risers were their six band mates, on percussion, violin, cello, oboe, English horn, flute and reeds, and contrabass. The prologue featured Mr. Cohen's voice ("She'll step on the path / She'll see what I mean / My will cut in half / And freedom between"), as boldly amplified and metronomic as Mr. Glass's music.
The backing curtain then rose, displaying Mr. Cohen's black-and white drawings on panels forming an open-work wall: self-portraits, three female nudes shown from behind, a candlestick and salt shaker. Over the course of the 70-minute piece, the rear wall's milky luminescence would turn lime green or warning red, with the largest panel morphing through images, sometimes injecting lurid color or cobbling together the other panels' subjects as if they were glyphs.
The first of the evening's singers, the polished baritone Daniel Keeling, entered and with matter-of-fact style concluded "I finally understood / I had no gift / for spiritual matters," a reference to Mr. Cohen's leaving the Buddhist monastery at Mount Baldy, California, after five years of training. As the early numbers progressed, Mr. Keeling alternated with mezzo Tara Hugo (who embodied Mr. Cohen's careworn elegance), soprano Dominique Plaisant in a black gown, and tenor Will Erat. Their methodical exits and synchronized entrances were choreographed with casual precision by Susan Marshall.
Blurring boundaries between operatic breadth, pop appeal, and folk confession, the singers shared songs and lingered in chairs when not at the microphone stands, then added subtle flourishes — turning a page for one keyboardist, circling a chair before approaching the audience. At one point, Mr. Erat put an arm around Ms. Plaissant during a duet, with Mr. Keeling exiting once through the illustrated door on the panel wall. The intimate, nonnarrative approach of "Book of Longing" took structure from this piecemeal diversity. Singers who had just deployed with Broadway force across the stage might then ponder the back wall.
From his piano, Mr. Riesman audibly counted numbers off into a leisurely pulse, while the ensemble listened attentively as another member or a vocalist took the spotlight. The cellular operations of Mr. Glass's music generated a persistently rhythmic organism, detailed with passing textures: bass clarinet accented by a soft marimba; winds that gleaned Baroque patterns pinioned by strings hocketing with minimalist motor techniques; rare jazz walking notes by the bassist Eleonore Oppenheim, who, in a late passage, bowed two notes laden with portent that were echoed more gently by the violinist Tim Fain. Figures accelerated to double time, then settled back on a dime, and cellist Wendy Sutter turned her back, her playing hinting at Persian blues-tinged modalities.
Mr. Cohen's trenchant observations — his early influences included country greats Merle Haggard and Roy Acuff — made for an evening both bracing and personable. After a sequence of self-portraits with scrawled epigrams scrolled by too quickly to read, Mr. Glass took an office chair near the spotlight, listening intently as Ms. Oppenheim took her spare solo. A troubadour's guitar was projected high on the back wall; the musicians stood, still playing, and house lights rose as the fitting verse, "It's merely a song / merely a prayer," brought "Book of Longing" to a close.
http://www.nysun.com/article/58568
New York Sun, July 17, 2007 by Alan Lockwood
"Book of Longing," the latest large-scale vocal work in Philip Glass's prolific career, received an enthusiastic reception this weekend at the Rose Theater as part of Lincoln Center Festival. The song suite, which made its premiere in Toronto last month, sets the verse of Canadian singer and writer Leonard Cohen, taking its title from Mr. Cohen's collection published last year, from which Mr. Glass distilled 22 poems, imparting the stylistic and emotional concentration of his friend's work.
With those poems suspended as lyrics within the composer's nuanced repetitions (performed by Mr. Glass and his seven-piece ensemble, with a cast of four singers and a voice-over provided by a recording of Mr. Cohen), "Book of Longing" traversed themes of restless passion and unreachable opportunity — facets of the poet's dry humor and often mordant persona — while wielding a persistent erotic charge.
The ensemble opened before a black backdrop, in what might be enjoyed as a nod to Mr. Cohen's dress code. Mr. Glass and music director Michael Riesman faced one another across the stage at electric keyboards; manning risers were their six band mates, on percussion, violin, cello, oboe, English horn, flute and reeds, and contrabass. The prologue featured Mr. Cohen's voice ("She'll step on the path / She'll see what I mean / My will cut in half / And freedom between"), as boldly amplified and metronomic as Mr. Glass's music.
The backing curtain then rose, displaying Mr. Cohen's black-and white drawings on panels forming an open-work wall: self-portraits, three female nudes shown from behind, a candlestick and salt shaker. Over the course of the 70-minute piece, the rear wall's milky luminescence would turn lime green or warning red, with the largest panel morphing through images, sometimes injecting lurid color or cobbling together the other panels' subjects as if they were glyphs.
The first of the evening's singers, the polished baritone Daniel Keeling, entered and with matter-of-fact style concluded "I finally understood / I had no gift / for spiritual matters," a reference to Mr. Cohen's leaving the Buddhist monastery at Mount Baldy, California, after five years of training. As the early numbers progressed, Mr. Keeling alternated with mezzo Tara Hugo (who embodied Mr. Cohen's careworn elegance), soprano Dominique Plaisant in a black gown, and tenor Will Erat. Their methodical exits and synchronized entrances were choreographed with casual precision by Susan Marshall.
Blurring boundaries between operatic breadth, pop appeal, and folk confession, the singers shared songs and lingered in chairs when not at the microphone stands, then added subtle flourishes — turning a page for one keyboardist, circling a chair before approaching the audience. At one point, Mr. Erat put an arm around Ms. Plaissant during a duet, with Mr. Keeling exiting once through the illustrated door on the panel wall. The intimate, nonnarrative approach of "Book of Longing" took structure from this piecemeal diversity. Singers who had just deployed with Broadway force across the stage might then ponder the back wall.
From his piano, Mr. Riesman audibly counted numbers off into a leisurely pulse, while the ensemble listened attentively as another member or a vocalist took the spotlight. The cellular operations of Mr. Glass's music generated a persistently rhythmic organism, detailed with passing textures: bass clarinet accented by a soft marimba; winds that gleaned Baroque patterns pinioned by strings hocketing with minimalist motor techniques; rare jazz walking notes by the bassist Eleonore Oppenheim, who, in a late passage, bowed two notes laden with portent that were echoed more gently by the violinist Tim Fain. Figures accelerated to double time, then settled back on a dime, and cellist Wendy Sutter turned her back, her playing hinting at Persian blues-tinged modalities.
Mr. Cohen's trenchant observations — his early influences included country greats Merle Haggard and Roy Acuff — made for an evening both bracing and personable. After a sequence of self-portraits with scrawled epigrams scrolled by too quickly to read, Mr. Glass took an office chair near the spotlight, listening intently as Ms. Oppenheim took her spare solo. A troubadour's guitar was projected high on the back wall; the musicians stood, still playing, and house lights rose as the fitting verse, "It's merely a song / merely a prayer," brought "Book of Longing" to a close.
Re: New York Book of Longing
Tysh had it right on......
-----Original Message-----
From: dick [mailto:rstraub@att.net]
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 10:51 PM
To: FOWLER, LINDA
Subject: review of Glass concert based on Cohen work
If I could have located an email link to the writer's desk I would have gone there... but I have a serious question ...... why does the reviewer change Cohen to Feldman... more than once?
I have posted the review to a very popular web site for Cohen fans... without calling that "gaffe" or very clever joke that I don't get to anyone's attention.
Would like to be able to post the explanation soon.
Please help. Thanks
Dick Straub
Hello Dick and thanks for writing. Apparently our freelance music critic got his minimalist composers mixed in while writing the review and the error wasn't spotted by the copy desk. To complicate matters, the correction that was supposed to run in today's paper didn't. Some mornings it just doesn't pay to get up. Of course, the second and third references should read Cohen.
Best,
Linda Fowler
The Star-Ledger
Arts and Entertainment Editor
(973) 392-4018
lfowler@starledger.com
-----Original Message-----
From: dick [mailto:rstraub@att.net]
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 10:51 PM
To: FOWLER, LINDA
Subject: review of Glass concert based on Cohen work
If I could have located an email link to the writer's desk I would have gone there... but I have a serious question ...... why does the reviewer change Cohen to Feldman... more than once?
I have posted the review to a very popular web site for Cohen fans... without calling that "gaffe" or very clever joke that I don't get to anyone's attention.
Would like to be able to post the explanation soon.
Please help. Thanks
Dick Straub
Hello Dick and thanks for writing. Apparently our freelance music critic got his minimalist composers mixed in while writing the review and the error wasn't spotted by the copy desk. To complicate matters, the correction that was supposed to run in today's paper didn't. Some mornings it just doesn't pay to get up. Of course, the second and third references should read Cohen.
Best,
Linda Fowler
The Star-Ledger
Arts and Entertainment Editor
(973) 392-4018
lfowler@starledger.com
Re: New York Book of Longing
Wish the Philly Inquirer had missed their deadline ....
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/weekend/ ... apart.html
Glass and Cohen better off apart
By David Patrick Stearns
Inquirer Music Critic
photo
CYLLA von TIEDEMANN
From left, Philip Glass, Tara Hugo, and Eleonore Oppenheim in rehearsal for Glass' new work "Book of Longing," based on Leonard Cohen's poetry collection of the same name. It had its North American premiere last weekend at the Lincoln Center Festival.
Composer Philip Glass, the unofficial king of unlikely collaborations, would seem to be home free with The Book of Longing, an evening-length song cycle with words and images by the newly fashionable Leonard Cohen, a fellow Buddhist who (like Glass) is in his 70s and has a certain appreciation for the opposite sex.
Why, then, did half of it make me want to duck under my seat at the Lincoln Center Festival? Two theories: Both artists have inhabited such separate (if related) artistic worlds that putting them together has an oil-and-water effect - which isn't necessarily bad but, in this case, compromises the fragile spell each of them casts. Perceptual problems, however, may also be a factor: Cohen's words speak so intimately that hearing them gussied up in a theater piece is almost unbearable. Or so it seemed Sunday. Maybe The Book of Longing is a hybrid requiring repeated exposure.
The big picture looked like this: The stage (designed by Christine Jones from Broadway's Spring Awakening) was decked out with a variety of instruments against a shifting backdrop of slide projections of Cohen's own sometimes gritty, sometimes childlike drawings and paintings, all in panels of varying sizes, the majority self-portraits (few of them flattering) and naked women (suggesting a Mary Magdalene preoccupation).
Periodically, Cohen's own taped voice is heard reading a brief poem here and there. Orchestra members have haiku-like unaccompanied solos that were some of the best inspirations in the score. In other words, the piece and its presentation are highly accomplished.
However, Glass chose poems with such tight rhyme schemes that, while they might read well on the page, sound like doggerel when sung - particularly in Glass' semi-melodic trademark style that doesn't leave much room for Cohen's wry irony. Generally, his words fare best when conveyed in a straight, informational fashion. That was not the case with the sophisticated emoting heard from four vocal soloists. Though they're all excellent cabaret voices, the effect was cloying, making Cohen's words ring false. That's not supposed to happen.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/weekend/ ... apart.html
Glass and Cohen better off apart
By David Patrick Stearns
Inquirer Music Critic
photo
CYLLA von TIEDEMANN
From left, Philip Glass, Tara Hugo, and Eleonore Oppenheim in rehearsal for Glass' new work "Book of Longing," based on Leonard Cohen's poetry collection of the same name. It had its North American premiere last weekend at the Lincoln Center Festival.
Composer Philip Glass, the unofficial king of unlikely collaborations, would seem to be home free with The Book of Longing, an evening-length song cycle with words and images by the newly fashionable Leonard Cohen, a fellow Buddhist who (like Glass) is in his 70s and has a certain appreciation for the opposite sex.
Why, then, did half of it make me want to duck under my seat at the Lincoln Center Festival? Two theories: Both artists have inhabited such separate (if related) artistic worlds that putting them together has an oil-and-water effect - which isn't necessarily bad but, in this case, compromises the fragile spell each of them casts. Perceptual problems, however, may also be a factor: Cohen's words speak so intimately that hearing them gussied up in a theater piece is almost unbearable. Or so it seemed Sunday. Maybe The Book of Longing is a hybrid requiring repeated exposure.
The big picture looked like this: The stage (designed by Christine Jones from Broadway's Spring Awakening) was decked out with a variety of instruments against a shifting backdrop of slide projections of Cohen's own sometimes gritty, sometimes childlike drawings and paintings, all in panels of varying sizes, the majority self-portraits (few of them flattering) and naked women (suggesting a Mary Magdalene preoccupation).
Periodically, Cohen's own taped voice is heard reading a brief poem here and there. Orchestra members have haiku-like unaccompanied solos that were some of the best inspirations in the score. In other words, the piece and its presentation are highly accomplished.
However, Glass chose poems with such tight rhyme schemes that, while they might read well on the page, sound like doggerel when sung - particularly in Glass' semi-melodic trademark style that doesn't leave much room for Cohen's wry irony. Generally, his words fare best when conveyed in a straight, informational fashion. That was not the case with the sophisticated emoting heard from four vocal soloists. Though they're all excellent cabaret voices, the effect was cloying, making Cohen's words ring false. That's not supposed to happen.
Re: New York Book of Longing
a bloggers view.....
From: http://netnewmusic.net/reblog
Clash of the titans.
At 70, Philip Glass is still full of surprises. And it's no exaggeration to state that Book of Longing, his new 105-minute song cycle based on poetry and images from a recent book by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, includes some of the most surprising music he has ever composed.
Specifically, I'm thinking of five unaccompanied instrumental interludes -- one apiece for cellist Wendy Sutter, violinist Tim Fain, oboist Kate St. John, saxophonist Andrew Sterman and double bassist Eleonore Oppenheim -- in which Glass effectively dispensed altogether with the whirling arpeggios and nearly static harmonic progressions on which his style has been based for decades.
Graceful and ruminative, those solo passages seemed to exist in a space where time had been abolished. Sutter's solo acknowledged Bach, while Fain's alluded to the virtuoso cadenza. St. John's section had a snaky, sensuous allure; Sterman's was like overhearing a jazz musician blowing near an open window in a noir soundtrack. Oppenheim's was the most dramatic, melodies playing up and down the entire range of her instrument.
If the rest of Book of Longing was more recognizably the work of Glass, it still stood apart from the bulk of his familiar oeuvre. His ensemble -- the five performers already mentioned, Glass and Michael Riesman on keyboards, and Mick Rossi on keyboard and percussion -- accompanied four vocalists: soprano Dominique Plaisant, mezzo Tara Hugo, tenor Will Erat and bass-baritone Daniel Keeling. The singers, all amplified, performed in a style traditionally associated with musical theater, or even cabaret. Among Glass's works, it was probably closest in style to his 1986 cycle Songs from Liquid Days, but it was closer still in sound to John Adams's 1995 "song-play," I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky.
The singers prowled the stage in front of the musicians in a loose choreography designed by director Susan Marshall; behind the players, designer Christine Jones's backing wall held oversize reproductions of the art-brut sketches from Cohen's book: unflattering self-portraits in styles that resembled Matisse, Picasso, Cocteau and Japanese calligraphy, roughly rendered female backsides, and other small odds and ends. ("Windows into Leonard Cohen's life," my perceptive TONY colleague Gabriella Gershenson suggested.)
Taken on its own, Glass's music was subtle and expressive, and included some of the most beguiling timbral combinations I've ever heard in his work. His text setting was clear and efficient. But what the music lacked was an earthiness that is somewhere near the very core of what makes Cohen's art so effective. Glass's settings worked best when Cohen was in a droll state of mind, as in "This Morning I Woke Up Again," which includes the following memorable passage:
It's fun to run in Heaven
When you're off the beaten track
The Lord is such a monkey
When you've got him on your back
Here, Glass's repetitive structures underscored the absurdity of Cohen's verse. But when Glass took on Cohen's "The Night of Santiago," a vivid poem inspired by Lorca, the composer's idiom was incapable of conveying the erotic undercurrents of Cohen's words. You got the sense that while Cohen might be sweating rather a lot, Glass remained cool and dry.
The singers all did well with their assignments; Hugo and Keeling were especially effective in a full-blown cabaret sort of way, and Glass's ensemble writing was frequently outstanding. The voice truest to Cohen's idiom was, unsurprisingly, his own: heard in a handful of grave, smoky recorded interludes presented without accompaniment. The musicians performed magnificently; I remember wondering at one point whether such romantic effulgence would even have been imaginable during the long-ago loft days of the early Philip Glass Ensemble.
Ultimately, Book of Longing works best when viewed as one artist's affectionate portrait of another, rather than as an actual collaboration. All the facets of Cohen's character were represented: the world-weary stance, the mordant wit, the irreverant view of the sacred, the abundant libido. Glass clearly crafted this portrait with genuine engagement and respect. But in the end, little empathy for Cohen's darker passions came through.
Allan Kozinn took a more positive view in his New York Times review of Saturday night's performance, posted just a few moments ago. As it turned out, my thoughts were more in line with what Greg Quill wrote about the world premiere in the Toronto Star, although I sense that I probably liked it more than he did. For supplemental reading, have a look at this fine Cohen interview that appeared in the London Times on July 1; I'd love to tell you who wrote it, but I can't figure it out from the paper's awful web layout.
From: http://netnewmusic.net/reblog
Clash of the titans.
At 70, Philip Glass is still full of surprises. And it's no exaggeration to state that Book of Longing, his new 105-minute song cycle based on poetry and images from a recent book by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, includes some of the most surprising music he has ever composed.
Specifically, I'm thinking of five unaccompanied instrumental interludes -- one apiece for cellist Wendy Sutter, violinist Tim Fain, oboist Kate St. John, saxophonist Andrew Sterman and double bassist Eleonore Oppenheim -- in which Glass effectively dispensed altogether with the whirling arpeggios and nearly static harmonic progressions on which his style has been based for decades.
Graceful and ruminative, those solo passages seemed to exist in a space where time had been abolished. Sutter's solo acknowledged Bach, while Fain's alluded to the virtuoso cadenza. St. John's section had a snaky, sensuous allure; Sterman's was like overhearing a jazz musician blowing near an open window in a noir soundtrack. Oppenheim's was the most dramatic, melodies playing up and down the entire range of her instrument.
If the rest of Book of Longing was more recognizably the work of Glass, it still stood apart from the bulk of his familiar oeuvre. His ensemble -- the five performers already mentioned, Glass and Michael Riesman on keyboards, and Mick Rossi on keyboard and percussion -- accompanied four vocalists: soprano Dominique Plaisant, mezzo Tara Hugo, tenor Will Erat and bass-baritone Daniel Keeling. The singers, all amplified, performed in a style traditionally associated with musical theater, or even cabaret. Among Glass's works, it was probably closest in style to his 1986 cycle Songs from Liquid Days, but it was closer still in sound to John Adams's 1995 "song-play," I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky.
The singers prowled the stage in front of the musicians in a loose choreography designed by director Susan Marshall; behind the players, designer Christine Jones's backing wall held oversize reproductions of the art-brut sketches from Cohen's book: unflattering self-portraits in styles that resembled Matisse, Picasso, Cocteau and Japanese calligraphy, roughly rendered female backsides, and other small odds and ends. ("Windows into Leonard Cohen's life," my perceptive TONY colleague Gabriella Gershenson suggested.)
Taken on its own, Glass's music was subtle and expressive, and included some of the most beguiling timbral combinations I've ever heard in his work. His text setting was clear and efficient. But what the music lacked was an earthiness that is somewhere near the very core of what makes Cohen's art so effective. Glass's settings worked best when Cohen was in a droll state of mind, as in "This Morning I Woke Up Again," which includes the following memorable passage:
It's fun to run in Heaven
When you're off the beaten track
The Lord is such a monkey
When you've got him on your back
Here, Glass's repetitive structures underscored the absurdity of Cohen's verse. But when Glass took on Cohen's "The Night of Santiago," a vivid poem inspired by Lorca, the composer's idiom was incapable of conveying the erotic undercurrents of Cohen's words. You got the sense that while Cohen might be sweating rather a lot, Glass remained cool and dry.
The singers all did well with their assignments; Hugo and Keeling were especially effective in a full-blown cabaret sort of way, and Glass's ensemble writing was frequently outstanding. The voice truest to Cohen's idiom was, unsurprisingly, his own: heard in a handful of grave, smoky recorded interludes presented without accompaniment. The musicians performed magnificently; I remember wondering at one point whether such romantic effulgence would even have been imaginable during the long-ago loft days of the early Philip Glass Ensemble.
Ultimately, Book of Longing works best when viewed as one artist's affectionate portrait of another, rather than as an actual collaboration. All the facets of Cohen's character were represented: the world-weary stance, the mordant wit, the irreverant view of the sacred, the abundant libido. Glass clearly crafted this portrait with genuine engagement and respect. But in the end, little empathy for Cohen's darker passions came through.
Allan Kozinn took a more positive view in his New York Times review of Saturday night's performance, posted just a few moments ago. As it turned out, my thoughts were more in line with what Greg Quill wrote about the world premiere in the Toronto Star, although I sense that I probably liked it more than he did. For supplemental reading, have a look at this fine Cohen interview that appeared in the London Times on July 1; I'd love to tell you who wrote it, but I can't figure it out from the paper's awful web layout.
Re: New York Book of Longing
Now it is time to post my uncritical fan take on Lincoln Center performances of Book of Longing. Enjoyment of both Saturday and Sunday shows was very much enhanced by pre concert meals and company, and post concert opportunities to socialize.
Saturday Linda and I enjoyed Esther, a friend of hers, Susan, and Robert for dinner, and got to have Robert’s friend Joseph join us after for the show. With Esther’s help, we got into the green room to speak with Glass and several performers, including Dominique Plaisant – who remembered us from Joe’s Pub. She excitedly reported that she is rejoining Anjani as part of the band for Anjani’s July concerts in Europe. Some gigs are opening for Rod Stewart we understand.
A bigger crowd Sunday at dinner included Esther, Ken and Suzanne Kurzweil and a friend of theirs, Geoff and Donna Gompers, and our friend Madonna. We were joined by Hazel Field and her NY friend Katie at the Glass conversation, Esther’s friend Leila at the concert, and were then joined by Evelyn Stein and Zack Oberzan in the green room. In the green room there was also a very tiny frail-looking guy -- who happened to be Paul Simon. I think he was there hoping to meet Leonard, but I can’t confirm that. I can confirm that Leonard did not make an appearance.
In the conversation, Philip Glass said he had been asked why the artwork had so many self-portraits and naked women, and he replied, "It's what interests him." Hazel got a fair amount of video, including a parting good bye wave from Philip. There were some humorous moments later when Hazel removed the cake decoration, which was a perfect replica of the bird on the Book of Longing cover, saying she wanted to take it to Montreal for Leonard. Unfortunately the colorful Bird broke into several pieces and could never be expected to fly again. It was labeled a “bird puzzle,” and I said it had been “destroyed by Hazel’s awkward affection.” Guess you had to be there to find it funny, but we all did.
I can truthfully say the performances seem better each time I get to see them. Knowing a little more what is in store, and not being surprised by any of the treatments, I am better able to just soak it up as it is delivered. Everything seems to me to work now. I am impressed by the courage it took for Glass to reinterpret songs that Leonard has already recorded, and I find substance in his results. The solo instrumentals are brilliant I think, and I am no longer bothered that there are no poetic lyrics to accompany them. The singers are very effective in bringing the cabaret feel to the whole production, and I now see that as very intentional. I had not noticed all of the intricate choreography in Toronto, and now watch with pleasure and amazement. The artwork is spectacular and I wish I could afford several more pieces.
Glass mentioned that no one was sure whether or when to applaud, and said they purposefully did not make movements to seek applause, but that it was fine to have if the audience wanted it. This time there was only one early start to a Leonard reading on Saturday that was spoiled by the applause. On Sunday they got the timing perfect and did not play any reading until the applause had ended.
One difference that those of us who saw both nights noted was an audience difference. On Saturday there was much appreciation of Leonard’s humor with genuine laughter in spots, but on Sunday the audience was more serious, and either didn’t get the humor or just didn’t respond to it.
There was also an amazing similarity to the concerts we have heard Anjani give --- both nights there were no audience noises or distractions whatsoever….. everyone was totally enraptured. Rarely do we see such respect for live performance as we have with Anjani, and now with this Glass production. Now we wish we could make Stanford in October, and we are really looking forward both to seeing wonderful Cohenites AND to experiencing this amazing piece of theater again in London. I clearly side with the reviewers who had positive reactions.
The photo was taken Sunday by Ken Kurzweil, who is sadly absent, what with being behind the camera and all.
Dick
Saturday Linda and I enjoyed Esther, a friend of hers, Susan, and Robert for dinner, and got to have Robert’s friend Joseph join us after for the show. With Esther’s help, we got into the green room to speak with Glass and several performers, including Dominique Plaisant – who remembered us from Joe’s Pub. She excitedly reported that she is rejoining Anjani as part of the band for Anjani’s July concerts in Europe. Some gigs are opening for Rod Stewart we understand.
A bigger crowd Sunday at dinner included Esther, Ken and Suzanne Kurzweil and a friend of theirs, Geoff and Donna Gompers, and our friend Madonna. We were joined by Hazel Field and her NY friend Katie at the Glass conversation, Esther’s friend Leila at the concert, and were then joined by Evelyn Stein and Zack Oberzan in the green room. In the green room there was also a very tiny frail-looking guy -- who happened to be Paul Simon. I think he was there hoping to meet Leonard, but I can’t confirm that. I can confirm that Leonard did not make an appearance.
In the conversation, Philip Glass said he had been asked why the artwork had so many self-portraits and naked women, and he replied, "It's what interests him." Hazel got a fair amount of video, including a parting good bye wave from Philip. There were some humorous moments later when Hazel removed the cake decoration, which was a perfect replica of the bird on the Book of Longing cover, saying she wanted to take it to Montreal for Leonard. Unfortunately the colorful Bird broke into several pieces and could never be expected to fly again. It was labeled a “bird puzzle,” and I said it had been “destroyed by Hazel’s awkward affection.” Guess you had to be there to find it funny, but we all did.
I can truthfully say the performances seem better each time I get to see them. Knowing a little more what is in store, and not being surprised by any of the treatments, I am better able to just soak it up as it is delivered. Everything seems to me to work now. I am impressed by the courage it took for Glass to reinterpret songs that Leonard has already recorded, and I find substance in his results. The solo instrumentals are brilliant I think, and I am no longer bothered that there are no poetic lyrics to accompany them. The singers are very effective in bringing the cabaret feel to the whole production, and I now see that as very intentional. I had not noticed all of the intricate choreography in Toronto, and now watch with pleasure and amazement. The artwork is spectacular and I wish I could afford several more pieces.
Glass mentioned that no one was sure whether or when to applaud, and said they purposefully did not make movements to seek applause, but that it was fine to have if the audience wanted it. This time there was only one early start to a Leonard reading on Saturday that was spoiled by the applause. On Sunday they got the timing perfect and did not play any reading until the applause had ended.
One difference that those of us who saw both nights noted was an audience difference. On Saturday there was much appreciation of Leonard’s humor with genuine laughter in spots, but on Sunday the audience was more serious, and either didn’t get the humor or just didn’t respond to it.
There was also an amazing similarity to the concerts we have heard Anjani give --- both nights there were no audience noises or distractions whatsoever….. everyone was totally enraptured. Rarely do we see such respect for live performance as we have with Anjani, and now with this Glass production. Now we wish we could make Stanford in October, and we are really looking forward both to seeing wonderful Cohenites AND to experiencing this amazing piece of theater again in London. I clearly side with the reviewers who had positive reactions.
The photo was taken Sunday by Ken Kurzweil, who is sadly absent, what with being behind the camera and all.
Dick
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Re: New York Book of Longing
Great report and photo 
, Dick. Super Annie Hall-resemblance woman in the center next to Esther. Reminds me of my former friend, Tara.
I would like to see the performance at least once more, too. I took note of Philip's breakdown of how performances blend within themselves. It would also allow for greater assimilation than I was able to manage in seeing it only once. I feel paying the extra for a better seat would have served me well. I strongly suggest it to anyone who might still have that option.
Paul Simon, eh? I'm sorry that he wasn't able to meet Leonard. Are you presuming that he already knows Glass, due to their proximity to one another, or do you already know that?
I'm glad all of you got to enjoy the green room with Philip. That's great
.
Thanks for your report.
~ Lizzy
, Dick. Super Annie Hall-resemblance woman in the center next to Esther. Reminds me of my former friend, Tara. I would like to see the performance at least once more, too. I took note of Philip's breakdown of how performances blend within themselves. It would also allow for greater assimilation than I was able to manage in seeing it only once. I feel paying the extra for a better seat would have served me well. I strongly suggest it to anyone who might still have that option.
Paul Simon, eh? I'm sorry that he wasn't able to meet Leonard. Are you presuming that he already knows Glass, due to their proximity to one another, or do you already know that?
I'm glad all of you got to enjoy the green room with Philip. That's great
. Thanks for your report.
~ Lizzy
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde
~ Oscar Wilde
Re: New York Book of Longing
Yes, Paul Simon knows Philip Glass from way back. They collaborated on Paul's 1983 album, Hearts and Bones (one of his best, in my humble opinion, but largely ignored.) Glass wrote a two-minute ending, in typical Glass fashion, for Paul's great song, "The Late Great Johnny Ace."
I was quite an obsessive Paul Simon fan for many many years (I learned to play guitar by watching Paul's fingers move on his guitar, and learned to sing by singing along with him.) His work is still very dear to my heart, and I suppose it is no coincidence that it led me to Leonard's work. So it was a thoroughly unexpected and added thrill to run into him.
Zachary
I was quite an obsessive Paul Simon fan for many many years (I learned to play guitar by watching Paul's fingers move on his guitar, and learned to sing by singing along with him.) His work is still very dear to my heart, and I suppose it is no coincidence that it led me to Leonard's work. So it was a thoroughly unexpected and added thrill to run into him.
Zachary
Re: New York Book of Longing
Tysh
In a Glass interview, he commented that something was amiss because Leonard Cohen had never met Paul Simon ... and that he intended to rectify that.
In a Glass interview, he commented that something was amiss because Leonard Cohen had never met Paul Simon ... and that he intended to rectify that.