JAMES ANEST'S DELECTABLE BARITONE IS SHEER POETRY!
Wolfgang | Austria | 12/15/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The remarkable vocal talent shown by James Anest in his previous CD, "Calvary Street", shows up in spades in his first classical recording, "My November Guest", a wonderful collection of songs originally composed for a stage musical adaptation of the 1948 movie, "La Montagna di Cristallo", with music by contemporary American composer Jon Naples and set to the classic poetry of Browning, Byron, Yeats & other romantic poets. "My November Guest" offers music of tremendous beauty and power sung to perfection by Anest, who is arguably one of the great singing talents of the new millennium. "My November Guest" is proof positive that original classic style theatre music is alive and kicking in the 21st. Century and composers like Jon Naples are responding to the standards set by the great composers of the past. The brilliant, passionate vocal performances by James Anest on this CD will move you and thrill you at the same time. All of the songs in this collection are remarkably accessible, even to those not usually into art or theatre music, but especially noteworthy are "She Walks in Beauty", "Cradle Song" and the gorgeously sung "She Was a Phantom of Delight". James Anest is the most exciting thing to happen to classical music and musical theatre in a long, long time!
Track Listing & Poets:
1. The Ballad Of Chaldon Down (E.S. Millay)
2. Fire and Ice (Frost)
3. XLII--How Do I Love Thee (E.B. Browning)
4. The Garden Of Love (Blake)
5. My November Guest (Frost)
6. So, We'll Go No More A-Roving (Byron)
7. She Walks In Beauty (Byron)
8. When We Two Parted (Byron)
9. She Was A Phantom Of Delight (Byron)
10. The Spring and the Fall (Millay)
11. Cradle Song (Blake)
12. A Line-Storm Song (Frost)
13. To An Isle in the Water (Yeats)
14. To Woman (Byron)
15. The Road Not Taken (Frost)
"
MY NOVEMBER GUEST: "THE GLASS MOUNTAIN" SET TO MUSIC
dayao | 09/02/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"How wonderful it is to see this music on a recording. "My November Guest" was originally conceived as a musical adaptation of the 1949 British film classic, "The Glass Mountain". Near the end of the 2nd World war, Richard Wilder, a British Air Force pilot crash lands in the Italian Alps. Alive but near death, a beautiful but mysterious girl appears and nurses him back to health while inspiring him with verses of 19th century romantic poetry. Is the girl real or the spirit of legend who haunts the Glass Mountain? Despite her pleas to stay the pilot leaves the Glass Mountain after the war and returns to his wife and profession as a composer-singer in London. Torn between his renewed love for his wife and his obsession with the mysterious beauty on the Glass Mountain, Richard is driven to write a song cycle based on the romantic poetry he heard while on the Glass Mountain and travels to Rome to sing the premiere performance of his work. On the way to join him, the plane on which his wife is a passenger crashes into the Glass Mountain, killing everyone aboard. Richard returns alone to the Glass Mountain to mourn the loss of his two great loves and to ponder the meaning of his life.
This CD contains the entire song score written by composer Jon Naples, sung with beauty and conviction by baritone James Anest, who sang the role of Richard in a recital performance of a portion of the then incomplete score of "My November Guest" in Pasadena, California several years ago. The entire score was presented in a concert performance after this recording in 2006 in Carlsbad, California, again with Anest as soloist. This has got to be one of the most unique musical theatre works ever in that the song lyrics are by real poets such as Robert Browning, Lord Byron, WB Yeats, William Blake & Edna St Vincent Millay and yet serve to superbly advance the plot of the story. I agree with the review above that James Anest is one the best singers of our time and hopefully some day soon "My November Guest" will be produced on the stage in its full glory with Anest as Richard. In the meantime we have this lovely recording of the song score to enjoy.
"
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1