{"id":87931,"date":"2024-04-29T10:22:55","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T14:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/operawire.com\/?p=87931"},"modified":"2024-04-29T10:22:55","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T14:22:55","slug":"cd-review-erin-morleys-rose-in-bloom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/operawire.com\/cd-review-erin-morleys-rose-in-bloom\/","title":{"rendered":"CD Review: Erin Morley\u2019s ‘Rose in Bloom’"},"content":{"rendered":"

In her first solo recital on CD, Erin Morley<\/a> gives her all. \u201cRose in Bloom\u201d presents like a carefully arranged flowerbed which, in a horticultural twist, invites in the musical exploration of roses and peonies (Rimsky-Korsakov and Ricky Ian Gordon), tulips (Ricky Ian Gordon), lilacs, and daisies (Rachmaninoff and Ivor Novello).<\/p>\n

\u201cLike a grand garden with structured plots and wider landscapes” – the booklet explains – \u201cthis program of songs proceeds with an organic unity across various composers, languages, periods, and styles of music. Rarities flourish alongside familiar blooms, providing a pleasing variety.\u201d<\/p>\n

And variety there is; in addition to the above-mentioned \u201cRose in Bloom\u201d features lieder by as diverse a roster of composers as Arthur Sullivan, Michael Head, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, Zemlinsky, Saint-Sa\u00ebns, Milhaud, and Berg.<\/p>\n

Of Flowers and Birds<\/b><\/h3>\n

The unifying thread is obviously thematic. But the release also allows for musically telling observations, such as comparison between Saint-Sa\u00ebns\u2019 \u201cLe Rossignol et la Rose\u201d and Darius Milhaud\u2019s \u201cChanson de Ronsard.\u201d Both are tonal depictions of birdsong with different technical demands each.<\/p>\n

In the former Morley demonstrates the impressive bandwidth of her coloraturas, each coated with the warm timbre of her slender yet remarkably full-bodied soprano voice. In the Milhaud piece she adds to her virtuosic display of coloratura runs, an uncanny feel for the French language, clearly articulated and intelligently phrased.<\/p>\n

At the very heart of \u201cRose in Bloom\u201d is Morley\u2019s interpretation of Ricky Ian Gordon\u2019s \u201cHuit Chansons de Fleurs.\u201d Based on a very eclectic set of poems, including Dorothy Parker\u2019s \u201cOne Perfect Rose,\u201d the songs are best understood as an extended metaphor on the cycle of life, condensed into the variegated imagery of flowers and their symbolism.<\/p>\n

While they thematically align with the album\u2019s flowery title, who currently writes does not believe they most proficiently describe the very essence of Morley\u2019s abilities. Their technical requirements, for instance, are not tailored to a coloratura soprano of her caliber; also their intimacy, while charmingly witiful, is different from the expressive intensity of the (post-)Romantic idiom in Rachmaninoff, Zemlinsky, or the ever melodious Rimsky-Korsakov.<\/p>\n

Morley delineates Gordon\u2019s songs with pristine musicianship; yet she rings more memorably in the remaining tracks, including the German lieder whose melancholy zeitgeist she captures with unfailing accuracy.<\/p>\n

An American Nightingale<\/b><\/h3>\n

Overall, Morley thrives on the ambitiousness of her solo debut. In Brahms\u2019 \u201cLerchengesang\u201d she imbues her voice with a deeply felt sadness. By contrast, in \u201cNeath My Lattice Through the Night\u201d she delights with formidable joie de vivre <\/i>topped by the sky high tones of the title-giving Rose-in-Bloom\u2019s cadenza.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She is helped by the sympathetic accompaniment of her pianist and mentor Gerald Martin Moore<\/a> who aptly supports his American Nightingale even through the album\u2019s most relentlessly fast passages.<\/p>\n

Erin Morley, in short, commands a beautifully ductile instrument which enthusiasts will be glad to find immortalized on CD. \u201cRose in Bloom\u201d does it full justice, although the fin-de-si\u00e8cle repertory seems to suit her vocal inclinations better than the remainder of the program. \u201cRose in Bloom\u201d is – to end on a pun – the portrait of a blossoming artist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In her first solo recital on CD, Erin Morley gives her all. \u201cRose in Bloom\u201d presents like a carefully arranged flowerbed which, in a horticultural twist, invites in the musical exploration of roses and peonies (Rimsky-Korsakov and Ricky Ian Gordon), tulips (Ricky Ian Gordon), lilacs, and daisies (Rachmaninoff and Ivor Novello). \u201cLike a grand garden with structured plots and wider {…}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":87938,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,8],"tags":[1547,8896,22343],"class_list":["post-87931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvd-and-cd-reviews","category-in-review","tag-erin-morley","tag-gerald-martin-moore","tag-rose-in-bloom"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCD Review: Erin Morley\u2019s 'Rose in Bloom' - OperaWire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In her first solo recital on CD, Erin Morley gives her all. \u201cRose in Bloom\u201d presents like a carefully arranged flowerbed which, in a horticultural twist, invites in the musical exploration of roses and peonies (Rimsky-Korsakov and Ricky Ian Gordon), tulips (Ricky Ian Gordon), lilacs, and daisies (Rachmaninoff and Ivor Novello).\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/cd-review-erin-morleys-rose-in-bloom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CD Review: Erin Morley\u2019s 'Rose in Bloom' - 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