Hagoromo / Nathan Davis
Composer Nathan Davis's dance opera Hagoromo sets a 500-year-old Noh drama about a fisherman who covets an earthbound angel's magic garment. The work's premiere performances featured dancers Wendy Whelan, Jock Soto, vocal soloists Peter Tantsits and Katalin Károlyi, the International Contemporary Ensemble, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and a puppeteering troupe. Davis captures the mythical beauty and timeless truths of this traditional Japanese tale with a sense of pathos that is humanistic and universal.
Reviews
Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review
http://classicalmodernmusic.blogspot.com/2018/12/nathan-davis-hagoromo-international.html
A lively vaguely Asian percussion singularity and an alto flute in harmonics mode begins the work mysteriously and the very pronounced resonance of the work is established. The work falls naturally into the performative of soloists and chorus and the instrumental parts too seem natural. Yet all of it has an almost ritual primality at times, as definite echoes of the Noh music from the original. At the same time in varying degrees there is a High Modernity of harmonic-melodic intent. All this works quite well for a result very intriguing and worthwhile. It all falls most nicely onto the ears. The youth chorus gives the sound quality a heightened mythical aura as does the orchestration as well. It is most lovely music! Nathan Davis is a natural! Brilliant!