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NPR Music’s 25 Favorite Albums Of The Year (So Far)
June 11, 2013
NPR Music announced their 25 Favorite Albums of the Year (so far)… and David Lang’s ‘death speaks’ is on their list!
Here’s what they have to say about it:
You probably wouldn’t expect The National‘s Bryce Dessner and My Brightest Diamond‘s Shara Worden to work on a classically focused project inspired by Franz Schubert, but that’s exactly what happens within composer David Lang‘s amazing Death Speaks, which also features Nico Muhly playing piano and Owen Pallett on violin. In this song cycle, Lang creates incredibly intimate, often terrifyingly visceral experiences, with texts borrowed from Schubert’s songs. Despite Lang’s ice-cool textures, emotions run hot and quick. “Nothing escapes me,” Worden sings, personifying Death — and it’s easy to believe her. The companion piece on this album, Depart, features Maya Beiser’s multi-tracked cello and four voices; it comes as luminous, sweet relief.
–Anastasia Tsioulcas