By Robert Croan It’s a daunting and presumptuous task for any composer to complete Mozart’s magnificent Requiem, but that’s just what Gregory Spears has done, on commission from the equally audacious Seraphic Fire vocal ensemble, which performed the amalgamated version in several South Florida venues Feb. 12-14. It was a repeat for Seraphic Fire, who premiered the Requiem … [Read more...]
Kidd’s ‘Invention of Wings’ compelling tale of slave era
From the opening pages of this engaging novel, Sue Monk Kidd grabs the reader’s attention with her compelling portrait of a slave-owning family in Charleston, S.C. The well-told story begins with the white parents giving their daughter Sarah her own slave as a present on her 11th birthday. Rebellious Sarah wants nothing to do with slavery, but the parents insist. The … [Read more...]
A compelling American quintet in chamber fest’s Week 2
It is one of the great mysteries of American musical life: Why, in a country that has produced so many fine classical composers, does the average person know nothing of their music? There are any number of reasons that are usually trotted out to explain this phenomenon, from the overwhelming dominance of American popular music worldwide to the lack of arts education in the … [Read more...]
‘Gainsbourg,’ ‘3,’ engrossing, compelling
Most Americans who are aware of Serge Gainsbourg know him from the curiously controversial recording of Je T’Aime . . . Moi Non Plus, a steamy slice of aural sex he made in the 1960s with his then-lover, Jane Birkin. It is enough to turn anyone interested in knowing more about this enigmatic Frenchman who was a giant on the European pop music scene. Now comes … [Read more...]
A monster and a plucky heroine: Compelling novels from indie houses
Most newspapers and magazines posted their lists of the best books of 2009 by the end of November. I was no exception (you can see mine at the Florida Center for the Literary Arts Website). The problem with these early lists, though useful for Christmas shopping, is they risk missing worthwhile books published late in the year, especially from small independent publishing … [Read more...]