Das Modern Song Kollektiv

Das Modern Song Kollektiv performs songs by Marc Blitzstein and Ned Rorem.
Marc Blitzstein’s songs set to the evocative and mercurial poetry of e.e.cummings and Ned Rorem’s powerful setting of autobiographical writings by poet Walt Whitman on his shattering experiences in the American Civil War. Rarely heard complete in performance, these remarkable, characterful song cycles capture the freshness and direct appeal of modern American song.

A genuinely original, modern American voice, Marc Blitzstein’s (1905–64) talent for wit, sophistication and lyricism excelled in song, opera, theatre and musicals during the mid-20th century. Born in Philadelphia, a piano prodigy and student of Nadia Boulanger and Schoenberg in Europe, he was a close colleague of many great artists including Orson Welles, Lillian Hellman, Aaron Copland, Bertolt Brecht and mentor, friend and profound musical influence on Leonard Bernstein.

Ned Rorem’s (1923–2022) deep connection to and mastery of the art of song is widely acknowledged. With over 500 songs, chamber music, ballets, and operas composed and Pulitzer and Gershwin prize awards, his was a remarkable and consistent presence on the American musical scene from the 1950s until his death in 2022.

www.philipheadlam.com
www.musikfuermusik.com/sidney-walker
www.andrewrobertmunn.com