What Eric Moe offers on this disc is a pair of attractive, well-wrought song cycles that treat the voice as the melodic instrument it is. Siren Songs is a piece in the tradition of Samuel Barber’s Hermit Songs or Copland’s Emily Dickinson settings, but with the bite and rhythmic sense of John Adams. There are glowing melodies (“In the Hour Before Dawn”) and quirky settings (“Eyewitness Account”) where the text is spoken in rhythm–which isn’t a cop-out because the accompaniment is so charming, the declamation so forthright and clever. The composer himself is at the keyboard, and he plays in a clipped, precise way. It would be interesting to hear a warmer, rounder interperetation, more for the sake of hearing it differently than wanting better.
Moe scores Sonnets to Orpheus for piano, string quartet, and oboe, and though this is a proper chamber ensemble, Moe makes it sound orchestral. He doesn’t feel compelled to have all the instruments playing throughout, which is how he manages to get such varied textures–he uses all materials at his disposal, orchestration being one of them, to create musical interest. Jaqueline Leclair plays the oboe beautifully and subtly, and the group comes together under J. Karla Lemon as a tight, forceful ensemble. The quality of the recording, which is too distant and shallow to capture the lushness Moe intended, does detract but is not too off-putting.
As in both cycles, his text setting is wonderful if not a bit British in prosodic disposition: placing the accent on the second half of the word re-search–it’s not wrong, but feels forced. He also knows when to use his high notes, but for the most part keeps the voice in the lower register where the words are easier to understand. Both singers on this disc, Elizabeth Farnum and Christine Brandes, wrap their minds and voices around this style of singing and create the necessary focused, crisp sound.
