NICK GIVES THE WORLD PREMIERE OF NEW ORCHESTRATION OF 'STRANGER'
POINTS OF ORIGIN AT NEW CENTURY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
“…Stranger, Muhly’s song cycle for tenor (Nicholas Phan) was lucid and concise in an earlier version for string quartet; now, it glints with greatness.
Muhly has expertly culled and treated the texts, a mix of letters, academic writings, and Bible verse. In the third song, propulsive plucking underscores each line of an immigrant’s argument against the Chinese Exclusion Act. Oscillating harmonics in the finale create the “splashings of the summer”; you can practically see the dappled sunshine.
Tenor Phan, always a commanding presence, brought especial tenderness to these songs, and the solos by Music Director and concertmaster Daniel Hope were wonderfully silvery…”
