And now we come to Work, the second part of Adam Guettel’s Myths and Hymns, as adapted in four parts by Ted Sperling and his MasterVoices. Being aired, part by part monthly, on YouTube, this is the thoroughly creative Sperling’s revised version of a Guettel song cycle introduced at the Public Theater in 1998 as Saturn Returns.
Myths and Hymns also means we come to Adam Guettel himself, whose musical take—with bookwriter Craig Lucas—on Elizabeth Spencer’s 1960 novella The Light in the Piazza boasts, without question, the best original score of the past 25 years.
We come to a composer from whom we hear far too infrequently, a composer from whom we certainly don’t hear as often as the lucky world heard from his grandfather, Richard Rodgers. And Guettel also write the words, which Rodgers almost never did. More than that and perhaps less pertinent (but still of more than passing interest) is Guettel’s rarely-experienced presence as a first-rate singer.
[Read Steven Suskin’s ★★★☆☆ review here.]
So the smart song lover knows to seize the opportunity to listen to Guettel’s output, if not his voice, whenever it’s offered. Here it is as a follow-up to the brilliantly produced—in every aspect of music, cast and graphics—first part, Flight. This segment Sperling calls Work. Again, it looks like a million bucks with a fresh, articulate collection of singers (many of them MasterVoices chorus members) and graphics that sparkle and pop like a just-opened bottle of seltzer. Sorry to report that by the time the somewhat arresting Work draws to a close, it packs more than a bit of a flaccid huh-what? punch.
In welcoming remarks Sperling explains that the Work title can be interpreted in more than the obvious way. Therein may lie the problem. As the sections roll along, their relationships to work are hardly obvious. A viewer may find him—or herself throwing his or hers hands up in dismay.
Yes, the early segment of rotating watchworks suggest things like time passing while at that dull office job. Yes, a segment involving Sisyphus—with Daniel Breaker singing as the mythic figure endlessly pushing that infernal stone up the mountainside—offers the unceasing futility of some arduous labors (as well as the labor of living). Unfortunately, the couple of animated minutes is introduced by John Lithgow with a mockingly stern expression while playing on twists of the name Sisyphus that would set anyone’s teeth on edge.
But what does Michael McElroy singing “Build a Bridge” as he sits by a stream while a women knitting is superimposed to his left have to do with work? Okay, building bridges in love means work. Knitting is work. But c’mon. Then there’s Shoshana Bean chanting into a microphone in front of a stone fireplace in “Life is But a Dream.” She’s musing that life isn’t a dream. Life is work yet one more time, but little is added. The last longer-than-it-needs-to-be piece is “Every Poodle,” with cartoon poodles driving cars while cheerful singers in bubbles float around intoning nonsense syllables like “dee-oo-dee-dee-oo-dee.”
That’s the last of it, but by then what does Work have to say of any value about the important subject? Perhaps Sperling has gathered supremely talented pals to send up the concept of work, pals like singer Anthony Roth Costanza, orchestrators Don Sebesky and Jamie Lawrence, director Doug Fitch, visual artists Erik Freer and Manik Choksi, lyricist Ellen Fitzhugh, and musicians like Guettel himself on harmonica and guitar.
No, spoofing work can’t be the point. Several of Guettel’s melodies are in minor keys, conjuring melancholy moods. Those melodies, repeatedly bringing to mind moody landscapes, have their irresistible appeal. Possibly in them is a key to understanding why Guettel emerges from his self-imposed hibernation so rarely.
Maybe deriving the most satisfaction from Work requires forgetting the cranked-up theme and simply letting the melodies have their way. Get your Adam Guettel—as much of him as you can—where and while you may. The very getting has its many, many consolations.
Myths and Hymns, Chapter 2: Work was streamed beginning February 24, 2021. Information and link: mastervoices.org
