New York Pretending To Be Paris
Eve Gigliotti, Erika Switzer, Jesse Darden, Eric Schorr, Michael Kelly, Cris Frisco, 19 Mercer Ensemble
Composer Eric Schorr says that the poems he chose for the compositions on this recording were ones that immediately resonated with him emotionally and musically. The range of the poems’ styles and subject matter necessitated a varied musical vocabulary. Always lyrical, the music veers from romantic to jazz to chanson to bossa nova. Schorr expanded the palette of sound by adding a chamber sized acoustic orchestra to his original scoring for voice and piano. Schorr composes music for theater, television, and film as well as art songs. He studied at the New England Conservatory, Yale and Harvard. He is a recipient of a Japan-United State Arts Program Fellowship and Opera-Musical Theatre Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Critically acclaimed singers Eve Gigliotti, Jesse Darden, and Michael Kelly are the featured performers on this recording.
Stream/Buy
Choose your platform
Track Listing
| Title | Composer | Performer |
|---|---|---|
| Flowers | Eric Schorr; Cynthia Zarin, poet | Eve Gigliotti (mezzo-soprano); Erika Switzer (piano); The 19 Mercer Ensemble |
| Morning (After) Commute | Eric Schorr; Thomas Marsh, poet | Jesse Darden (tenor); Eric Schorr (piano); The 19 Mercer Ensemble |
| French Novel | Eric Schorr; Richie Hofmann, poet | Michael Kelly (baritone); Cris Frisco (piano); The 19 Mercer Ensemble |
| In the Apartment, After You've Gone | Eric Schorr; Thomas March, poet | Eve Gigliotti (mezzo-soprano); Erika Switzer (piano); The 19 Mercer Ensemble |
| Elegy for a Small Town Psychic | Eric Schorr; Morri Creech, poet | Jesse Darden (tenor); Eric Schorr (piano); The 19 Mercer Ensemble |
| Liquid | Eric Schorr; Aaron Smith, poet | Michael Kelly (baritone); Cris Frisco (piano); The 19 Mercer Ensemble |
| After All These Years | Eric Schorr; Aaron Smith, poet | Jesse Darden (tenor); Eric Schorr (piano); The 19 Mercer Ensemble |
| Mother | Eric Schorr; Susan Kinsolving & Aaron Smith, poets | Eve Gigliotti (mezzo-soprano); Michael Kelly (baritone); Jesse Darden (tenor); Cris Frisco (piano); Eric Schorr (piano); Erika Switzer (piano); The 19 Mercer Ensemble |
Reviews
- “
The album's title–New York Pretending to Be Paris–is taken from its closing song, but the concept seems to run through the whole project, finding beauty and grandeur in small moments of modern living. Many are relationship stories, yet there are ways besides romance that Schorr evokes suave urbanity, like flowers in vases and riding the subway. The songs are sung in a robust yet sweet and intimate solo operatic style by tenor Jesse Darden, mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti, or baritone Michael Kelly. The vocal style is consistent, but Schorr's scores can evoke anything from Sondheim to Weill to tangos and jazz. It's a focused, gorgeous group of art songs that brings classical oomph to quiet inner emotions.
- “
Beautiful...Stunning
- “
One of the top 10 classical vocal albums of 2022. A wonderful collection of art songs...Highlights? Too many to mention...Schorr's gift for tone painting is evident throughout... His lyrical style dovetails seamlessly with the yearning articulated movingly by the poets...The songs sparkle...Portraits about courtship, a small-town psychic, a harried mother and vengeful wife, and gay men longing for love and to belong—human stories infused with humanity, in other words—have the capacity to resonate for anyone with a beating heart.
- “
Exquisite art songs…Schorr’s style is elegant and emotionally sincere…The melancholic beauty of his tonal world inhabits the same lonely spaces as Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper’s canvases. In a word, Schorr has mastered the art of bittersweetness. The composer has a way of unexpectedly pivoting to a pang-inducing minor or diminished chord that triggers waves of nostalgic longing. He’s a first-rate tunesmith and earns these poignant passages. His melodies hark back to Sondheim, Barber and Elgar.
- “
A captivating disc…Schorr embraces the opportunity to depict musically the profound emotional responses to instances of daily life. His music is affecting, and brimming with melody and humanity. Puccini was a master of this approach, and Schorr’s songs are a worthy successor to that tradition.
*Album cover provided for Editorial use only. ©Albany Records. The Albany Imprint is a registered trademark of PARMA Recordings LLC. The views and opinions expressed in this media are those of the artist and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views and opinions held by PARMA Recordings LLC and its label imprints, subsidiaries, and affiliates.