Goblin Market
The New Professionals
Mary King, Narrator
Rebecca Miller, conductor
IRR OUTSTANDING RECORDING
"This should be heard … not a moment that's not ear-catching"
International Record Review |
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"Kernis’s Goblin Market is one of the great musical works of art for theatre of the 20th century … a truly awesome, epicurean crescendo of sensual poetry and orgiastic sounds."
Musicweb International – Recordings of the year 2011 |
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"Well-balanced sound as well as detailed annotations add to the attractions of this worthwhile release."
Gramophone |
Christina Rossetti’s 19th Century poem Goblin Market has long divided and bemused readers as to its meaning and intent. The story of two sisters and their encounters with the sinister Goblin men and their ‘forbidden’ fruit, has been variously interpreted as an allegory of proto-feminism, a critique on the rise of advertising in pre-capitalist England, and an exploration of feminine sexuality in relation to the Victorian world. This multitude of interpretations only adds to the poems mystique and imagery, captured here by the Pulitzer Prize winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis.
Performed by London-based ensemble The New Professionals under Rebecca Miller, the work is a unique concoction of music, mime and masks that delves into the overripe and at times grotesque and shocking imagery of Christina Rossetti’s poem. Goblin Market explores both the Victorian repression coded into its text as well as its parallels with contemporary social issues.
Aaron Jay Kernis is a remarkable composer...in his Goblin Market...you hear an irresistible variety of invention from the 13-piece ensemble...The music seems perfect...its combination of original invention with a broadly earlier style similarly brings the ear back and forth across the generation...this is an inventive treatment of music theatre.
David Fallows, The Guardian
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