“Go to heaven for the climate, hell for the company.” – Mark Twain

If you need proof that the second half of this statement is true, look no further! The overture to Jacques Offenbach‘s first opera, Orpheus in the Underworld, is all the proof you’ll need.

The opera is based on the Greek myth where Orpheus travels to hades to bring back his dead wife (spoiler alert: Orpheus is a dolt and screws the whole thing up). Now, when Mozart drags us to hell, it’s genuinely frightening. When Wagner descends to the underworld, the music is sinister and fiery. But ignore those examples. Take the big journey down with Offenbach, and you get … the CAN CAN!

I remember seeing an Onion article titled “Finest Opera Singer Of Her Generation Unknown By Her Generation.” It’s both funny and sad because, like much of the Onion’s content, it’s fake but completely true.

There’s an up-and-coming opera composer named Missy Mazzoli, whose newest work, Breaking the Waves, will be premiered by the Opera Company of Philadelphia. It has my attention because I like her music and because Mazzoli is the same age as I am; it’s exciting to see works from my generation being performed by major companies. After two generations of a slowly widening divide between Art Music and its audiences, I am confident that things are starting to improve. Maybe the tables will turn and Mazzoli will be known by her (my) generation.

This chamber piece by Mazzoli, titled “Still Life with Avalanche” tells a touching story about the shock of losing someone unexpectedly:

“There’s a moment in this piece when you can hear that phone call, when the piece changes direction, when the shock of real life works its way into the music’s joyful and exuberant exterior. This is a piece about finding beauty in chaos, and vice versa. It is dedicated to the memory (the joyful, the exuberant and the shocking) of Andrew Rose.” – Missy Mazzoli

A while ago I wrote a post praising the music of Daniel Dorff – Dorff has composed music for a number of children’s tales for narrator and chamber orchestra. My kids simply adore the pieces, and love to listen to them in the car. More importantly, I adore the pieces because they are fun to hear and aren’t the typical “check your brain at the door” children’s music which quite frankly is the bane of my existence.

After spending many hours in the car with my two kids this summer, I want to take a few posts to highlight some of the music which has made those journeys a bit more enjoyable. Along with the Dorff CD, Bridge Records also has released a CD of the music of Stefan Wolpe which has another of our favorite musical tales. The story is similar to Pete Seeger‘s “Abiyoyo”, but the music is infinitely more interesting. Seeger’s tale is essentially two phrases of music that repeat ad nauseam. Wolpe, on the other hand, has written a 20-minute tone poem / opera. The narrator speaks the story while the piano paints the pictures; the characters have their own short arias; there are musical leitmotifs; the piano score is not simple – modern, but playful.

I think we adults are often foolish in believing that children are incapable of understanding or enjoying complex things. It’s a disservice to them to expose them only to Barney songs, rather than music that they can continue to enjoy now as well as when they are old and gray. So when the kids are whiny, put this on and everyone will be a little bit happier.