Jeremy Beck: Song of the Sky
Neuma Records

American composer Jeremy Beck is a true multi-hyphenate. Not only has he created an extensive catalogue of vocal and instrumental music, he's also the published author of the third-person memoir Memory Embraced and a practicing attorney specializing in copyright and trademark law. In no way have those other activities gotten in the way of his accomplishments as a composer, however, which, as this latest hour-long collection proves, are impressive indeed. And lest anyone think he regards composing as a hobby-like respite from his other endeavours, this graduate of the Mannes College of Music, Duke University, and the Yale School of Music has served as associate professor of composition and music theory at both the University of Northern Iowa and California State University-Fullerton. Institutions as renowned as the New York City Opera, American Composers Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, and others have recognized the value of Beck's music by including it in their programmes.

Its quality is well-accounted for in this latest eclectic collection, which couples vocal theatre-styled material with recent instrumental pieces perhaps more representative of Beck's style. To that end, a four-part cello concerto and single-movement settings for violin and orchestra and harp and orchestra appear next to excerpts from his 1992 “opera noir,” The Highway. The strong impression the works make derives in part from stellar performances by soloists Atanas Krastev (cello), Dora Dimitrova (violin), and Denitza Dimitrova (harp) and the singers featured in the excerpts, soprano Emily Albrink, tenor Robert Frankenberry, and baritone Chad Sloan. Appearing on all four pieces, the Sofia Session Orchestra distinguishes itself too, with conducting duties split between Lyubomir Denev, Jr. and Grigor Palikarov.

Exemplifying the finesse of Beck's writing, the Cello Concerto (2020) is a superbly realized vehicle for both soloist and orchestra. The cellist is showcased, but the orchestra is also vital to the work's character. The work is the very embodiment of clarity in its harmonious design and methodically developed structure, and the contrasts from one movement to the next lend it a genuine concerto-like identity. While Beck wrote it during the nerves-frazzling period of the pandemic, the material exudes composure. At the same time, it unfolds with a natural fluidity that suggests musical intuition was as much a factor in the writing process as rationality. Krastev drives the vigorous opening movement with muscularity and conviction, the Palikarov-led orchestra his empathetic partner. As animated—agitated, even—is the second movement, while the comparatively peaceful third exudes a probing, contemplative quality. The closing part, marked “Deliberate; With longing” reinstates the energized attack of the opening to impart a cohesive quality to the concerto. Sporting descriptive movement titles and covering broad stylistic ground, the work would be a fine addition to any cello soloist's repertoire.

Like so many before him, Beck drew for inspiration for 2016's Rhapsody from Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending. After being premiered in Ukraine in 2016 and in the United States two years later, this iteration finds Dora Dimitrova in the soloist's role, with a small orchestra of strings, harp, winds, and percussion her accompaniment. Opening in a manner that recalls John Adams, the seven-minute piece is elevated by Dimitrova's soaring violin and the painterly backdrop she emotes against. Once again, this compact standalone would fit seamlessly into any symphony orchestra's concert set-list.

First performed in a concert version at Yale University and included in New York City Opera's VOX series, The Highway (1992) presents, in Beck's words, “a contemporary story of a young musician's attempt to forge an artistic life in the face of an indifferent world.” There's murder, suicide, sex trafficking, and parallel time structures, and the relationships between the three characters are complicated, interwoven, and turbulent, with emotions at a high pitch throughout. First up is James, an out-of-work mechanic who aspires to an artistic life, then Mike, the bartender, with whom he confers, and Nikki, the girlfriend who's less supportive of his dreams. In an interesting narrative ploy, each scene revisits the same moment by offering James a different direction his future might take and recasts the characters introduced in the first scene, Melody and Dave, in different guises. In the opening scene, he chooses the highway on the left, a choice that culminates in death for Dave and James; in the second, he chooses the one on the right and is drawn by Melody into Dave's plan to assassinate the Mayor of the city, a plan that again results in death for Dave and James; in the final scene, James, about to choose the highway in the middle, decides to turn around and go home, but then, finding his dreams of an artistic life collapsing, takes his own life. Following a dramatic scene-setting “Prelude,” the intense opening scene plunges us into a world of turmoil and conflict, with Albrink, Frankenberry, and Sloan investing their parts with passion. The work's theatrical dimension is heightened in the expressive vocal duet that dominates the first part of the second scene; whereas the brooding tone of its second part oozes foreboding, the buoyant third scene features a talent agent sharing tips like “You gotta have a hook” and “A little hype never hurt, James.”

While the album's 2022 titular work was inspired by the artistry of harpist Denitza Dimitrova, Beck wrote it with a series of evocative images by the American photographer Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) in mind. Scored for single winds, percussion, harp solo, and strings, Song of the Sky eschews the theatricality of The Highway for a harmonious, open-hearted travelogue that suggests the expansive beauty of Stieglitz's photography. Speaking of which, that “opera noir” might seem like something of a curio when heard in the company of the later works, but the dramatic contrast between it and the other three enhance the value of the recording. Rather than showing Beck's command of one idiom, the release shows his versatility and ability to operate within markedly different contexts.

April 2025