MUSIC-USA: Nobel Laureate Turns to Song

By Farhan Haq Reprint | | Print |

NEW YORK, Feb 6 1996 (IPS) - Would you believe the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature could write lyrics for a leading opera diva? You better, because Nobel laureate Toni Morrison and soprano Kathleen Battle have teamed up to produce just such an album with ‘Honey and Rue’.

Few opera buffs would expect to listen to lyrics written by Morrison, the African-American author of ‘Beloved’, who won the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature. Nor would they expect the voice of Battle – who was released last year from the Metropolitan Opera over reported ego problems – to successfuly feature Morrison’s moody, poetic prose.

‘Honey and Rue’ (on the Deutsche Grammaphon label) proves them wrong. Battle and Morrison, backed by conductor Andre Previn and the Orchestra of St Luke’s, combine on a suite of new songs that depict the tangled lives of black women in the United States.

It is a work for which Battle and Morrison are well-matched. Battle says that she was first inspired by Morrison when she read the author’s first novel, ‘The Bluest Eye’, 15 years ago, and always looked forward to singing her poetry.

Morrison was no less eager. In an interview with writer Matthew Gurewitsch, she noted that, until Battle approached her, she had never written lyrics for original music.

Morrison then turned to Previn on the music, suggesting moods which the conductor would flesh out. By 1992, the trio had premiered the suite at Carnegie Hall, which had commissioned the work; but only now has the final product been recorded.

“The best of all possible things was to hear Kathleen sing the songs,” Morrison said. “There’s nothing like hearing someone like Kathleen translate that, and you hear what has been done.”

The suite combines Battle’s rich soprano, Morrison’s enigmatic and sentimental verses and Previn’s lush styling into a stirring depiction of dignity, suffering, love and loneliness.

In the record’s opening number, Battle croons through Morrison’s typically tangled emotions: “First/ I’ll try love./ Although I’ve never heard the word/ Referred to even whispered to…”

Battle also captures the mystery of songs that touch on the alienation of living in a world different from one’s imagination. Her haunting tone is particularly gripping when it takes on the angst of Morrison’s evocations of loneliness and loss: “Whose house is this?/ …This house is strange./ Its shadows lie./ Say, tell me, why does its lock fit my key?”

Previn’s music combines a variety of styles, from modern classical music to spirituals mised with jazz, blues, lullabies and show tunes. (MORE)

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