Based on a one-page story by Ambrose Bierce, "the difficulty of crossing a field" is a joint collaboration in musical theater between composer David Lang and playwright Mac Wellman that recounts, in the words of a recent New York Times performance review, "a strange disappearance and what the neighbors have to say about it." Mixing arias with spoken text and emotional melodies with tense drama, the story takes place in 1854 near Selma, Alabama, where a planter named Williamson has vanished without a trace while crossing a field. The original production was staged in March 2002 at the Theater Artaud in San Francisco; this recording of "the difficulty of crossing a field" was tracked and produced by Lawson White, in partnership with Beth Morrison Projects, and features the Harlem String Quartet and an A-list of New York City's established and emerging talent in opera and theater, including Beverly O'Regan Thiele, Laquita Mitchell and Jay O. Sanders.

Tracklist:

The Difficulty Of Crossing A Field: Opening
The Difficulty Of Crossing A Field: Belladonna. The First Telling
The Difficulty Of Crossing A Field: Interlude 1, Today Is The Day
The Difficulty Of Crossing A Field: Monkshood. The Second Telling
The Difficulty Of Crossing A Field: Interlude 2
The Difficulty Of Crossing A Field: Poison Hemlock. The Third Telling
The Difficulty Of Crossing A Field: Poison Ivy. The Fourth Telling
The Difficulty Of Crossing A Field: Loco Weed. The Fifth Telling
The Difficulty Of Crossing A Field: Interlude 3, The Disappearence
The Difficulty Of Crossing A Field: Black Nightshade. The Sixth Telling
The Difficulty Of Crossing A Field: Wordless Prayer Of Thanks
The Difficulty Of Crossing A Field: Foxglove. The Seventh Telling

UPC: 713746310721
Label: Cantaloupe
Release Date: 6.9.15
Format: CD

Lang / Lang / Wellman - Difficulty of Crossing a Field (CD)