The Glass Hammer: Scenes from Childhood Kept against Forgetting (Poetry by Andrew Hudgins)

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The Glass Hammer is an hourlong cycle of 15 songs by Jorge Martin, a Cuban-American composer. Andrew Hudgins's poems often occupy the twilight zone between heightened prose and poetry. They're about growing up in a hardscrabble rural Southern setting replete with dysfunctional, often violent family confrontations, the resultant feelings of anger, a child's groping for meaning in an arbitrary world, the awakenings of sexual feelings, and ultimately, the compassion and forgiveness that mark the passage to maturity. The glass hammer of the title is a knickknack crystal hammer the child breaks, a symbol of fragile innocence. Martin's music, like the texts, encompasses both the declamatory aspects of vocal writing and the lyric expressiveness of the poetry. Drama is the governing force, so while we don't get the flowing melodies in each song we might expect from traditional Romantic song cycles, we do get powerful drama and many rewarding lyrical passages.

It's odd that coming-of-age themes, common in literature, are relatively rare in music, so this moving cycle is doubly welcome. Much credit goes to the performers. Sanford Sylvan captures the work's emotional strength; he's as good in the lyrical moments as in the declamatory ones. His fine-grained baritone ranges from the chantlike opening of "The Rapture" to fragments of gospel to the energetic, even frantic scenes of domestic violence. David Breitman is as impressive in the active piano part, which carries much of the emotional burden of the work. --Dan Davis

The Glass Hammer: Scenes from Childhood Kept against Forgetting (Poetry by Andrew Hudgins), Music, Sanford Sylvan, Jorge Martin, David Breitman, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Classical Vocals, Vocal, Vocal Music
The Glass Hammer: Scenes from Childhood Kept against Forgetting (Poetry by Andrew Hudgins)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Should be better known
  • Sanford Sylvan's Great New CD
 The Glass Hammer: Scenes from Childhood Kept against Forgetting (Poetry by Andrew Hudgins)

Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00005J6ZR
Release Date: 2001-06-26

Tracks:

  1. The Glass Hammer
  2. Granny Raines
  3. My Father's Corpse
  4. Childhood of the Ancients
  5. Threats and Lamentations
  6. Fireflies after Twilight
  7. Begotten
  8. Gospel
  9. Sit Still
  10. Slap
  11. My Father's Rage
  12. Jack
  13. The Rapture
  14. Huge
  15. Afterword

Amazon.com

The Glass Hammer is an hourlong cycle of 15 songs by Jorge Martin, a Cuban-American composer. Andrew Hudgins's poems often occupy the twilight zone between heightened prose and poetry. They're about growing up in a hardscrabble rural Southern setting replete with dysfunctional, often violent family confrontations, the resultant feelings of anger, a child's groping for meaning in an arbitrary world, the awakenings of sexual feelings, and ultimately, the compassion and forgiveness that mark the passage to maturity. The glass hammer of the title is a knickknack crystal hammer the child breaks, a symbol of fragile innocence. Martin's music, like the texts, encompasses both the declamatory aspects of vocal writing and the lyric expressiveness of the poetry. Drama is the governing force, so while we don't get the flowing melodies in each song we might expect from traditional Romantic song cycles, we do get powerful drama and many rewarding lyrical passages.

It's odd that coming-of-age themes, common in literature, are relatively rare in music, so this moving cycle is doubly welcome. Much credit goes to the performers. Sanford Sylvan captures the work's emotional strength; he's as good in the lyrical moments as in the declamatory ones. His fine-grained baritone ranges from the chantlike opening of "The Rapture" to fragments of gospel to the energetic, even frantic scenes of domestic violence. David Breitman is as impressive in the active piano part, which carries much of the emotional burden of the work. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Should be better known.......2006-08-26

This recording is no longer "new," but it is new to me and I hope to make it familiar to many more. I had never heard of Jorge Martin before encountering this song cycle, though I have been familiar with Andrew Hudgin's poetry for some time, and have been an admirer of Sanford Sylvan for many years. Now I am eager to become more familiar with the music of Jorge Martin.

Martin's settings of these poems perfectly embody the emotions and experiences of the boy growing into a young man as Hudgins portrays him. The music is recognizably modern, yet lyrical and probably accessible to any listener attracted to the serious song and willing to experience a contemporary sound world. David Breitman's piano accompaniment is sensitive and clear and certainly contributes to the musical effect. Sanford Sylvan, as always, sings with dramatic power and beauty. This is surely one of the finest song cycles of recent times, standing honorably in the company of works by Barber, Shostakovich, Vaughan Williams, Rorem. I recommend it with true enthusism.

5 out of 5 stars Sanford Sylvan's Great New CD.......2001-08-02

It is always a pleasure to listen to Sanford Sylvan's beautiful voice and masterful singing. It is also a pleasure to find a contemporary classical composer who can write lyrical melody. Martin displays a unique talent at translating the writer's work into music. This album is based on some autobiographical poems by Andrew Hudgins, and by listening to his story put to music by the composer one gets the feeling of actually looking at the events as these unfold. There is a whole gamut of feelings unfolding as the boy is growing up, and at times one cannot avoid a laugh. Thumbs up for all four: writer, composer, singer and pianist!

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