THE GREAT GOD PAN
an opera in two acts
Ross Crean
OVERVIEW
Chicago-based composer Ross Crean’s opera The Great God Pan soars in this new release, the first collaboration between the composer and PARMA recordings. The Great God Pan takes its story from an eponymous 1890 novella by Welsh author Arthur Machen, which explores themes of scientific hubris, transcendental medicine, and unexplainable supernatural behavior. Impressively, Crean adapted Machen’s narrative into the work’s libretto himself, an ambitious and rare undertaking for a composer. Crean’s familiarity with the story shows through in the emotional resonance of his music, which matches and communicates the character’s concerns and feelings with unflinching precision.
The key to Crean’s musical portrayal of the story is twofold. First, beginning with the overture, much of the opera’s accompanimental music is defined by pulsing ostinato ideas. This characteristic is inviting to the listener and draws us into the musical world of Crean’s opera. More importantly, the relentless quality of these rhythms wordlessly establishes the ominous mixture of tension and mystery at the heart of The Great God Pan’s narrative. Second, Crean’s text setting is extremely clear, so the story is conveyed with crystal clarity in this recording.
Without giving too much away, the tale at the heart of The Great God Pan begins with a surgery gone wrong. The first character we meet, Dr. Raymond, has invited the opera’s protagonist, Clarke, to witness an important experiment based in elements of non-traditional, ancient rituals. Dr. Raymond sacrifices his wife Mary as the subject of his attempt to access a higher spiritual plane – referred to as, “seeing the Great God Pan” – and unwittingly initiates a serious of mysterious supernatural occurrences that Clarke encounters over the next few decades.
This recording represents a chamber version of Crean’s opera that includes a full cast of ten superb vocalists and a pair accompanying pianos. The piano parts yearn to be orchestrated, and, in many moments, the listener can easily imagine the lush mixture of brass, strings, woodwinds, and percussion Crean will employ once he has the opportunity to fully orchestrate the piece. With this said, the performance on this album never neither feels incomplete, nor does it ever lack any intensity it might enjoy in a full production. This owes to the excellent quality of the album’s vocal performances, and to Crean’s ingenuity in composing the accompanying piano parts with the sounds of strumming and plucking, which combine to make the music that much more vibrant.
HIGHLIGHTS
Ross Crean is a multifaceted artist, composing and active in many genres of music. As a vocalist, he has studied rock, opera, and many disparate vocal styles.
He received his degree from Illinois State University in Music Theory/Composition and has worked with or received commissions from Oberlin College, Opera on Tap Chicago, and Loyola University Museum of Art.
Crean’s song cycle, A Passive-Aggressive’s Guide to Mother Goose, was a 2016 winner of One Ounce Opera’s inaugural Fresh Squeezed Ounce of Art Song competition.
CREDITS
Profound gratitude to all involved and for your contributions:
William Campbell, Andy Happel, Bob Lord, Chris Robinson, Levi Brown, Ronald Crean, Mallory Harding, Catherine O’Shaughnessy, Victor LeJeune, Giovanna Jacques, Thomas Zoells, Matthan Ring Black, Sarah Thompson Johansen, Erin Moll, Marysa Abbas, Aaron Gottl, Community Church of Wilmette, PianoForte Chicago, Inc.
To my amazing cast: The gratitude I have for your hard work is overwhelming. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking this journey with me.
Dedicated to my Mum, Charleen. Heaven has received an upgrade.
Recorded December 6-8, 2016 at PianoForte Chicago, Inc., Chicago, IL
Session Engineer Aaron Gottl
Session Producer Andy Happel
Executive Producer Ross Crean
Music Directors Ross Crean and Catherine O’Shaughnessy
Recording Engineer & Associate Producer Aaron Gottl
Published by Knight & Thorne Music (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
Artwork Sir Joseph Noel Paton (1849) The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania
Executive Producer Bob Lord
Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Chris Robinson
Audio Director Jeff LeRoy
Engineering Manager Lucas Paquette
Design & Marketing Manager Brett Picknell
Design Emily Roulo
ALSO ON NAVONA
Release Date: August 11, 2017
Catalog #: NV6115
TRACK LISTING
DISC ONE
01 Intro
John Cockerill piano Stephen Uhl piano
Act I, Scene 1
02 The Discovery
Matthan Ring Black baritone Tobias Wright tenor
03 The Reveal
Matthan Ring Black, Tobias Wright
04 The Dream, the Call, and the Lullaby
Maureen Smith soprano Sarah Thompson Johansen soprano
Matthan Ring Black, Tobias Wright
Act I, Scene 2
05 Interlude
John Cockerill piano Stephen Uhl piano
06 Twenty Years
Tobias Wright
07 A Story to Add to the Memoir
Matthan Ring Black, Tobias Wright Marysa Abbas mezzo soprano
08 In the Garden
Jessica Hiltabidle contralto, Stephen Uhl
09 The Story Continues
Tobias Wright, Jessica Hiltabidle
Act I, Scene 3
10 Villiers’ Parlor
John Cockerill, Stephen Uhl
11 Advice in Investments?
Erin Moll mezzo soprano Vince Wallace bass baritone Tobias Wright
12 An Old Friend in Shambles
Vince Wallace, Mark Haddad bass
13 The Plot Thickens
Tobias Wright, Erin Moll, Vince Wallace, Matthan Ring Black
DISC TWO
Act II, Scene 1
01 A Stroll in London Fog
John Cockerill, Stephen Uhl, Erin Moll, Vince Wallace
02 An Artist Meets His Maker
Andrew Fisher tenor Sarah Thompson Johansen
03 City of Nightmares
Erin Moll, Vince Wallace
04 It is Helen Vaughan!
Erin Moll, Vince Wallace
Act II, Scene 2
05 Gethsemane
Sarah Thompson Johansen, John Cockerill
06 Silent Too Long
Tobias Wright, Vince Wallace, Erin Moll
07 The Confrontation and Ultimatum
Sarah Thompson Johansen, Vince Wallace, Tobias Wright, Erin Moll
08 Helen’s Prophecy Before the Fall
Sarah Thompson Johansen, Erin Moll, Tobias Wright, Vince Wallace
Act II, Scene 3 (The Fragments)
09 The First Fragment
Tobias Wright, John Cockerill
10 The Second Fragment
Erin Moll, Vince Wallace
11 The Third Fragment
Matthan Ring Black, Sarah Thompson Johansen
© NAVONA RECORDS LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Navona Records offers listeners a fresh taste of today's leading innovators in orchestral, chamber, instrumental, and experimental music as well as prime pieces of classic repertoire. Our music is meticulously performed by the finest musicians and handpicked to ensure the most rewarding listening experience.
223 Lafayette Road
North Hampton NH 03862
PRESS INQUIRIES
press (at) parmarecordings.com
603.758.1718 x 151
