Kareem Roustom: Hurry to the Light (West Coast Premiere)

05.13.2023 - In Mulieribus, led by Anna Song, and Camerata PYP, conducted by David Hattner, perform the West Coast Premiere of Kareem Roustom's "Hurry to the Light," a musical setting of text from Homer’s “The Odyssey”, newly translated by MacArthur Genius Grant Recipient Emily Wilson.
Inspired by Wilson’s subtleties in language to “clear the misogynistic dust left by previous English translations,” Roustom only gives voice to the women of the story in his musical work, rather than our hero, Odysseus.
PROGRAM NOTE:
Homer’s The Odyssey is a tale that I’ve read some half a dozen times over the years. Recently it provided half the inspiration to my Clarinet Concerto: Adrift on the Wine-dark Sea (the other half was from Melissa Fleming’s book A Hope More Powerful Than The Sea which tells the harrowing true story of another Mediterranean odyssey made by Syrian refugee Doaa al-Zamel). So when A Far Cry’s Sara Darling suggested Emily Wilson’s new translation of The Odyssey as a text source for our collaboration with the Lorelei Ensemble I felt both the comfort of familiarity but also some anxiety. The latter was caused by the daunting question of which of the twelve thousand lines of The Odyssey to set to music? Of the many characters who appear in The Odyssey, whose story should I tell? After much discussion between Sara, Lorelei’s artistic director Beth Willer, and myself it was settled that we would tell the story of the women in The Odyssey. I am very grateful to my friend and fellow composer, Thomas Stumpf, for his invaluable aid and advice in selecting the right text for this project...
Kareem Roustom
© Layali Music Publishing, BMI
Read the full program note: portlandyouthp...
Executive Producer: Robert Langslet
Filming/Videography: The Hallowed Halls Presents; Fred Johnson, Montetre, Robert Langslet, and David Susmilch
Audio: Rod Evenson

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