“excellent”
— BBC Music Magazine
“exquisite in every way”
— Gramophone
“Ordway shows no signs of slowing down…shimmering sonorities and mildly dissonant clashes, providing the illusion of suspended time. The Thirteen are impeccable in their rendering, as is the recorded sound (almost squeaky clean).”
Andrew Desiderio, Fanfare
“A moving and thoughtful meditation on the loss of childhood innocence…The vocalists and instrumentalists engage with the score deeply, the vocal soloists stunning and The Thirteen impressive too…[The] Philadelphia-based composer is gradually producing a distinguished body of work that holds up against that of any other contemporary composer.”
Textura.org, December 2022
“The performance here by The Thirteen is exquisite in every way, from the purity and blending of the choral singing to the passionate characterisations of the two soloists. Conductor Matthew Robertson’s pacing is faultless, and he shows how silences and breaths are as important in this music as the notes themselves. The recording, made in the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America (Washington DC) – aptly, given the story’s obvious Franciscan roots – bathes the proceedings in aural radiance.”
Andrew Farach-Colton, Gramophone, December 2022
“contemplating the metaphysics of love, nature, and compassion”
Philip Greenfield, American Record Guide
Streaming now
Scott Ordway: The Outer Edge of Youth
The Thirteen
Matthew Robertson, Artistic Director
Amy Broadbent, soprano—Sebastian
Emily Marvosh, contralto—Nicholas
Michael Unterman, cello
Gita Ladd, cello
Joshua Halpern, cello
Jessica Powell Eig, double bass
World premiere recording. Released September 27, 2022
1. PROLOGUE
ACT I: SCENE 1: Two boys enter the forest
2. 1a. Introduction
3. 1b. Chorale
4. 1c. Dialogue
SCENE 2: The foxes’ wedding
5. 2a. Introduction
6. 2b. Interlude (wedding march of the foxes)
7. 2c. Dialogue
8. 2d. Chorale: on the nature of love (the first argument)
9. 2e. Chorale: on the nature of love (the second argument)
SCENE 3. The orchard and the falling snow
10. 3a. Introduction
11. 3b. Monologue and response: Sebastian’s longing
12. 3c. Chorale: the litany of the birds
ACT II: SCENE 4: The bear in the trap
13. 4a. Introduction
14. 4b. Dialogue and response
15. 4c. Monologue
16. 4d. Chorale
17. 4e. Dialogue
18. 4f. Monologue (the first goodbye)
19. 4g. Chorale
SCENE 5: Awakening
20. 5a. Introduction
21. 5b. Monologue and chorale
Total time: 81:32
Scott Ordway | The Thirteen & Matthew Robertson | Amy Broadbent | Emily Marvosh | Cover Art | Press Release
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