Evan Chambers’ The Old Burying Ground is a new orchestral song cycle inspired by epitaphs from an 18th century graveyard in New Hampshire. Scored for soloists and orchestra, The Old Burying Ground creates the spirit of each song through astute instrumentation and selective use of soprano (Anne-Carolyn Bird), tenor (Nicholas Phan), and folk singer (Tim Eriksen). The premier recording, made by The University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Kenneth Kiesler, provides an arresting first look at this neo-traditional American work.
The cycle consists of 14 songs and poems split into two “Books.” Each song takes its text from a headstone’s inscription, and three original poems complement each book. For example, Chambers’ third song in Book I, “O Say Grim Death,” takes its text from the grave of an eight year old boy:
Here is entered the last remains
of Issac A. Spofford
son of Deacon Eleazar & Mrs. Mary Spofford,
a brand plucked from the ashes
of Rev. Laban Ainsworth’s house.
[…]
The music resonates with the mournful texts, acting as a gateway to another time and plane. But beyond setting colonial lamentations to music, The Old Burying Ground uses spoken poetry to create a programmatic exploration of graveyard verses’ underlying sentiments. The work begins with a poem accompanied by orchestra. It describes the The Old Burying Ground’s atmosphere and invites listeners to “take the chain from the gate” and “walk in.” Read by their authors, the poems reflect on the nature of life and death specific to the messages on old headstones. The poetry’s elaboration on these inscriptions creates cohesion within the cycle and allows the listener a wider window through which to peer at lives gone by. On “O Say Grim Death,” Poet Thomas Lynch writes:
No doubt the Reverend Ainsworth read from Job
Over the charred corpse of the deacon’s boy
To wit: “Blessed be the name of the Lord”
Or some such comfortless dose of holy writ
[…]
The soloists express The Old Burying Ground’s somber character with the same care and insight the orchestra maintains throughout the work. Folk singer Tim Eriksen brings a rustic sensitivity to his performance, and tenor Nicholas Phan demonstrates a keen responsiveness to both text and ensemble. Likewise, soprano Anne-Carolyn Bird brings depth to the text through masterful richness and control. Soloists and ensemble alike embrace the tranquil, mournful
context in a performance which details
this macabre exploration with poignant clarity.
On his encounters with gravestones, Chambers writes that they “are an opportunity to […] grow in understanding of one of the central truths of our lives: we die.” Likely founded in graveside contemplation, this perspective permeates the texts taken from the headstones of an Old Country cemetery, and it details not only the inherent brevity of the human condition but also the tragedy of short lives cut shorter.
The Old Burying Ground aspires to bring life to the dead and give a voice to words not uttered for centuries. The University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra and Kenneth Kiesler embrace this opportunity and create a recording rich with history and color through its mournful sentiments.
Find the record on Amazon here
