CORIGLIANO: Conjurer; Vocalise
Plitmann; Glennie, percussion; Albany Symphony, Miller. Naxos 8.559757
John Corigliano’s Vocalise for soprano and orchestra was a commission from the New York Philharmonic as part of a concert event called “Messages for the Millennium.”
Soprano Hila Plitmann is quite eloquent, even in her wordlessness… The vocal part is lyrically soothing yet vocally acrobatic, and terrifyingly exposed for the nearly a cappella opening three minutes. Plittman, unfazed, is hypnotic in her crystalline, sorceress-like declamation. The digital effects don’t kick in until about twelve minutes into the twenty-one minute piece; at that moment, it’s as if Plitmann is shouting on pitch into a virtual Grand Canyon.