STRIKING GOLD IN HEGGIE’S NEW VOCAL WORK
“The Work at Hand,” an unusual song cycle by San Francisco composer Jake Heggie, shows him to be among the most sensitive and romantic creative artists of our time. The 20-minute work is unorthodox, sung by a mezzo with accompaniment on cello and piano. Extended passages for the instrumentalists separate the three poems dealing with end of life, but with consummate restraint and introspection. There is something hauntingly beautiful about the intermezzi, vacillating between minor and major modes, tender and…