Moderns Take a Raft of Cellos
With little more than an array of cellos, composer Clarice Assad portrayed the rise and fall of an entire fictional civilization in a fascinating world premiere having, alas, one major defect, emanating from one seat, back around the eighth row. In the space of 22 minutes, her “Lemuria” followed the Lemurians from crude beginnings through cultural evolution, developing humble instruments like ocarinas, chanting in rituals, gorgeous sonorities and even dances, then falling victim to thunderstorms and upheaval. Despite the bizarre…