Craig Hella JOHNSON (b. 1962)
Considering Matthew Shepard
Conspirare/Craig Hella Johnson (piano)
rec. Sauder Concert Hall, Goshen College, Indiana, Feb & March 2016
HARMONIA MUNDI HMU807638.39 [56:22 + 49:04]
On October 7th 1998, a 21-year-old gay college student named
Matthew Shepard was kidnapped from a bar in Laramie, Wyoming, savagely beaten
and tied to a fence on the prairie, where he was left to die. It became
one of the most infamous homophobic attacks in recent American history, and
helped spawn a new generation of LGBT civil rights activists in the USA. Craig
Hella Johnson has worked with several writers to create this artistic response
to the tragedy, a “fusion oratorio” which hits on a huge range
of musical and literary influences to create something which I found really
rather moving.
Johnson writes helpfully in the notes about his musical inspirations. The
work is structured with a three-movement prelude and epilogue, and the main
central body is entitled Passion. The passions of Bach were
a direct inspiration, both in terms of structure and mood, and Johnson even
has the crowd of anti-gay protestors chant Kreuzige! repeatedly when
describing the scenes outside Mathew’s funeral.
There is a very wide range of musical influences on display, and Johnson tells
us that this was intentional. The opening section has the musical feel
about it of a Christmas Carol or a Broadway musical. Ordinary Boy,
for example, the second track, introduces Matthew with bright optimism and
a beautiful, slightly whimsical musical picture which some might find sickly
sweet but which I found rather winning. In fact, I could imagine a group
of twenty-something thespians acting it out as they danced around a stage
to a scenic backdrop! From time to time I was also reminded of several
film soundtracks (American Beauty’s spare piano accompaniment
or Brokeback Mountain’s country-inspired style, for example),
and Johnson even uses plainchant to depict the murder itself. Other
influences include jazz (a very effective number to evoke the pain of those
who grieved him), and there is a pointillist section that ask some searching
questions about just how different we are to the murderers.
Diverse as it is, it’s always tonal, and you’ll come away from
it with lots of tunes, which is refreshing for a high-profile contemporary
piece. Some might question whether the mood Johnson strikes is really
appropriate for such sombre subject matter, but its great strength is to capture
the sunny aspects of Matthew’s life as well as the darkness of the murder,
and to explore the wider moral and even metaphysical issues that arise from
the crime. Several details of the story are exploited for their poignancy
– such as Matthew’s father’s eulogy for him at the trial,
or the fact that a large deer appeared to have lain next to him on the night
of the attack – and if it comes close to blatant emotional manipulation
then at least it’s done beautifully and fairly openly.
I’ve long admired Johnson’s work with Conspirare, both in established
repertoire and relatively new work, and they give their all to this piece.
That’s surely because they are moved by the cause but also, I'm
certain, because they are responding to the creative impetus of their director,
and it helps that their diction is impeccable throughout. The notes
don't make it explicit, but I’m sure they must have given the
premiere, and Harmonia Mundi have also done themselves proud by deciding that
the work was worthy of a recording. I agree with them. Some will
find it too saccharine, but I found it musically, artistically and spiritually
very successful, and I recommend it. Explaining Johnson’s decision
to work in a wide range of styles, the notes say that he “works with
the fundamental connections (rather than differences) between diverse musical
traditions, reminding us of our essential connectedness.” In a
world like ours, we could all do with some more of that.
Simon Thompson
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