The Weary Blues is an exciting new recording of songs, resulting from a long and wonderful collaboration between American composer Drew Hemenger and African-American operatic soprano Adrienne Danrich. The two have been collaborating as artists and friends for more than a decade, and the artistic synergy between them shines through in Adrienne’s shimmering and empathic performances of Drew’s eclectic and melodic compositions. Their collaboration started with a set of songs on Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes, all of which are included here, along with a gripping and sometimes harrowing song cycle, “Which Way Home?” based on the poems of Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet, Anne Sexton.
Adrienne is joined in the recording by Mila Henry, an award-winning pianist, conductor and music director, as well as Grammy Award-winning violinist Charles Yang and operatic baritone Eric McKeever.
In addition to Hughes and Sexton, a few other gems appear, such as “Her Final Show” on doctor/poet Rafael Campo’s poem, written for the AIDS Quilt Songbook at 20, and “Breaking Bread,” Hemenger’s jazzy arrangement of the traditional Negro spiritual, “Let Us Break Bread Together.”
Adrienne Danrich – Soprano
Eric McKeever – Baritone
Mila Henry – Piano
Charles Yang – Violin
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 00:51:53
Additional information
| Label | |
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| SKU | E186HR |
| Qualities | DSD 512 fs, DSD 256 fs, DSD 128 fs, DSD 64 fs, DXD 24 Bit, WAV 192 kHz, WAV 96 kHz |
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| Release Date | July 14, 2023 |
1 review for The Weary Blues
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Langston Hughes has always been a favorite poet of mine, and I admit I didn’t know much, if anything, about Anne Sexton before hearing this music. However, I’m very glad I did!
The Langston songs are melodic and beautiful, using the Jazz idiom here and there, to great effect. The Soprano, who seems to be growing in her career, has a rich, operatic voice, with a wide range.
The Sexton songs are totally different, but the music really captures the insanity, and sometimes peacefulness, of these wild poems. Hemenger’s music is indeed a discovery and I’ll be interested to hear more.
Adri Fernan (verified owner) –