Mixed Media

CD of the Month

Mere Mortals

Today, one tends to think that it’s men who bring suffering upon humanity. The ancient Greeks saw it differently: according to ancient lore, it was Pandora who could not curb her curiosity; defying all warnings, she opened the gods’ box and unleashed all manner of calamity. It is a myth not exactly friendly to women—yet women themselves have rediscovered its symbolic power. Tamara Rojo commissioned the full-length ballet Mere Mortals, choreographed by Aszure Barton: "A hit," as the New York Times declared two years ago regarding the premiere in San Francisco.

The accompanying music is by Sam Shepherd, better known as Floating Points—an electronic music pioneer who draws inspiration from avant-garde figures like Karlheinz Stockhausen rather than Giorgio Moroder, yet without alienating his audience. Consequently, the 14 movements of Mere Mortals possess a sound capable of captivating even ordinary mortals: powerful and seething with an undercurrent of energy, as if a sonic volcano were about to erupt and burst the confines of the venue. At times, the synthesizer sound is barely distinguishable from the tones of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. This, above all, makes the performance a truly memorable auditory event—one that audiences here would surely love to see repeated on stage.

Hartmut Regitz

Floating Points: Mere Mortals, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, Conductor: Martin West;
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