Under the direction of founder Andrew Ousley, Death of Classical has enjoyed a fruitful partnership with the Green-Wood Cemetery, presenting performances in the crypt. These are intimate shows, preceded by light snacks, thimblefuls of spirits and a ramble through the cemetery’s grounds. Over two subsequent weekends, Death of Classical programmed two works that are both contemporary and crowd-pleasing: Caroline Shaw’s Pulitzer-winning Partita for 8 Voices and Gelsey Bell’s mɔɹnɪŋ [morning//mourning].

Thank you for signing up!

By clicking submit, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime.

In the decade since Partita for 8 Voices won her the Pulitzer, Shaw has covered herself in glory, collaborating with musicians from Kanye West to Yo-Yo Ma and writing music for film and television. She also found herself at the center of a brief controversy with prominent Inuit singers who accused the composer of appropriation. That is to say, she’s fully made it, in every imaginable way, and Partita marks a turning point not just for her career but for how contemporary composers treat the voice. Shaw’s piece has singers hum, mumble, speak, yodel, sing, buzz and breathe in a raucous celebration of the first and most human of instruments.

Partita was a solid bet for Death of Classical and Fourth Wall Ensemble, and while the performance was highly competent, some of the luster that attended the piece a decade ago has dulled simply because we’ve been living in a post-Partita world. Fourth Wall, under the direction of Christopher Allen, placed Shaw in conversation with........

© Observer