Oracle Hysterical"Music often takes inspiration from classic literature, but the remarkable ensemble Oracle Hysterical makes it their raison d’etre." - Chicago Reader
In its first-ever appearance in the Bay Area, NYC-based Oracle Hysterical unfurls a trio of chamber pop works co-authored and -performed by the four musician-composers Elliot Cole, Majel Connery, Doug Balliett and Brad Balliett. The program showcases Oracle Hysterical's distinctive alchemy: literary classics paired with musical influences ranging from John Blow to the Beatles to My Brightest Diamond.
The concert presents Doug Balliett's deliciously sinister “Cleopatra” cantata (based on the writings of the ancient historian Suetonius); Elliot Cole's song cycle,"Babinigar" (on an ancient Afghani folktale about a snake king and his human bride); and Brad Balliett's concerto for solo bassoon, "In Triple Time," featuring the composer's own uncanny facility with multiphonics. Throughout, the "haunting, Bjork-like vocals" (SF Classical Voice) of Majel Connery, and Brooklyn-based guest tenor Owen McIntosh, take center stage. Led by conductor Stephen Prutsman, Oracle Hysterical is joined by a local ensemble of classical virtuosi including Jeff Anderle (clarinet),
Kyle Bruckmann (oboe), Jill Heinke (flute), Meena Bhasin (viola), Owen Dalby (violin), Robert Howard (cello), Nick Woodbury (percussion), Jennifer Ellis (harp) and Anne Rainwater (piano).
This performance lasts 1 hour and concludes with a 20-minute post-show discussion.
Videos featuring musicians playing at this event
The premiere, at the 2013 Outsound New Music Summit, of Wrack ...Awaits Silent Tristero's Empire (made possible by the Chamber Music America New Jazz Works commissioning program).