
This chapter looks at American composer Daniel Felsenfeld’s Annus Mirabilis (2007). From a wide choice of Felsenfeld’s varied works, this short, witty, and oddly poignant setting of the well-known Philip Larkin poem is a real find and an especially welcome addition to the limited repertoire for bass voice. It is ideal for histrionically gifted performers wishing to enliven a recital programme of more serious fare. Felsenfeld neatly captures the painfully ironic, rueful essence of the text, and, in incongruous parody, draws on quotations from Purcell as well as two of the Beatles’ hits. Also an experienced writer, he obviously relishes supplying pithy notes for the performers, such as ‘with overdone pathos’, ‘melodramatically grand’, and ‘eerily strict’. The piano takes a major role, veering from baroque gestures and direct quotes to bravura gestures, amid constantly changing tempos and frequent rubato.
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