Adams, J: I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky

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John Adams's stylistic range is vast, yet even in such a diverse output, I Was Looking at the Ceilingand Then I Saw the Sky (1995) stands apart. Conceived, in the composer's words, as 'a Broadwaystyle... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 More…

Release Date: 3rd Oct 2005
Catalogue No: 8669003-04
Label: Naxos
Series: American Classics, Opera Classics
Length: 1 hour 55 minutes

Penguin Guide

Rosette

Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days

Adams, J: I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky

Work length1:55:43

$27.00

$35.05

Martina Muhlpointner (soprano), Kimako Xavier Trotman (baritone), Markus Alexander Neisser (tenor), Jeannette Friedrich (vocals), Darius de Haas (vocals), Lilith Gardell (vocals), Jonas Holst (vocals)
Holst Sinfonietta
Klaus Simon

Act I: I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky (Tutti)

Track length8:20

$2.00

$2.60

Act I: A Sermon on Romance (David, Leila)

Track length3:10

$1.00

$1.30

Act I: Leila's Song of the Wise Young Women (Leila, Consuelo)

Track length4:54

$1.00

$1.30

Act I: Solo in Sunlight (Dewain)

Track length3:50

$1.00

$1.30

Act I: Donde estas? (Consuelo)

Track length4:19

$1.00

$1.30

Act I: Mike's Song about Arresting a Particular Individual (Mike)

Track length3:27

$1.00

$1.30

Act I: Tiffany's Solo (Tiffany)

Track length4:46

$1.00

$1.30

Act I: Song about the On Site Altercation (Dewain, Tiffany, Mike, Leila)

Track length2:52

$1.00

$1.30

Act I: Song about the Bad Boys and the News (Consuelo, Tiffany, Leila)

Track length6:37

$1.00

$1.30

Act I: Your Honor My Client, He's a Young Black Man (Rick, Tiffany, Leila)

Track length5:42

$1.00

$1.30

Act I: Consuelo's Dream (Consuelo)

Track length6:08

$1.00

$1.30

Act I: Rick's Cross-Examination of Tiffany and Mike (Rick, Mike, Tiffany)

Track length4:14

$1.00

$1.30

Act I: Song about Law School as the Natural Follow-up to Jail (Dewain, David)

Track length4:49

$1.00

$1.30

Act I: Leila's Solo: Alone (Again or at last) (Lelila)

Track length4:40

$1.00

$1.30

Act I: Song about the Sweet Majority Population of the World (David, Rick, Dewain, Mike)

Track length4:39

$1.00

$1.30

Act II: Duet - 3 Weeks and Still I’m Outta My Mind (David, Leila)

Track length5:04

$1.00

$1.30

Act II: Earthquake Sounds

Track length1:00

$1.00

$1.30

Act II: Earthquake Music

Track length3:06

$1.00

$1.30

Act II: Crushed by the Rock I Been Standing On (David, Tiffany, Rick, Consuelo)

Track length4:28

$1.00

$1.30

Act II: Duet in the Middle of Terrible Duress (Mike, Tiffany, Rick)

Track length11:27

$3.00

$3.85

Act II: Dewain's Song of Liberation and Surprise (Dewain)

Track length6:22

$1.00

$1.30

Act II: Este Pais / This Country (Consuelo, Dewain)

Track length4:33

$1.00

$1.30

Act II: 1 Last Look at the Angel in Your Eyes (Consuelo, Dewain)

Track length2:21

$1.00

$1.30

Act II: Finale (Tutti)

Track length4:55

$1.00

$1.30

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Reviews

2010

John Adams's stylistic range is vast, yet even in such a diverse output, I Was Looking at the Ceilingand Then I Saw the Sky (1995) stands apart. Conceived, in the composer's words, as 'a Broadwaystyle show', it draws its musical inspiration from popular song, moving from doo-wop to gospel, from pop ballad to the blues. The text, a poetic piece of social and political commentary by June Jordan, introduces us to seven young Angelenos whose intertwined lives are transformed by the 1994 Northridge earthquake. There's no recitative, no spoken dialogue; the story is told through song and ensemble. This posed a problem when Nonesuch issued a composer-conducted recording of excerpts in 1998, cutting seven of the 22 vocal numbers. Here, Naxos gives us the complete score.
It hard to state that the narrative flows a whole lot more smoothly when the show is heard in its entirety. There are still quite a few jarring gaps, although one certainly gets a better sense of the characters as well as a heightened sense of drama. Missing from the Nonesuch recording, for example, was the crucial post-earthquake scene involving Tiffany, Mike and Rick – the score's longest number.
As for the performance: the Freiburg-based Holst-Sinfonietta Band plays its intricate part with tightly coiled energy for conductor Klaus Simon; the mostly German cast copes reasonably well with the different American dialects (only Lilith Gardell's Tiffany fails to convince); and although the women's voices can turn shrill Adams Opera when pressed, all the singers sound fresh and youthful. Indeed, Martina Mühlpointner may not have the extraordinary tonal richness of Audra McDonald (Nonesuch) but her wideeyed rendition of 'Consuelo's Dream' – one of the piece's prettiest and most effective numbers – is also deeply affecting. Not all the songs in Ceiling/Sky are as successful as this one but I'd guess that there's enough here to make this daring experiment in American musical theatre attractive to more than just Adams's fans.

Adams, J: I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky

2 CDs

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