Grotesque - CD

An Operina and other chamber music by Meta Overman.

The Music of Meta Overman is innovative, individual, sometimes humorous, expressing amazing creativity and powered by strong visual imagery. The desire to express imagery in sound was obvious from an early age when the young Meta would place picture books on the piano and attempt to play what she could see. Her musical language transforms images into musical concepts and sounds and this intention is evident in all her compositions.

Grotesque is a tragic comedy with quite an absurd plot involving an old man – the character played by the clarinettist, a young girl, sung by the soprano and a ghost whose antics are created by the sounds of the piano. Its structure is theme and variations as in the original version for piano four hands and the plot is described by a narrator. It is a little questionable whether in a performance that is staged the narrator is really necessary. In fact there is no mention of a narrator on the original score though when recording the work a narrator could be deemed necessary to outline the antics of the characters who cannot be seen. In a staged version the characters create the images and the “narration” on the score can be viewed as merely stage directions. The dancer would therefore act out the antics of the ghost and the instrumentalists would become the characters described by the stage directions.  

Goetz Richter AM narrator; Narelle Yeo soprano; Charlotte Fetherston viola; Susan Newsome clarinet; Tonya Lemoh piano; Jeanell Carrigan piano. 

Scores are available online.
Wirr 098

Download samples 

[1] Grotesque - An Operina in one act.
[2-4] Sonata for Viola and Piano
   Maestoso non troppo lento
   Monto tranquillo
   Allegro assai
[5-6] Two Pieces for Two Pianos
   De Kade (The Quay)
   De Stenen Leeuw (The Stone Lion)
[7-11] Galgenlieder (Gallow Songs) - poetry by Christian Morgenstern
   Das Gebet (The Prayer)
   Der Schaukelstuhl (The Rocking Stool)
   Der Tanz (The Dance)
   Der Seufzer (The Sigh)
   Galgenberg (Gallow Hill)
[12-14] Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
   Allegro con moto
   Lento intensive
   Theme and Variations - Allegro
[15-17] Island Songs - words by John Joseph Jones
   Deep, Deep Blue Water
   Farewell
   Lullaby
[18] Berceuse for two pianos
[19] Pegasus' Dance for two pianos