Thomson: Four Saints in Three Acts
Soloists
Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Gil Rose
This is a very strange but highly entertaining opera. The text is by Gertrude Stein and Thomson sets the whole thing to music, including the stage directions! The musical style is simple, almost hymn like in places, but I find it very attractive. I actually had the LP reissue of the original abridged performance on 78s when I was still at school and it was a record I played a lot. I don’t suppose that I have heard any of the music for about 40 years but as soon as I heard it the score seemed familiar - there are several very catchy ear worms here. I find the text oddly compelling - I’ve no idea what it all means but Stein’s use of language, particularly the use of repeated words certainly creates some delightful effects. There is a time a surrealism about the whole thing which is almost Pythonesque. The score is deliberately artless but Thomson does have a knack of writing in a way which sticks with you - as evidenced by the fact that the music was instantly familiar after a 40-year gap. I’ve no idea how you would go about staging this strange piece, but it would be worth seeing if anybody did try to revive it.
