Bang on a Can All-Stars
Sat Jan 23, 2021
8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Zellerbach Hall
New Yorks iconoclastic contemporary music ensemble returns with an acclaimed oratorio by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe, a fascinating work that mines the sounds and stories of Appalachia. With Steel Hammer, Wolfe creates a musical amalgamation of every version of the folk ballad John Henry that she could get her hands onmore than 200and weaves these often contradictory tales into an expansive allegory about the human cost of industrialization. The music marries folk cadences with driving rhythms in Wolfes densely layered compositional style, and is performed by three female vocalists and a chamber ensemble that features hammered
dulcimer, mouth harp, bones, clogs, banjo, and metal percussion.