With a chorus of actors, musicians, and dancers, award-winning Four Larks will perform a selection of poems from the Homeric Hymns. The lab series features work-in-progress versions of new translations/adaptations of Greek and Roman plays, as well as contemporary works inspired by ancient literature.
The Homeric Hymns are a collection of partial and complete songs from the seventh and sixth centuries BC, written in the style of the Homeric epics. They reflect the earliest stories about the major Greek gods and were recited in public to honor them. The beautiful poems offer clues to the spiritual and cultural practices of the Greeks, where poetry, belief, and daily practice were intertwined. Passed down in fragments through varies translations, the ancient hymns were meant to be malleable. Whether used to appeal, rally, seduce, or indoctrinate, the hymns were evolving documents, tailored to meet a specific function for their audience.
For their through-composed performance at the Getty Villa, Four Larks has adapted a collection of the hymns tailored for 2017. The new compositions borrow from the surviving fragments and the corresponding pantheon of Greek deities to address current political concerns. Specifically, the hymns celebrate collective action and the power of group resistance, they call for the protection of Mother Earth and the powerful female deities who govern her cycles, they praise curiosity and scientific inquiry, they ward against tribalism and isolationism, and they exalt diversity, hospitality, and cultural exchange.
All performances take place in the Villa Auditorium. Tickets are $7 and can be reserved online or by calling (310) 440-7300.
Credits
Concept and performance score by Mat Sweeney, devised with Sebastian Peters-Lazaro, composed with Ellen Warkentine, lyrics adapted with Jesse Rasmussen from the Homeric Hymns.
Set and properties designed and constructed by Sebastian Peters-Lazaro, with additional design by Regan Baumgarten and assistance from Katy Schwartz. Costumes by Mieko Romming.
Music by Mat Sweeney and Ellen Warkentine, with additional compositions, arrangements and improvisations by the musicians. Sound engineered by Danny Echevarria. Staging and choreography by Mat Sweeney and Sebastian Peters-Lazaro, with contribution and development from the performers. Stage management and production assistance by Miranda Peters-Lazaro
Performers
- Max Baumgarten
- Danny Echevarria (violin & guitar)
- Maya Gingery (flute)
- Jodie Landau (vibraphone)
- Matt Orrenstein (double bass)
- Lukas Papenfusscline (banjo & harmonium)
- Prudence Rees-Lee (cello)
- Linnea Sablosky (percussion)
- Lisa Salvo (percussion)
- Zachary Carlisle Sanders
- Ellen Warkentine (woodwinds)
- Cassandra Blair Ward
- Eli Weinberg