On Dec. 6, the Brooklyn Academy of Music will present the New York premiere of Still Life With Commentator: An Oratorio, a collaboration between renowned pianist-composer Vijay Iyer (pictured), poet and hip-hop maverick Michael Ladd, and conceptual artist/director Ibrahim Quraishi.
Fusing “rapid-fire narrative, poetic lyrics, raw beats, and downtempo rhythms” with darkly comic vignettes, Still Life examines the devastation of war as seen from both sides of the camera, and what roles the audience and media play in its dissemination. The oratorio will also feature experimental vocal artist Pamela Z, electronic percussionist/vocalist Guillermo E. Brown, cellist Okkyung Lee, guitarist Liberty Ellman, and actors Palina Jonsdottir and Masa Nakanishi and runs through Dec. 10.
Originally Published