| July
12, 2006
By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk
The Grand Rapids Press
DeVos
Performance Hall has never looked so good.
"Invention
and Alchemy," featuring "Hip Harpist" Deborah
Henson-Conant and the Grand Rapids Symphony, brings it all to
a Barcalounger near you.
The
harpist, singer, storyteller, actor, composer and arranger appeared
here in November to make the live DVD and CD. This is a first-class,
first-rate production with nine-camera, high-definition video,
and 5.1 surround sound, all produced by Jonathan Wyner, Henson-Conant's
partner. The audio is vibrant, and the visuals pop. The quirky
tunes and comical tales are by the dynamic, irrepressible Henson-Conant,
who does for the folk harp what Andres Segovia, Les Paul and
Jimi Hendrix did for the guitar.
Some
tracks are new, many are familiar locally. Taken together, they
display the range of an artist who plays like an angel, belts
the blues, dances a little flamenco and sings lovely ballads
with a Celtic lilt. The only thing longer, more colorful and
more creative than her hair ribbons is her artistic range. Conductor
and cellist David Lockington is a maniacal mad scientist and
a dashing and debonair, cello-playing sultan.
The
Grand Rapids Symphony -- at one point all dressed in lab coats
for a rocking number, "Danger Zone" -- is very generously
depicted in the DVD. David Gross enjoys a thrilling exchange
for the unlikely duo of harp and timpani on a number that begins,
even more improbably, with the traditional tune "Catcher
in the Rye." Percussionists Bill Vits and David Hall get
to bang cans as musical garbagemen.
The
CD, with 17 tracks and 77 minutes of music, is a couple of tunes
and one story shorter than the 97-minute DVD, which includes
a feature film and onscreen links that take you to 12 interactive
video portals behind the scenes. Pick
up a copy from the symphony office or from Schuler Books and
Music.
Grand
Rapids philanthropist Peter Wege bankrolled the project, explaining
Henson-Conant and the Grand Rapids Symphony deserved wider recognition.
With "Invention and Alchemy" as their calling card,
they should get it.
****
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