Anaïs Mitchell

[Goofle]

I have to admit that I had not heard much about this artist until earlier today, when I was recommended her latest album: Young Man In America.



So far I am loving it. Truly wonderful album. Her voice is so nice, and the instrumentals are very chill.

Let me know if you want a DL link.

[Paedantic Basterd]

Hadestown is pretty great as well.

[Goofle]

Yeah, I heard her previous album is great too. Going to get all of her stuff.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Hadestown is pretty great as well.

Greg Brown (FAIR club album The Evening Call) plays the part of Hades. Not to mention Justin Vernon of Bon Iver as Orpheus.

[Zhanteimi]

I'm resurrecting this thread because Anaïs Mitchell deserves more recognition.



I'd like to introduce some of her music in hopes that more people can enjoy her! So, let's start with...



This album follows a variation on the Ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, where Orpheus must embark on a quest to rescue his wife Eurydice from the underworld. That variation is basically a Depression-era folk opera.

What's amazing about this album is that it's based upon a live version of the folk opera which was performed by Mitchell with the collaboration of a 22-person cast.

Cast for recording:
Anais Mitchell -- Eurydice
Ani DiFranco -- Persephone
Ben Knox Miller -- Hermes
Greg Brown -- Hades
Justin Vernon -- Orpheus
The Haden Triplets -- The Fates

Spoiler for review from allmusic:

Hadestown's narrative, like the myth, steeps itself in ambiguities more than dead certainties. It moves past dualities of good and evil, life and death, hope and despair, while examining how commonly held beliefs about class reinforce poverty, how our desire for security is complicit in giving away our freedoms, and what real generosity in love actually is. Nowhere is this more evident than a Brown showcase number, “Why We Build the Wall.” (With the cast/chorus unintentionally answering Woody Guthrie's “This Land Is Your Land” anthem that would make him weep with grief.) There isn’t a weak track here, but high points include “Our Lady of the Underground,” sung by DiFranco; the fierce, yet tender “How Long” with Brown and DiFranco; both parts of Vernon’s “Epic,” Mitchell's and Vernon’s “Doubt Comes In,” and “I Raise My Cup to Him,” by Mitchell with DiFranco. Everything here is ambitious, nothing is excessive. The music ranges with classic American folk forms: country gospel, ragtime, blues, and early jazz, to approximations of rock, swing, and avant-garde -- all of it immediate, accessible, and inviting. Vernon’s vocal range -- husky baritone to sweet falsetto -- does justice to Orpheus. Only a singer like this could write a song beautiful enough to rescue his lover from the Underworld. Mitchell doesn’t make herself the star, but is nonetheless. She is convincing as Eurydice; her lyrics are poetic, and her melodies unpretentious, yet sophisticated thanks to Chorney’s arrangements. This 57-minute work goes by in a flash. Artfully conceived, articulated, and produced, Hadestown raises Mitchell's creative bar exponentially: there isn't anything else remotely like it.

Let's start with the first song of the opera, Wedding Song.



Eurydice is worried about how she's going to survive marrying a starving artist. Can he provide for her material well being?

[Zhanteimi]

After Eurydice's worries about how they'll live together, what with him being a mere musician and all, Orpheus tells his new bride exactly what kind of man Hades is and what kind of realm he rules...



Is such a life worth the material comfort?

[Zhanteimi]

Hermes has come up to fetch Persephone back to the Underworld, and Eurydice, enticed by the security and wealth of Hades' kingdom, hitches a ride on the train which Hermes drives way down to Hadestown. Orpheus is the only voice of reason singing about what the Underworld is really like.

[RiPS]

I love Hadestown, Young man in America, and Child Ballads. They are AWESOME!

[Zhanteimi]

Eurydice meets Hades...





...and gives in. She jumps in front of the train taking Persephone to Hadestown.

[Zhanteimi]

And she goes, leaving Orpheus behind.



Eurydice says she loves Orpheus, and yet she leaves him. Just words. There is no love in her!