Palm Sunday, March 20, 2016
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Thou Art My Love I Think, by David Fuentes
Here is an interesting rock opera that draws together very diverse experiences from my past, which touched Shakespeare tragically little, and also the 1960’s rock scene, particularly the Beatles and the Who, to which I pretended not to listen, but got to know anyway. David Fuentes & the Rude Mechanicals have, for only the second time in my life, pulled off an effective rock opera. True, I don’t go hunting for the genre, but still think the Who’s Tommy, with its hit tune “Pinball Wizard” is pretty stunning and, until now, I had put into a class by itself.
What a challenge to take a medium that measures life in three- or five-minute increments and extend it into a half-hour opera; yet, on most counts, Fuentes succeeds handsomely. Perhaps his greatest genius is finding a surprisingly comfortable home for the largely intact Shakespeare play within a play, the Pyramus and Thisbe love story in act V of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The rock-n-roll idiom works so well for these texts penned by Shakespeare “with no concern for singing” as Fuentes calls it.
My favorite tune is “Gentles, perchance,” perhaps because it recalls Tommy and the Who’s style so strongly with its wonderful use of the electric guitar and bass, the fresh harmonies of chromatic mediants (chords separated by thirds that are not in the same key) and many sus2 and sus4 chords that remind me of the quartal chords of early 20th century classical music, and the brilliant rhythms. It makes me wonder why the Who is not nearly the household word that the Beatles are.
Certainly, the Beatles have their own distinctive style that Fuentes marvelously lampoons in the other songs, including a direct quote from “Yesterday” and another tune I remember but cannot name. The title cut, “Thou Art My Love I Think,” is my other favorite tune, and Fuentes wisely reprises it at the end. All in all, a show I would enjoy seeing on the stage, it is a winsome combination of The Fantasticks (with even the Wall having its own song!) and Romeo and Juliet.
My reservations about the show are few. Even Fuentes seems to tire of the rock idiom and resorts to a fairly classical vibe in songs such as “Sweet Moon” (where Pyramus stabs himself) and the following “Asleep, my Love?” (where Thisby makes the horrible discovery of the dead Pyramus). Perhaps the rock-n-roll genre simply does not have the tools necessary for such drama, but I found these songs somewhat lengthy, yet short of the emotional drive I craved at this point. Perhaps this is Fuentes reminding us that this whole show is only an intermezzo in the Shakespeare comedy, and he’s intentionally backpedaling on the drama to keep the light, humorous touch. I also wondered if the songs that the lovers sing could not be pitched up higher, as Pyramus’ low notes start interfering with the bass sometimes. But this show does warrant other performances, and the website, http://www.davidfuentesmusic.com/#!music-for-theater/c1x2x, definitely deserves a visit and inquiries about that possibility!
By the way, my new CD Kiev 2014 has received some wonderful reviews, including Dave Canfield’s write-up in Fanfare at this website: http://www.amazon.com/Walter-Saul-Orchestral-Rong-Huey-Liu/product-reviews/B013XU2N3K/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=recent. To purchase CD’s please visit https://squareup.com/market/waltersaul.
My next event will be June 12, 2016, 2:00 pm, at the Fresno Art Museum, 2233 North First Street in Fresno, California, where I will be performing Quiltings live on piano as my wife Daphne’s amazing video of her sister Ann Harwell’s is displayed on the screen. Hope to see you there!