Tucson Desert Song Festival Enters Season 10 | music

Higdon, who lives in Philadelphia, thought more of the East Coast than the punishing summer in Tucson when she wrote about gathering blackberries and inhaling the sweet scent of freshly cut grass.

But the warmth of Higdon’s music and the feelings expressed in the lyrics certainly spoke to us. Higdon’s song cycle, based on poetry written primarily by women, including Higdon, took us through the emotions we feel in summer – even in the sweltering heat of a Tucson summer – rejuvenation, freedom and a sense of adventure.

Higdon’s music was wonderfully emotional across the card – playful and light, as Cooke sang “ping, pang, pong” in a jazzy scat style to mimic rain dripping on a tin roof, and heavily on “Summer Hue.” style of the Great American Songbook.”

While Cooke, who introduced herself on Thursday night with stunning performances of Rossini’s cantata Joan of Arc and Berlioz’s marvelous The Death of Ophelia, was the center of attention, we couldn’t take our eyes and ears off Huang, who did the same was able to conjure from Higdon’s score the playfulness, pain, longing and romance that the composer intended.

Cooke ended Thursday’s concert with several children-focused songs, including the sweet Florence Price “Night.”

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