Rebecca Luker - Tom Herman: Music for Voice (2008)

THE OWL AND THE PUSSY-CAT AND OTHER SONGS OF LOVE
Here are eight songs by diverse poets. Among them are Edward Lear’s whimsical yet touching nonsense-romance, “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat;” Conrad Aiken’s plaintive remembrance of a life partner, “Music I Heard with You;” and Daniel Ladinsky’s exuberant “There Is a Wonderful Game,” an invitation to realize the transcendent unity of all mankind.

FOUR SONGS OF EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY
This cycle includes “Recuerdo”, one of Millay’s most familiar poems, in which the poet recalls a happy night traveling back and forth on the Staten Island Ferry, and “Afternoon on a Hill”, a song of youthful delight in nature.

SANCTUS
This is a portion of the Mass, in Latin. Composed in five sections, the short text becomes a full canvas of personal, spiritual feeling: from rapturous praise, to quiet and steadfast faith, to a sense of urgent pleading that we, on earth, become aware of God’s glorious presence.

TOM HERMAN’S compositions have been performed both in the United States and Canada as well as in Europe. He has written art songs, chamber music, and music theater pieces for which he served both as composer and lyricist. He has received various grants for composition, including a National Endowment Fellowship Award for his theater piece “Objets trouvés.” Mr. Herman has taught at Fordham University and Sarah Lawrence College.

REBECCA LUKER starred in the acclaimed revival of “The Music Man,” garnering Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for her role as Marian. She appeared in the Kennedy Center production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Passion,” and her other theatrical credits include roles in “Mary Poppins,” “Nine,” “The Sound of Music,” “ Show Boat,” “The Secret Garden,” and “The Phantom of the Opera.” She performed in the New York City Opera production of “Brigadoon” and has appeared with many orchestras, including the New Jersey and St. Louis Symphonies, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Boston Pops. Her numerous recording credits include “Leaving Home,” “Anything Goes: Rebecca Luker Sings Cole Porter,” “The Sound of Music,” “The Secret Garden,” and “The Music Man.”