Adams: I Was Looking At The Ceiling and Then I Saw The Sky

John Adams (Composer, Conductor), Welly Yang (Performer), Seppo Kantonen (Performer), Jari-Pekka Karvonen (Performer), Marin Mazzie (Performer), Darius de Haas (Performer), Audra McDonald (Performer), Michael McElroy (Performer), Angela Teek (Performer), Richard Muenz (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Welly Yang, Seppo Kantonen, Jari-Pekka Karvonen, Marin Mazzie, Darius de Haas, et al.
• Conductor: John Adams
• Composer: John Adams
• Audio CD (November 3, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B00000DD99
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,881 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #13 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > McDonald, Audra

Track Listings

1. I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky

2. Sermon on Romance

3. Consuelo's Dream

4. Mike's Song About Arresting a Particular Individual

5. Tiffany's Solo

6. Song About the on-Site Altercation

7. Song About the Bad Boys and the News

8. Your Honor My Client He's a Young Black Man

9. Leila's Song: Alone (Again or at Last)

10. Three Weeks and Still I'm Outta My Mind

11. Crushed by the Rock I Been Standing On

12. Dewain's Song of Liberation and Surprise

13. Este Pais! /This Country

14. One Last Look at the Angel in Your Eyes

15. Finale

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected pleasures, December 4, 1999

By 

D. G. H. Haslett "dghhaslett" (Berlin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adams: I Was Looking At The Ceiling and Then I Saw The Sky (Audio CD)

This work falls between two stools - on the one hand the style is eclectic, encompassing gospel, rock, sprechstimme, opera, musical theatre. On the other it could have been written by no one but Adams. He takes a variety of musical styles and makes them his own. I was initially puzzled by it but many subsequent hearings have confirmed that here is a wonderful piece of musical theatre, finding a depth of emotion that is light years ahead of the vacuousness of modern musical theatre (no names....!) If it recalls anyone other than the composer himself then it would be Sondheim - there is something of the New York composer in the small musical cells, subjected to numerous repetitions; but Adams' melodic gift is greater. As the wonderful title of the piece indicates, this is a piece about trnscending the mundane and finding spirituality in the most unlikely situations. I have played it countless times and it never fails to move and excite.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something different... and wonderful, March 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Adams: I Was Looking At The Ceiling and Then I Saw The Sky (Audio CD)

When I first heard this piece, a huge smile filled my face. I picked it up expecting another Nixon in China or Klinghoffer (which I loved), but what I got was wonderfully fresh and original. I had never heard anything like it. Who would have thought that minimalism and musical theatre could work together? Each song was a surprise. I was so happy to hear John Adams have so much fun with his music (something certain other modern composers of vocal music need to do). A great experiment in American music and theatre. The performances are all fantastic. Congratulations to Mr. Adams for not listening to musical purists and for coming up with something daring, original and fun.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars credible effort, April 21, 2001

By 

Sean M. Kelly (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adams: I Was Looking At The Ceiling and Then I Saw The Sky (Audio CD)

It took me several listens to gather the full effect of what Adams was trying to accomplish on this opera/musical. I'm not sure that this recording fully harnesses it all, but it is an excellent recording.

As most people know, the recording is based on the 1994 major earthquake in California, and the structure of the recording reflects this, as movements 2-14 are meant as either solos or duets to reflect points of view. These pieces are sandwiched by ensemble numbers (part 1 and 15) that show off some of Adams' minimalist leanings but quickly switch over to pop and jazz sensibilities.

At moments, it's difficult to follow the flow of the action, especially on those parts that have no dialogue to connect sections. I suppose that is a nit-pickey point, all in all, but it was a noticable flaw as i heard it.

With Adams conducting, the cd shows off a different side of Adams. No, he's no Lloyd-Webber or Sondheim (thankfully) but the performance IS an interesting melding of opera and musical. While this concept, in my opinion, pales in comparison to his other operatic works, the work is a confident one, and is well worth listening to.