Red Cape Tango: Metropolis Symphony

Michael Daugherty, Composer
Liza Grossman, Conductor
Aviva Klein, Bassoon
Jocelyn Tang, Horn
Gretchen Bernard, Horn
"Red Cape Tango was composed after Superman's fight to the death with Doomsday, and is my final musical work based on the Superman mythology. The principal melody, first heard in the bassoon, is derived from the medieval Latin death chant Dies irae. This dance of death is conceived as a tango, presented at times like a concertino comprising string quintet, brass trio, bassoon, chimes, and castanets. The tango rhythm, introduced by the castanets and heard later in the finger cymbals, undergoes a gradual timbral transformation, concluding dramatically with crash cymbals, brake drum, and timpani. The orchestra alternates between legato and staccato sections to suggest a musical bullfight."
M. Daugherty
Recorded in Cleveland Ohio during my tenure as the founder and as music director of the Contemporary Youth Orchestra. (1995-2020)