Meredith Monk_Gotham Lullaby, Where Goats Cry

 

 

MeredIth Monk’s Gotham Lullaby as performed by the artist at Lensic Center soothes and haunts in its duration. By ghostly I mean not to dismiss the performance or the work but to honor it in its bravery to address the contradictions of the beauty and pain in life. This foolish lullaby, if we took her title literally, ironically brings the listener to question who this lullaby was for, or what could the variations of phrasing want to communicate to us.  Monk uses the oldest form of song, what a mother or keeper communicates to a baby to calm it.  She called it gotham, which in medieval England was a goat house, and also means unwise.

 

The solo rendition with piano and voice introduces us to exemplary elements of Monk’s artistic expression.  She extends her voice, not as words in language but as sounds that harken inner emotions. The methods are sung, spoken or chattered texts that may sound familiar but have no specific narrative. Gotham Lullaby is characteristically highly melodic and articulates Monk’s expansive range from extremely high and low octaves, and it is atonal.  The somberness of a caring tune to the cathartic woken cries of a nightmare or something ecstatic.  Although we cannot understand words, Monk’s song structure for this piece is standard: alternating verses with a chorus like passage. With the repetitive phrasing and flexibility of a lullaby, it is no wonder that other artists like Björk have released their own versions of this mesmerizing piece. 

 

Both artists are quite similar, Björk claiming Monk’s influence, uses her unique voice in combination with a theatrical staging.  Monk embraces theater, opera and dance. They are united in their long-term approach to their projects.  Monk says that each of her greater works is like a world within itself.  She asks herself, what does this world need, what needs to be eliminated.  A process that the younger Björk incorporated into her educational multi-media Biophilia.

 

We need to acknowledge Meredith Monk as a multi-talent for embracing the human voice to reach beyond language and tap into the primordial.  Knowing at a young age that she wanted to be an artist, she is connected to themes of feminism. Gotham Lullaby, 16 mm Earrings or Education of the Girlchild are a few examples questioning the roles which women have played in society. She is signature in that she blends the citing of ageless folk – music traditions within a conceptual and new production for the times we are living.  There is no doubt though in my mind that Meredith Monk is best understood and experienced in a live performance.  In the few videos of her later works, such as the numerous recordings at Anne Hamilton’s Tower, production is way too much in control.  This work was incongruous and had the feeling that it was one big workshop for esoteric summer campers. A lullaby is best in the same room of the child, as Meredith Monk is best holding her audience.

 

Celina Lunsford

01-2022