An elegant song cycle with multiple roots
The sources of inspiration run in all directions in “They Will Have Been So Beautiful,” a wonderful collaborative song cycle compiled by 10 musicians under the auspices of composer-performers Paul Dresher and Amy X Neuburg. Dresher and Neuburg invited their colleagues to each write a piece based on a particular photograph that caught their fancy.
The composers, however, were clearly motivated by the winning blend of theatricality and intimacy in Neuburg’s singing style, and in the textural hybrids of Dresher’s Electro-Acoustic Band. The result, at its Berkeley premiere in 2014, was an eloquent display, by turns gentle and fiercely chaotic.
In addition to the two instigators, the piece, which has its San Francisco premiere this weekend, features music by Pamela Z, Fred Frith, Guillermo Galindo and more.
“They Will Have Been So Beautiful”: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, June 24-25. $20. Z Space, 450 Florida St., S.F. (415) 5589540. www.dresherensemble.org