A Tribute to the City That Never Sleeps with ‘Hymn to the City’ (Review)

Death of Classical brings music to life in the most unexpected of places

As I stood by the graveside of Leonard Bernstein, listening to five of the finest brass musicians in the world playing a selection of the composer’s iconic melodies from West Side Story, looking out past the cemetery towards the Manhattan skyline in the distance with the sun setting quietly behind it, I had a moment.

One of those moments where you recognize that you are having an unforgettable experience.

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Taking place in the vast Green-Wood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark in Brooklyn, Hymn to the City is the latest in a series of events by Death of Classical, an organization committed to bringing classical music to a wider audience, often by using site-specific performance as a means to this end. I would say that the average age of the sixty-strong audience I was part of, would be around forty years old, which is a huge achievement for a classical music event. As a classically trained music teacher and immersive fan, one who sees the huge potential and relevance for both mediums in this day and age, this is a company after my own heart.

“Hymn to the City pays tribute to New York’s singular spirit of resilience and renewal… We remember the first responders who have carried us… those who have served in the fight for freedom… the immigrants and the pioneers who have led the way… Most of all, we remember those we have lost this past year, and in the many years before it.’ — Hymn to the City, Program Notes

This somber yet hopeful tone is reflected by the ground on which we walk, as we pass The Civil War Soldiers Monument and enter into the Catacombs. Green-Wood is stunningly beautiful, a sprawling maze of remembrance in which it is easy to lose yourself and to reflect. You would almost forget that you are so close to the greatest city in the world if it were not for Battle Hill, found within Green-Wood’s walls, being the highest point in Brooklyn thus keeping the island of Manhattan just off in the horizon at all times. The Statue of Liberty stares back at us from the monuments, as we reflect on what it means to be a New Yorker and experience this revenant Hymn.

What better ensemble for this uniquely New York City experience, than the fantastic New York Philharmonic? Truly one of the world’s leading orchestras, these talented musicians were spaced out throughout the cemetery in small chamber ensembles to play to the touring audience. With such an ensemble it should come as no surprise that the musical expression of the evening was phenomenal. Various chamber ensembles were encountered, from Brass, String, Wind, Piano, all bringing their own short musical program to a specific area of the cemetery for the audience to enjoy.

With a program consisting of the aforementioned Bernstein, Copeland, Gershwin, and Dvorak there is plenty of recognizable music to listen to while walking through the memorial gardens, but there are other names on the program which might not be so recognizable, which is one of the goals of the company: to expose audiences to underrepresented composers. Ortega, Azmeh, Florence Price, Sarah Kirkland Snider, all brought excellent musical contributions to the evening, composers I may not have come across had it not been for this experience. Hearing this wonderful music echo and reverberate amongst the gravestones as night slowly took over was hauntingly beautiful.

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As beautiful as the experience was, there were occasional glimpses of something perhaps even more special. At one stop, the Hill of Graves, a dancer appeared to join with a string trio, dressed in the clothes of an early American immigrant. This ground marks the grave of many nameless early settlers to this country, and this poignant sacrifice was made all the more significant by this combination of art forms. However, this was the only occasion where Dance was used to supplement the music, to really aid in the narrative of the site which the evening was trying to share.

Our journey was aided by a lovely and well-meaning tour guide, someone who clearly knows a lot about the cemetery, but perhaps not so much about the immersive experience which was on display. Her knowledge of the history of this place was clear, a regular Green-WoodCemetery tour guide I am sure, but her matter-of-fact and light tone felt out of place with the atmosphere that the rest of the piece was trying to create.

It’s not a short experience, and not for the faint of heart, as it was around three hours after my group’s start time that we were actually leaving the cemetery, which itself is a huge expansive sea of hills and valleys. The two-and-a-half-mile quasi-hike is all taken at a brisk no-nonsense New Yorker pace, which did leave one or two stragglers behind. Maybe it’s the school teacher in me, but I was desperate to jump in and help organize the pacing of the group. Perhaps an additional staff member to help assist, and shepherd along the way would have been helpful, particularly as the night drew in and the paths got increasingly dark. One or two older members of my group did begin to grumble towards the end of the evening, although it was helpful for there to be seating at the final stop of the musical tour.

Thinking back to the dancer, I feel that more moments like this would have helped transform this beautiful experience into the sublime. With perhaps a little more of a dramatic throughline, I feel like the connection could have been made even more apparent and impactful. It would not take many “immersive theatre” tweaks to really make this experience sing. My heart was ready to dive in, and all of the components were there for it to be a ritual of remembrance as the Hymn of the City appeared to want to be, but on this occasion, it just fell short of what I could see was an immense immersive potential.

Death of Classical continues to develop work here in New York City to fight against its namesake. With collaborations between leading orchestras and unique sites, the future of classical music has a much-needed advocate that is actively working to engage with new audiences. I could not help but feel moved to my core as the poignant final strains of Dvorak’s Going Home reverberated around the catacombs surrounding me, and I am sure that I am not the only one in the audience who felt this way. Classical music still has such potential to move and captivate, and when combined with immersive theatre, it is a beautiful collaboration indeed.

Hymn to the City ran June 2–5 in The Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY. Tickets were $60–100.

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