Forbidden love. That’s the quickest synopsis of the Arthurian-era legend of Tristan and Isolde. Fleshing it out a bit, Tristan is charged with escorting Isolde, an Irish princess, from Ireland to Cornwall by boat so that she can marry King Mark of Cornwall. On the way the two somehow accidentally drink a love potion. It works. Tristan is doomed to suffer death at the hands of King Mark’s henchmen. Isolde follows suit, owing to the potency of her love for Tristan and her heartbreak upon his death.

The most famous retelling of the story is Richard Wagner’s 1865 opera, Tristan und Isolde. “Mild und leise…” For Wagner fans, these words are like a clubhouse secret password. Loosely translated, they mean “softly and gently.” But,what could that possibly mean? In the context of Wagner’s opera (music drama), they represent the commingling of love and death. It’s Act III. Isolde looks upon the dead body of her (illicit/accidental) true love, Tristan. She contemplates the tranquility of his state, savoring a new beauty even as she savors the pain of his loss. She proceeds to sing herself to an ecstatic death, overcome by his strange perfection — a Liebestod or ‘Love Death.’

Which brings us to tonight’s work, love fail, by David Lang. This masterpiece is a retelling or reexamining of the medieval romance of Tristan and Isolde from different sources. Scored for four treble voices and percussion, Quince Ensemble brings the work to life like no other group on the world stage today. And we have them all to ourselves. This is a special night in the now 18-year arc of WWCMF. We return to Foundry Vineyards, site of so many wonderful performances over the years.

Artists: Kayleigh Butcher, Voice; Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, Voice; Liz Pearse, Voice; Carrie Henneman Shaw, Voice