Gene Young's "Thirty-Five Mescals In Cuautla" is a setting of Malcolm Lowry's (1909-1957) autobiographical verse that is derived from his towering novel, "Under The Volcano" (1947). All the performers are severely challenged technically and pushed to emotional extremes in this often violent, often desolate musical landscape.

The text is delivered by a female voice, at once declamatory and revealing. Trills, glissandi, extended range, and extreme dynamics elicit a nightmarish depiction of a t...