LOVELY STRINGS

A sprawling tapestry (or spiderweb) spun between the East and West coasts by a brilliant musical Rapunzel, harpist-pianist Joanna Newsom‘s triple-CD Have One on Me is a gripping, endlessly evocative, and deeply moving love story writ large. The hermetic mysteries of her 2004 debut The Milk-Eyed Mender and 2006’s Van Dyke Parks–orchestrated Ys have evolved into a more humanly approachable yet even more emotionally powerful set of songs about uncontrollable passion, fractious personalities, a possible abortion, and, finally, a heart-stopping breakup punctuated by a harsh, lingering chord. (All things must pass, indeed.) Her voice is almost literally enchanting; she toys with words like a cat preparing a mouse for its maker. Two hours and 18 songs long, Have One on Me could easily fill an evening, and, as Newsom’s magical BAM performance with the Brooklyn Philharmonic two years ago demonstrated, it should be a transcendent evening.

Thu., March 18, 8 p.m., 2010