' The Fall of the House of Usher' is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, then included in the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque in 1840. Les Chappell – recording engineer for parts of Lovich's performance (H.O.M.E.First appearance in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine (September 1839).Peter Hammill – recording engineer, mixing (Sofa Sound/Terra Incognita, Bath).Stuart Gordon – violin (1999 version only).Peter Hammill – vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion (removed on 1999 version).Peter Hammill as Roderick Usher and the House.'The Haunted Palace' (lyrics: Edgar Allan Poe) - 4:22.'The Sleeper' (lyrics: Edgar Allan Poe) - 3:19.Music composed by Peter Hammill Libretto lyrics written by Chris Judge Smith except where noted. meandering, formless, electronic non-opera at its warbling worst.' Track listing Paul Stump, in his History of Progressive Rock, commented of The Fall of the House of Usher that 'what might be seen as possibly the most appropriate vessel for a Hammill chef d'oeuvre is merely seventy-five minutes of excruciating mannerism.

Reception Professional ratings Review scores

At live concerts in 19 Hammill frequently sang a suite of songs from the opera, officially released on the video/DVD In The Passionskirche. In the 1980s Hammill performed 'The Sleeper' a capella at a Poetry reading festival in Amsterdam in October 1983, and in New York in July 1986. The opera has never been performed live in its entirety. Hammill regards this version as the definitive recorded version of the opera. The results were released as The Fall of the House of Usher (Deconstructed & Rebuilt) on Hammill's own Fie! label in November 1999. He also removed the percussion, added more electric guitar and remixed the entire recording. He re-recorded some of his own vocals, although the parts of the other singers were untouched. In 1999, Hammill regained the rights to the music from Some Bizzare and set about revising the piece. The narrator, unnamed in the story, is given the name Montresor (the name of the narrator of another tale by Poe, ' The Cask of Amontillado'), and a romantic attachment between Montresor and Madeline Usher is hinted at. The House itself becomes a vocal part, to be sung by the same performer who sings the role of Roderick Usher. Smith's libretto takes certain liberties with Poe's source text. The album was released on CD, cassette and a limited edition of 500 double vinyl LPs. Hammill and Smith, two of the co-founders of Van der Graaf Generator, worked sporadically on the opera from 1973 until its first recording was released on Some Bizzare Records (the only instance of Hammill's work appearing on the label) in November 1991. It is based on the 1839 short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe. The Fall of the House of Usher is an opera by Peter Hammill (music) and Chris Judge Smith (libretto).

The fall from the house of usher