Songs of Remembrance

On this CD:

1. Songs of Remembrance, song cycle on poems of the Holocaust Chor der Waisen
Composed by Ruth Lomon
Performed by Pamela Dellal, Frank Kelley, Jayne West, Donald Berman

2. Songs of Remembrance, song cycle on poems of the Holocaust Mes yeux
Composed by Ruth Lomon
Performed by Pamela Dellal, Frank Kelley, Jayne West, Donald Berman

3. Songs of Remembrance, song cycle on poems of the Holocaust The Survivor
Composed by Ruth Lomon
Performed by Pamela Dellal, Frank Kelley, Jayne West, Donald Berman

4. Songs of Remembrance, song cycle on poems of the Holocaust Fear
Composed by Ruth Lomon
Performed by Pamela Dellal, Frank Kelley, Jayne West, Donald Berman

5. Songs of Remembrance, song cycle on poems of the Holocaust Der Ewige Segne und Behüte Dich!
Composed by Ruth Lomon
Performed by Pamela Dellal, Frank Kelley, Jayne West, Donald Berman

6. Songs of Remembrance, song cycle on poems of the Holocaust The Butterfly
Composed by Ruth Lomon
Performed by Pamela Dellal, Frank Kelley, Jayne West, Donald Berman

7. Songs of Remembrance, song cycle on poems of the Holocaust Gedale's Song
Composed by Ruth Lomon
Performed by Pamela Dellal, Frank Kelley, Jayne West, Donald Berman

8. Songs of Remembrance, song cycle on poems of the Holocaust On a Sunny Evening
Composed by Ruth Lomon
Performed by Pamela Dellal, Frank Kelley, Jayne West, Donald Berman

9. Songs of Remembrance, song cycle on poems of the Holocaust Poème Macabre
Composed by Ruth Lomon
Performed by Pamela Dellal, Frank Kelley, Jayne West, Donald Berman

10. Songs of Remembrance, song cycle on poems of the Holocaust Love Poem
Composed by Ruth Lomon
Performed by Pamela Dellal, Frank Kelley, Jayne West, Donald Berman

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
In 1945, as the Allies swept across Europe and the Third Reich crumbled, the Nazi death camps were liberated one by one. Photographs and news accounts forced the world at last to confront and acknowledge the horror of the genocide that had taken place. At the time, it was widely thought that words would never be found to express such inhumanity, and that the experience of such profound suffering lay beyond human expression. In reality, seminal works about the Holocaust appeared almost immediately: Viktor Frankl’s important psychological treatise, Man’s Search for Meaning, was published in 1946, and If This Is a Man, the first volume of Primo Levi’s autobiographical memoir appeared in 1947, and many more books followed. This resiliency and urgent impulse of artistic response to that monumental 20th-century tragedy proves the human desire to create a narrative, context, and meaning from reality, however gruesomely incomprehensible it may be.

Almost six decades later, new works of history, philosophy and art of all genres are still confronting the Holocaust in the context of a new millennium world that acknowledges genocide as part of our reality. I spoke with composer Ruth Lomon in order to understand her impulse to create this song cycle.

You’ve described the inception of Songs of Remembrance as being inspired by a year’s stay in Jerusalem in 1994 during which you immersed yourself in reading poetry in the Library of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. What has been your history with Israel and did you know in advance what your composition would entail? I’ve lived in Israel 1955–6, 1966, 1987 and 1993–4. My husband, Earle, is a physicist and we go back to Israel for his work and because we love the country and the friends we have there. At the time of our departure for Israel in 1994, the Oslo agreement had been reached and we were filled with renewed hope for peace. Originally, I intended to compose a song cycle on poems of peace by Israeli and Palestinian poets. But with the return of mounting conflict and tensions, this hope eroded and I turned my thoughts to the subject of the Holocaust.

You also studied Persian and Arabic modes (the Maqamet) with its use of quarter tones, as well as the Segah, used in the singing of the Torah. In addition, you have investigated early Christian music, precursors of Gregorian chant and Armenian church music from the third century. Were there features of these exotic and archaic music languages that you found particularly inspiring? How did you incorporate them into your own musical language?

The embellishments or melismas of the melodic line in the settings of “Mes Yeux,” “Gedale’s Song,” “Fear” and “Sunny Evening” are influenced by the modes. Examples of the influence of early Armenian chants are most noticeable in the cadential material I use in “Mes Yeux,” which was the first poem I set to music; it is also a microcosmos of the song cycle because it contains harmonic and melodic references that are the basis of the work.

The cycle opens with an extraordinary setting of the poem by Nellie Sachs in which the phrase “Wir Waisen” (We orphans) becomes a statement of the paradox of the shared solitude of suffering, a central theme in Holocaust literature and in this moving collection of songs. There is the feeling of retelling or reframing what has been said in order to preserve it for the future and counteract this isolation. You met with two of the poets, Berthe Wizenberg Fleischer and Miriam Merzbacher-Blumenthal, who live in New York and Connecticut respectively. How did they react to your project?

I was worried about taking these very personal poems and setting them to music, but when I met with Berthe and Miriam and corresponded with the other poets, they made it clear that they felt it important to have the words sung, spoken, whatever the vehicle, so that we keep this knowledge of the Holocaust alive. Meeting Professor Rosette C. Lamont was also very important. She is

Tracks:

The Things Our Fathers Loved
The Housatonic At Stockbridge
From The Swimmers
Memories (A - Very Pleasant, B - Rather Sad
Ann Street
Serenity (A Unison Chant)
1, 2, 3
Songs My Mother Taught Me
The Circus Band
The Cage
The Indians
Like A Sick Eagle
A Sound Of A Distant Horn
September
Soliloquy (Or A Study In 7ths And Other Things)
A Farewell To Land
Thoreau
Emerson
Hawthorne
The Alcotts
Thoreau

Amazon.com

Ives' Second Sonata is one of the toughest, but it holds no fears for Aimard, a noted interpreter of Messiaen, Ligetti, and other moderns who require virtuoso technique and idiomatic expertise. Each of its four movements is titled for New England luminaries: Emerson, Hawthorne, the Alcotts, and Thoreau. The longest, "Emerson," is knotty and energetic, bristling with a minefield of cluster chords. "Hawthorne" is a genial scherzo exhibiting a wider palette, while "The Alcotts" is a lyrical paean to domestic tranquility. "Thoreau" embraces the mysteries of nature, played with intensity by Aimard. There's an abundance of power in his playing, but also ravishing effects like the startling diminuendo in "Thoreau" and the array of marches, hymns, and parlor songs Ives threw into the mix. His terrific "Concord" Sonata is matched by the survey of Ives' inventive songs, 17 of them superbly sung by Susan Graham with Aimard superb as her piano partner. Graham captures every nuance of a mind-boggling variety of idioms, from nostalgia, tenderness, and hilarious miniatures like "Ann Street" and the sendup of opera in "Memories - A," among many other highlights. This one's a must for Ivesians, fans of musical eccentricity, modern music enthusiasts, and anyone in search of musical surprises, which abound on almost every track. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

A European modernist embraces Ives.......2007-01-08

Chalres Ives was 46 when he published his "Concord"Sonata, and as the liner notes tell us, its sprawling shape and diverse styles are the result of gathering a lot of music previously composed (none of it for solo piano) and needing a single dwelling. Ives always had his own ideas about how music is held together or flies apart. He wasn't afraid to have it fly apart, and often his notion of coherence was so private, rooted in personal memories, that an outside listener can't be expected to penetrate the associations.

Aimard goes a long way in erasing the ecdentricity, privacy, and quirkiness of Ives's idiom bydrawing the sonata into the mainstream of European modernism, giving it the same clean, detailed, accurate, and impressionistic style that he might give to other individualists like Ligeti and Messiaen. (It's also nice to have the viola addition to the first movement and the flute in the fourth.) The "Concord" Sonata becomes a virtuosic event in his hands, no longer a purely "American" sport. I do find that listening to this vast work is better in concert, where its appearance is always a special occasion. But one has to be grateful for Aimard's quantum leap in execution compared to earlier recordings.

Ives gathered his huge output of 114 songs into a collection two years after the sonata. Susan Graham picks 15 of them, adding two more that folowed after 1922. These songs ask for a vocal chameleon who can shift instantly from Victorian parlor style to patriotic exuberance, folk song, whimsy, rapt nostaliga, and more. No one to date has been able to encompass this enormous range of expression, but Susan Graham comes as close as any. I would rank her with Jan De Gaetani, Thomas Hampson, and William Sharp among the singers I know who excel in Ives, and above the too-classical, somewhat congested renditions by Marilyn Horne and Jennifer Lamore. Aimard's accompaniment misses the Yankee flavor of the marches and patriotic snatches, but in its modernist way his style is as effective as in the sonata. Highly recommended for lovers of this music.

Great Performances, but the Star of this CD is Charles Ives.......2005-08-10

The uniquely atypical music of Charles Ives continues to mature and embed itself in the minds of larger and larger audiences every year. Practically every major orchestra in this country (and in Europe) now includes at least his symphonies in the standard repertoire. His music is probably as 'American' as any composed, so conjoined with literature and history and folksongs and all manner of Americana. This superb recording takes us one step further in appreciating Ives' gifts: his breathtaking Concord Sonata is coupled with one of the finest selections of his many songs and both sonata and songs are performed with consummate skill by pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard and mezzo soprano Susan Graham.

Aimard's approach to this big piano work is one of direct approach to the complexities of line and mood and in that approach he doesn't allow his own personality to blur Ives' message. Aimard can tackle the impossibly difficult passages and keep them transparent: he can also find the inner quiet beauty as well as any other pianist. The result is a Concord Sonata of majesty and honest simplicity.

Susan Graham has long included Ives' songs in her recitals and that experience shows in her approach to this varied selection. Graham is an immensely intelligent musician, one who can find the meaning of even a brief song in an instant. She is in fine vocal form here, and her collaboration with Aimard completes a presentation that will be difficult to match. This is a fine recording and an excellent entry point for music lovers who may have been wary of Ives' challenges. Relax and enjoy this recital. Grady Harp, August 05

works grow and transform themselves.......2005-04-07

First off this is an Ives cornocopia of songs, all sung here with the reserve that is needed, I've heard too many American art Songs, Copland, Rorem and Ives with that wrongheaded "sing-songin" delivery, it is arrogant if nothing else, and the "cutsy-ness" of it does reach the audience,unless you simply want to be entertained and you checked your brain with your cash at the box office. Straightforward Ives is I think to most effective way of playing his music,that's why I still prefer the Kalish, he brings a gritti-ness to the Concord. Aimard (and all of us) has had time since the Seventies to think and re-think this piece, and there something should be said for the way music grows, transforms itself for different time periods, isn't that why music develops itself it is striongly constituted in the first place, it is well thought through, et cetra, construction all the obvious, Copland's "Piano Variations" is a similar example, the music simply changes with time, well we change, the music is fixed.So I guess there are simply different readings.

Aimard does bring some nice clarity,like to "Hawthorne", the blazing quickness searching until the "forearm" clusters stop the flow, the onward rush of the imagination, words can change the meaning of themselves this quickly which I think is what Ives saw in Hawthorne the writer.

For the "Alcotts" any kind of nostalgia is OK with me,the simple Bb triad timbres capturing the informed naivtivitee of the little home with Bronson Alcott the speaker public man of speaking (there is a difference between public speaking and lecturer,someone who teaches as opposed to simply speaking something Bush II knows quite well.Better simply to speak without saying anything.) This is not here however for Ives loved the Utopian aspect of Danbury existential renderings, the reflections back and forth of the lifeworld, the richness of culture of the complexity of the word,place, song, timbre,all in forms of strength all mixed blending together. Aimard simply brings things out I;ve never heard before, but then that is his approach always to clarify,and that is not always the best approach in Ives where his music does ask questions, his music we have learned should be opaque, and unexplanable,terse yet convoluted; it should not lead you by the nose at each and every moment.And Aimard I;m afraid does want to lead here. I think he thinks the opaqueness will happen by itself, its already in the music, he lets this occur in the fast sections,making it a pure texture,like Debussy, I guess Ives was an existential impressionist with transcendental content.

a fresh take on sonata no. 2.......2004-07-28

I have a slightly different view than with the previous review, as well as the Davis review. If you are a fan of Ives (you probably are if you are interested in this cd), then you may not need to bother with half of this cd. Messo Susan Graham is quite out of touch with the character studies of these wonderful songs. When she isn't yodelling many times louder than she ought to on some high notes to demonstrate her vocal command, she becomes the epitomy of boredom and banality. I imagine Ben Stein could give a more lifelike reading of 'The Circus Band'. The jovial cheer "hear the trombones!" sounds more akin to a yawn on this version. Since when did shear vocal power and sonic richness take such high precedence over interpretive skills? Have you really forgotten Jan de Gaetani's wonderous versions? I feel Graham has done a disservice to this music, and should probably go back to singing French arias which apparently she is quite good at.

The Concord Sonata is definetly the reason you may want to own this disc. Aimard is outstanding as per usual. Emerson does really come alive here, as does Hawthorne with it's dramtic tempo shifts. My main concern lies in the 3rd movement 'the Alcotts'. It is clearly a pastorale movement with a touch of sweet nostalgia. Aimard plays a little too deliberately here- not loose enough with the tempo or lively enough with the rhythms. That really is the only disadvantage. I don't think Aimard played the folk elements strongly enough.
I guess the main question is: if I own the Kalish recording of the Sonata, do I need this one too? Probably again, you are an Ives believer and this version has great insights- why not. Like the Kalish version, this one includes the optional viola line on Emerson and the flute part of Thoreau. They appear better realised with more dramatic impact on the Kalish recording- a minor point. Movement for movement Aimard has the first and seccond, but I prefer 3 and 4 on the Kalish. The 3rd mentioned above, and the fourth seems to have more gravity with Kalish, bringing more of a closure to the tempestuous nature of the work. Aimard shows a more whispy, impressionistic take as he also does at the start of Hawthorne, reminding of Debussy. Not inappropriate stylistically speaking, but definetly a matter of taste. Aimard is a winner and I love what he does for Ligeti and Messiaen. Overall a very successful Ives sonata, and a questionably performed set of songs, well-chosen as they might be. If you are new to Ives this should be enough to get you into further explorations.

It takes a Frenchman to capture an American masterpiece!.......2004-05-19

The "Concord Sonata" of Charles Ives has been described as "the greatest work written by an American." It's a big sprawling, glorious mess of a thing, inspired by the Transcendental writers Emerson, Hawthorne, Alcott and Thoreau. I first heard the ground-breaking version by John Kirkpatrick, and have long cherished the powerful account by Gilbert Kalish (recorded in the '70s). But hearing Pierre-Laurent Aimard play this piece makes me forget all about those earlier recordings. A specialist in Messian and Ligeti, Aimard plays Ives like one to the manner born. Forget any preconceived notions of what it means to be a "French pianist," and let this astonishing performance carry you away. The Alcotts movement has never felt so tender, and the Thoreau movement is likewise exquisitely balanced. Perhaps most enthralling is how he manages to give shape and sense to Emerson, and Hawthorne, the fiendishly hard scherzo, has never had a reading like this. I'd have been content with the sonata, but the disk also holds the gorgeous mezzo Susan Graham singing 17 Ives songs, with Aimard's brilliant accompaniments. A fabulous recording no serious American music collection should be without!

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The Complete Songs, Vol. 4

Manufacturer: Albany Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Complete Songs of Charles Ives, Vol. 3
The Complete Songs of Charles Ives, Vol. 2
The Complete Songs of Charles Ives, Vol. 1
Charles Ives: Songs
114 Songs by Charles Ives

ASIN: B0000049MN
Release Date: 1995-08-10

Tracks:

The Innate
The Collection
Premonitions
Grantchester
Thoreau
West London
Serenity
On The Counter
Hymn
August
September
December
Cradle Song
'Paracelsus': Excerpt
Disclosure
Maple Leaves
La Fede
The Indians
Two Slants: Duty
Two Slants: Vita
'The Incantation': Excerpt
An Election
At Sea
The Last Reader
The Greatest Man
The Housatonic At Stockbridge
Resolution
Two Little Flowers
Evening
Immortality
Yellow Leaves
Ann Street
Peaks
The White Gulls
1, 2, 3
Majority
Remembrance
The One Way
The Rainbow (So May It Be!)
The Side Show
A Sea Dirge
In The Mornin'

A Song - For Anything: Songs by Charles Ives

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One of the best recitals of 2005
Near Definitive Ives Songbook Handled with Dexterity and Subtlety by Finley and Drake
31 of 114... (please do them all!)
The Finest Charles Ives Song Collection Available!

A Song - For Anything: Songs by Charles Ives

Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Complete Songs of Charles Ives, Vol. 3
The Complete Songs of Charles Ives, Vol. 1

ASIN: B000A7XJI8
Release Date: 2005-10-11

Customer Reviews:

One of the best recitals of 2005.......2006-06-09

Over the years, the sparkling, quirky, haunting songs of Charles Ives have been interpreted by many of the world's great singers. I first encountered many of them through Jan DeGaetani's still-moving recording with Gilbert Kalish, which remains one of the best ever of some of these gems.

But now we have a stunning new collection from baritone Gerald Finley, with his fine pianist Julius Drake. They have created not only one of the most definitive readings of Ives' songs to date, but one of the finest recitals of the year, period. The pleasures and surprises are almost too many to list, beginning with Finley's mellifluous voice, immaculate diction, and theatricality that helps shape these songs with unusual clarity. As just one example, consider the first part of "Memories" called "Very Pleasant," evoking the anticipation of sitting in the audience, waiting for a performance to begin. As the final word, the singer blurts out, "Curtain!" and Finley is the only one I've heard who throws his voice far away, as if the shout is coming from one of the stagehands, waiting in the wings. Not only does this make the ending more prototypically "Ives-ian," but the song makes more sense with the unexpected change in point of view.

Some of the quieter songs are just ravishing, such as "Ich Grolle Nicht" and "When stars are in the quiet skies," both with intimacy and control to spare. One of my personal favorites, "Like a sick eagle" (text by Keats), shows Finley's exquisite precision in navigating quarter-tones, creating a languid image of a dying bird slowly circling in the air. Drake is more than just an accompanist in all of these, in piano parts that are often fiendishly complex, such as "General William Booth Enters into Heaven" or the marvelous "The Cage."

The winsome "Ann Street" and poignant "The Greatest Man" both end abruptly, with tiny offhand phrases that Finley nails perfectly. And there are treasures such as the rarely recorded "Slugging a Vampire" -- as swift as the title might indicate -- and the equally delightful "1,2,3."

One could go on and on in endless detail about the entire array of 31 songs (chosen from the 114 available), but the best thing is just to get to the most pleasant part: listening. If I have a small quibble (and make no mistake, it is very small), it is that Hyperion's gorgeous, rather tranquil cover art gives no clue to Ives' wild imagination, and to the blazing work by his two outstanding interpreters here. (It looks more like a cover for something by Delius.) But it hardly matters, when both of these artists are in such rapturous form -- and captured so effectively by Hyperion's engineers. The sound, recorded in All Saints Church, East Finchley (London) is a model for projects of this kind. A release that is sure to go down as one of the finest Ives recordings ever.

Near Definitive Ives Songbook Handled with Dexterity and Subtlety by Finley and Drake.......2006-04-21

I have to admit I've had exposure to relatively unheralded American composer Charles Ives' work only twice in the past - the first was baritone Nathan Gunn's vibrant sampling of three Ives compositions on his 1999 debut recital CD, "American Anthem", and the second was soprano Deborah Voigt's recent recital disc, "All My Heart", in which she impressively opens the recording with seven hymn-like selections. With his acute dramatic sense and unobtrusive masculine tone, Canadian baritone Gerald Finley manages to bring his own impressive vocal shadings and consequently turns out to be the ideal muse for Ives' eclectic and unique song selection. Thirty-one of the composer's over 100 songs are covered here, some as short as 28 seconds ("Slugging the Vampire"), but each very individual in feeling and character.

Expertly accompanied by the accomplished Julius Drake on piano, Finley deftly performs an immensely diverse range of material from the traditional lied format of "Feldeinsamkeit" and "Ich grolle nicht" to the haunting pastoral images of "The Housatonic at Stockbridge" to the youthful zeal of "The Greatest Man" to the swooning romanticism of "When Stars are in the Quiet Skies" to the funereal dirge of "Thoreau". The adventurous sequencing of the tracks also provides the right dynamic to the program. For example, a Brahms-inspired lullaby ("Berceuse") is followed by a passionate diatribe against poverty ("West London"), which is then followed by a sentimental war ballad ("Tom Sails Away"). In one selection, the tonal change occurs midway through the song - the aptly titled "Memories (A) Very Pleasant; (B) Rather Sad" starts out as a jaunty account of an exciting night at the opera, while the second half becomes a wistful piece of nostalgia using the same tune.

My favorite performances on the disc are the stunning evocation of a French chanson, "Elegie"; the highly dramatic poem, "General William Booth Enters Into Heaven", full of jarring of rhythms and shouts of "Hallelujah!" to evoke the religion-fueled stanzas; "Charlie Rutledge", in which Finley evokes a bit over-the-top Texas twang to bring a blackly comic touch to an oddly tragic story; and the touching title song which closes the disc - a moving ballad consisting of three verses from three different sources - a love poem, a psalm and a Yale song - yet together quite compatible. I was quite impressed with Finley's portrayal of Robert Oppenheimer in John Adams' "Doctor Atomic", staged by the San Francisco Opera last fall, and also his moving performance as the title character in Benjamin Britten's "Owen Wingrave" (a 2001 cinematic production on DVD). This recording shows that he is able to translate his dramatic skills with dexterous ease into a recital setting.

31 of 114... (please do them all!).......2005-11-20

I have always wondered why there aren't a few readily-available recordings of the complete 114 songs of Charles Ives. Not just that it would be cheap to produce (piano and vocal only, filling up about 3 CDs), and not just that this is one of the most significant collections of American songs ever written (along with Gershwin's), and not just that these songs loom large in the overall Ives canon along with the Symphonies and Piano Sonatas.... It's mostly that they are just plain enjoyable to listen to and some of the most "accessible" Ives there is. Interestingly, it's a Canadian baritone and a British pianist coming through here with a great selection of 31 Ives songs covering the wide range of moods -- nostalgic, experimental, free-wheeling, silly, profound -- found in these miniature masterpieces. Let's hope they keep going and record the entire 114 (and that Hyperion survives the absurd legal trouble they find themselves in -- help them out by buying some of their CDs this month!)

The Finest Charles Ives Song Collection Available!.......2005-10-17

Charles Ives, that wondrous American iconoclast, wrote 114 songs, songs that vary in content from comedic to nostalgic to patriotic to German lieder (!) to operatic. Here brilliant baritone Gerald Finley and his gifted piano collaborator Julius Drake have selected a fine range of that output in 31 songs that not only demonstrate the spectrum of Ives' creativity, but also give notice that Canadian Gerald Finley may just be the foremost authority on how Ives' songs should be performed.

Included in no particular order (except thoughtful programming!) are such very familiar songs as 'General William Booth Enters into Heaven', 'When stars are in the quiet skies', 'Serenity', 'Tolerance', and 'Ann Street' along with the lesser known early German lieder composed in his early formative years. One of the revelations on this elegant recital is 'The Housatonic at Stockbridge' which lends text to the extraordinary last movement of Ives' orchestral 'Three Places in New England'.

Finley's diction is impeccable and his baritone voice is pliant throughout his wide range. He conveys the essence of these texts as well as any interpreter ever has. Julius Drake provides exemplary piano accompaniment. This is one of the finest recordings released this year. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, October 05

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Songs of Remembrance, Vol. 1
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Daywind Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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I Can Only Imagine
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Another Soldier's Coming Home
I Want Us to Be Together in Heaven
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Heifetz Transcriptions

Manufacturer: Delos Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0009XT856
Release Date: 2005-07-12

Tracks:

J.S. Bach: Sarabande (English Suite #3)
Weber: Rondo
Brahms: Song (Wie Melodien)
Debussy: Afternoon of a Faun
Ravel: Valse noble et sentimentale
Albeniz: Sevillana
Mendelssohn: Song without Words
Godowsky: Alt Wien
Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Tango
Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Sea Murmurs
Gershwin: 3 Preludes - I
Gershwin: 3 Preludes - II
Gershwin: 3 Preludes - III
Ponce: Estrellita
Milhaud: Braziliera (from Scaramouche)
Rachmaninoff: Etude-tableau in C Minor
Rachmaninoff: Daisies
Rachmaninoff: Oriental Sketch
Medtner: Skaska, Op.20
Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee
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Prokofiev: Masques (from Romeo and Juliet)
Khachaturian: Aisha's dance (from Gayaneh)
Khachaturian: Sabre dance (from Gayaneh)
W.A. Mozart: Adagio in E, K.261 (cad. Aharonian)

To Be Sung upon the Water: Song Cycles by Dominick Argento

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Finally someone sings Argento!

To Be Sung upon the Water: Song Cycles by Dominick Argento
Dominick Argento , Ralph Vaughan Williams , Patrice Michaels , Larry Combs , and Elliott Golub
Manufacturer: Cedille
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Thomas Adès: Living Toys
Amor: Opera Scenes and Lieder by Richard Strauss

ASIN: B0000018ZJ
Release Date: 1996-10-30

Tracks:

Frédéric Chopin (3:55)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (3:07)
Franz Schubert (4:51)
Johann Sebastian Bach (3:39)
Claude Debussy (3:28)
Giacomo Puccini (2:29)
Robert Schumann (4:36)Songs About Spring (10:45) - DOMINICK ARGENTO
I. who knows if the moon's a balloon (2:11)
II. Spring is like a perhaps hand (2:50)
III. in Just-spring (1:31)
IV. in Spring comes (1:34)
V. when faces called flowers (2:26)To Be Sung Upon the Water (27:22) - DOMINICK ARGENTO
I. Prologue: Shadow and Substance (3:33)
II. The Lake at Evening (3:08)
III. Music on the Water (3:15)
IV. Fair is the Swan (1:38)
V. In Remembrance of Schubert (3:43)
VI. Hymn Near the Rapids (2:43)
VII. The Lake at Night (3:59)
VIII. Epilogue: De profundis (5:00)Three Vocalises for Soprano and Clarinet (4:02) - RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
I. Prelude (1:52)
II. Scherzo (0:40)
III. Quasi menuetto (1:25)selections from Along the Field (10:36) - RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
II. Along the Field (2:49)
VI. Good-Bye (2:24)
VII. Fancy's Knell (3:41)
VIII. With Rue My Heart is Laden (1:33)TOTAL TIME (79:34)

Album Description

The disc includes the world premiere recording of Argento's Songs about Spring for voice and piano, based on poems by e.e. cummings. "This first recording . . . should serve as a model for all future performances," the composer says. Argento composed this song cycle (his first) while still an undergraduate at Baltimore's Peabody Institute of Music. Here, too, is the only available CD recording of Letters from Composers for voice and guitar. Based on letters and fragments of letters written by Chopin, Mozart, Schubert, Bach, Debussy, Puccini, and Schumann, they illustrate a wide range of personal problems having almost no relevance to their compositional careers. The musical settings show Argento's understanding of each composer's expressive style. To Be Sung Upon the Water (Wordsworth settings scored for high voice, clarinet, and piano) is available in only one other version -- a reissue from the 1970s. The cycle is noteworthy for the subtle and sensitive use of clarinet and bass clarinet (performed here by Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal clarinetist Larry Combs). The clarinet reappears in Vaughan Williams' Three Vocalises for Soprano and Clarinet, one of the composer's last works. Vaughan Williams' love of early English folk music is evident in the song selections from Along the Field, his settings of A.E. Housman poems for the unusual combination of voice and violin. These are the only available CD versions of these songs and vocalises. Miss Michaels studied composition with Argento at the University of Minnesota. They share a fondness for intimate vocal forms and a distinct literary sensibility. "Argento's works impress on the listeners a strong musical personality, a result of his being drawn perpetually to the human voice" (New Grove Dictionary of American Music). For her part, Miss Michaels told Fanfare magazine (September / October 1996) in an interview: "I've always been attracted to the literary impulse behind the music." Besides producing musical sounds, she wants to tell stories.

Customer Reviews:

Finally someone sings Argento!.......2001-05-07

Well, I'm sure you recognize me as the serial Patrice reviewer (I promise-I'll branch out a little bit sooner or later!). Oh, but Argento! How fun his works are! I've seen recitalists perform these pieces. The obvious highlight for me is the Mozart letter, especially when sung this well, and with such humor. It is rare to hear such warmth so consistently in interpretation of such contemporary (yet distinctly historical in style) vocal works. Brava to Patrice for continuing to champion the talented underdogs (herself included, I suppose) of the music world.

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Powerful music a tribute to Holocaust victims

Ruth Lomon: Songs of Remembrance
Laura Ahlbeck (oboe)
Manufacturer: Composers Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005Y4RU
Release Date: 2002-02-01

Tracks:

Chor der Waisen
Mes Yeux
The Survivor
Fear
Der Ewige Segne...
The Butterfly
Gedale's Song
Sunny Evening
Poeme Macabre
Love Poem

Album Description

In 1945, as the Allies swept across Europe and the Third Reich crumbled, the Nazi death camps were liberated one by one. Photographs and news accounts forced the world at last to confront and acknowledge the horror of the genocide that had taken place. At the time, it was widely thought that words would never be found to express such inhumanity, and that the experience of such profound suffering lay beyond human expression. In reality, seminal works about the Holocaust appeared almost immediately: Viktor Frankl's important psychological treatise, Man's Search for Meaning, was published in 1946, and If This Is a Man, the first volume of Primo Levi's autobiographical memoir appeared in 1947, and many more books followed. This resiliency and urgent impulse of artistic response to that monumental 20th-century tragedy proves the human desire to create a narrative, context, and meaning from reality, however gruesomely incomprehensible it may be.

You've described the inception of Songs of Remembrance as being inspired by a year's stay in Jerusalem in 1994 during which you immersed yourself in reading poetry in the Library of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. What has been your history with Israel and did you know in advance what your composition would entail? I've lived in Israel 1955-6, 1966, 1987 and 1993-4. My husband, Earle, is a physicist and we go back to Israel for his work and because we love the country and the friends we have there. At the time of our departure for Israel in 1994, the Oslo agreement had been reached and we were filled with renewed hope for peace. Originally, I intended to compose a song cycle on poems of peace by Israeli and Palestinian poets. But with the return of mounting conflict and tensions, this hope eroded and I turned my thoughts to the subject of the Holocaust.

The embellishments or melismas of the melodic line in the settings of “Mes Yeux,” “Gedale's Song,” “Fear” and “Sunny Evening” are influenced by the modes. Examples of the influence of early Armenian chants are most noticeable in the cadential material I use in “Mes Yeux,” which was the first poem I set to music; it is also a microcosmos of the song cycle because it contains harmonic and melodic references that are the basis of the work.

Customer Reviews:

Powerful music a tribute to Holocaust victims.......2003-01-12

Lomon's Song Cycle, for voices, piano and oboe/English horn, is a remarkable piece of music. The limpid melodies of the "Love Song" are searing and remain indelibly in the memory. The singing is exquisite, with Dellal in particular achieving a powerful expressiveness. This recording received an excellent review in FANFARE magazine, Fall, 2002.

Passiontide at St. Paul's (A sequence of music for Lent, Passiontide and Easter)

Average customer rating:

Something very special

Passiontide at St. Paul's (A sequence of music for Lent, Passiontide and Easter)

Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Miserere
Music For Holy Week
The Music of St. Paul's Cathedral

ASIN: B000002ZYS
Release Date: 1997-03-10

Tracks:

A Lent Prose
Call To Remembrance, O Lord
I Waited For The Lord
The Lamentation
The Reproaches
Ecce lignum Crucis
Christus factus est
Drop, Drop, Slow Tears
Crucifixus A 8
This Joyful Eastertide
In Exitu Israel (Psalm 114)
Ecce vicit Leo
Te Deum In C

Customer Reviews:

Something very special.......2002-02-01

This is, I suspect, the least well-known of the three seasonal discs released during the last few years by St. Paul's Cathedral Choir, yet it is arguably the best performance they have ever given on record.

A more appropriate title would perhaps be "Lent to Easter at St. Paul's," since the programme forms a sequence beginning with music for Lent, passing through the intensely solemn and emotionally-charged atmosphere of Passiontide before ending with some of the gems that traditionally accompany Easter Day services in many churches. The music for this sequence is all very striking, running the whole gamut of emotions from sadness to joy, sorrow to hope and despair to unalloyed delight.

The disc begins with "The Lent Prose," a plainchant responsory sung here to an English translation published in the New English Hymnal amongst other collections. One might not think that plainchant and the massive acoustic of St. Paul's would go terribly well together, but in this case they do, quite magically. Following it is a four-part introit by Richard Farrant, "Call to remembrance, O Lord," which is an epitome of Tudor polyphony at its most moving and effective. Also effective, and even simpler, is Edward Bairstow's setting of verses from the Lamentations of Jeremiah: whilst Master of Music at York Minster, he composed a number of works in this vein, that are essentially Anglican psalm chants strung together. The atmosphere created in this extremely simple music, however, is truly remarkable. The inclusion of the chorus with treble duet from Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise" - "I waited for the Lord" - shows that music for Lent is not always solemn, and that the joy of the Easter message can still permeate Lent with a sense of hope.

The Passiontide music itself is even more emotionally-charged. Two important contributions to the choral repertoire for Passiontide are represented here: John Sanders' setting of "The Reproaches" juxtaposes elements of plainchant and a twentieth-century harmonic idiom to produce a very powerful and awe-inspiring work, fitting the text superbly (I can never forget the opening statement of "O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you?" - it is haunting above anything else.) Brian Chapple's motet "Ecce lignum crucis" is more specific to the St. Paul's Cathedral Choir as it was written for them. It is a stark piece, dignified and if anything understated, yet very moving and by all means accessible - I wonder why it isn't heard more often elsewhere in English cathedrals... "Christus factus est pro nobis" is one of the most famous of Bruckner's unaccompanied motets, and here receives an absolutely stunning performance, as draining to listen to as it must have been to record. Similar intensity is brought by the choir to Lotti's famous eight-part setting of "Crucifixus etiam pro nobis" - a staple of cathedral choirs during Passiontide. In complete contrast - yet no less moving - is the three-verse hymn "Drop, drop slow tears" by Orlando Gibbons, performed here with one verse by unaccompanied trebles, then in four-part harmony, then finally with a solo treble (Anthony Way, incidentally, 'before he was famous') and the other voices humming. I am constantly amazed at how this arrangement can bring out emotions deeper even than the more 'sophisticated' through-composed works that precede it in this programme...

Easter is ushered in with another hymn: Charles Wood's harmonisation of a Dutch carol set to the words "This joyful Eastertide," which is guaranteed to appear on church music lists throughout the Christian world on Easter Day each year. It is always like a breath of fresh air, evocative of the fresh feeling that somehow always seems to emerge in worship on an Easter Sunday. Bairstow's setting of Psalm 114 is an Eastertide companion piece to his "Lamentation" - it too consists of a couple of related psalm chants, with an imaginative use of the organ to reflect "the presence of the God of Jacob." The Tudor style of Church Music is represented again in Peter Philips' intricate and joyful motet "Ecce vincit Leo;" at the end of the sequence is Britten's "Te Deum" in C, which sets a seal on the Eastertide feeling with its building of a cheerful atmosphere out of a quiet beginning, together with quirky rhythms and a glorious central section with a prominent part for an outstanding treble soloist.

Tracks:

Set No. 1 (10): I. Scherzo: The See'r
Set No. 1 (10): II. A Lecture
Set No. 1 (10): III. The Ruined River
Set No. 1 (10): IV. Like A Sick Eagle
Set No. 1 (10): V. Calcium Night Light
Set No. 1 (10): VI. Allegretto sombreoso ('When The Moon')
Set No. 2 (11): I. Largo: The Indians
Set No. 2 (11): II. 'Gyp The Blood' Or Hearst!? Which Is Worst?!
Set No. 2 (11): III. Andante: The Last Reader
Set No. 3 (12): I. Adagio sostenuto: At Sea
Set No. 3 (12): II. Luck And Work
Set No. 3 (12): III. Premonitions
Set For Theatre Orchestra (20): I. In The Cage
Set For Theatre Orchestra (20): II. In The Inn (Pot-pourri)
Set For Theatre Orchestra (20): III. In The Night
Set No. 5: The Other Side Of Pioneering, Or Side Lights On American Enterprise (14): I. The New River - London Voices
Set No. 5: The Other Side Of Pioneering, Or Side Lights On American Enterprise (14): III. Charlie Rutlage
Set No. 5: The Other Side Of Pioneering, Or Side Lights On American Enterprise (14): IV. Ann Street
Set No. 6: From The Side Hill (15): I. Mists
Set No. 6: From The Side Hill (15): II. The Rainbow
Set No. 6: From The Side Hill (15): IV. Evening
The Pond (40)
Set No. 7: Water Colors (16): The Pond - Remembrance
Set No. 1: I. The See'r (343) - Susan Narucki
Set No. 1: II. Tolerance (377) - Alan Feinberg
Set No. 1: III. The New River (308) - Susan Narucki
Set No. 1: IV. Like A Sick Eagle (288) - Susan Narucki
Set No. 1: VI. The 'Incantation' - Susan Narucki
Set No. 2: The Indians (283) - Susan Narucki
Set No. 2: Ann Street (211) - Alan Feinberg
Set No. 2: III. The Last Reader (286) - Susan Narucki
Set No. 3: I. At Sea (213) - Alan Feinberg
Set No. 3: II. Luck And Work (293) - Alan Feinberg
Set No. 3: III. Premonitions (328) - Alan Feinberg
Set No. 5: III. Charlie Rutlage - Alan Feinberg
Set No. 6: I. Mists (II) (301) - Susan Narucki
Set No. 6: II. The Rainbow (So May It Be!) (330) - Alan Feinberg
Set No. 6: IV. Evening (244) - Alan Feinberg
Set No. 7: III. Remembrance (322) - Alan Feinberg

Customer Reviews:

A "Must" for Ives fans.......2002-07-21

I could go on and on about Ives, but it would be rather pointless in this case. The bare-bones facts of the matter is that this is an excellent disc and is a must for those whose Ives collection needs fleshed out with some of the smaller and more elusive works.

Ives, the Recycler.......2001-11-06

It is a well-known fact that many composers have gotten into the habit of rewriting and/or recycling older compositions as something new. For example, Handel recycled a lot of his organ concertos as concertos for harp and/or harpsichord, as well as a number of recorder sonatas. Ives was very keen on recycling his own works in different formats. One only has to peruse certain of the Ives songs, for instance, to realize that some of that material showed up in his symphonies. His fourth symphony alone sports two movements which were recycled: one from the first string quartet, and one from a song.
It is refreshing to see, at last, a collection which demonstrates so thoroughly Ives's process of recycling not only his own tunes but other people's as well. In particular I was pleased to see that this recording includes "Calcium Light Night" which uses George F. Root's "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" Also we have what is perhaps the first recording on CD of The Pond, which Ives wrote as a tribute to his father who used to play "Kathleen Mavourneen" on the trumpet at a pond near their home in Danbury, Connecticut. I was surprised to learn that Ives had rewritten The Pond not just once but twice.
I find myself in agreement, by the way, with the other reviewer concerning the omission of the song "The Cage" which is a lovely and very brief song. However, this particular song is available on other recordings of Ives's work, such as the recording of Ives songs by Jan deGaetani and Gilbert Kalish, so I didn't miss it that much.

Ives at his best.......2001-06-14

I finished listening to this CD a little while ago and I'm still glowing. It's a creative bit of programming in a well-performed, well-engineered reaslization. First come Ives's pieces for chamber orchestra, grouped as he intended into his idiosyncratic "sets." Then come the same pieces again, in the same order, in their versions for voice and piano. Some of the orchestral music. such as "Evening" was unknown to me. Others, like "Charlie Rutledge," I knew only as songs. (The orchestral arrangement of "Rutledge" is an eye-opener--it's like Copland by way of Varese.) Loveliest of all is the voice of the soprano Susan Narucki. Her interpretation of the Se'er (Set No. 1) seemed rather strident on first hearing, but in the softer, slower songs she gave me chills, esp. "Like a Sick Eagle" and "The Indians." The CD also includes a fine rendition of the Set for Theater Orchestra. Conductor Richard Bernas and his ensemble do well by the broken, sad-yet-happy ragtime of "In the Inn." The only omission in the collection is a vocal performance of "In the Cage"--the first of the three pieces. The other two don't have vocals counterparts, but "In the Cage" does, and one wonders why Bernas and company decided not to include it.

I have always believed that some of Ives's best music can be found in his pieces for chamber orchestra, in which, surprisingly, he uses his signature quotation technique only sparingly. Most of the tunes are original. The music is undiluted Ives, and it is wonderful.

Good programing, great performances.......2001-05-11

Yes, Ives was nuts. He composed brilliant songs, then orchestrated the music, leaving out the words, calling the result "Sets for Theater Orchestra". Or vice versa. This is the first CD that includes alterantive Ives versions side by side, giving you both the songs and the orchestra music. The comparisons are fascinating and the performances are terrific. Sandford Sylvan is a great American singer and the orchestra is right on top of things.

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