Erica Goodman & Friends

On this CD:

1. Divertimento for harp & strings
Composed by Milton Barnes
Performed by Erica Goodman, Moshe Hammer, Stanley McCartney, Douglas Perry, Joel Quarrington, Suzanne Shulmann, Jack Mendelsson, Barry Shiffman

2. Images for harp, Op 35 ("Années Grises Sur la Route D'El Azib")
Composed by Marcel Tournier
Performed by Erica Goodman, Moshe Hammer, Stanley McCartney, Douglas Perry, Joel Quarrington, Suzanne Shulmann, Jack Mendelsson, Barry Shiffman

3. Introduction & Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet, & string quartet
Composed by Maurice Ravel
Performed by Erica Goodman, Moshe Hammer, Stanley McCartney, Douglas Perry, Joel Quarrington, Suzanne Shulmann, Jack Mendelsson, Barry Shiffman

4. Quintet for harp & strings in C minor
Composed by E.T.A. Hoffmann
Performed by Erica Goodman, Moshe Hammer, Stanley McCartney, Douglas Perry, Joel Quarrington, Suzanne Shulmann, Jack Mendelsson, Barry Shiffman

5. Variations pastorales sur un vieux noël, for harp & string quartet
Composed by Marcel Samuel-Rousseau
Performed by Erica Goodman, Moshe Hammer, Stanley McCartney, Douglas Perry, Joel Quarrington, Suzanne Shulmann, Jack Mendelsson, Barry Shiffman

Tracks:

And Then I Knew 'Twas Wind, For Flute, Viola And Harp
Rain Tree, For Three Percussion Players
I. The Night
II. Moby Dick
III. Cape Cod
Bryce, For Flute, Two Harps, Marimba And Percussion
Itinerant, For Solo Flute
Voice, For Solo Flute
Air, For Solo Flute
Rain Spell, For Flute, Clarinet, Harp, Piano And Vibraphone

Album Description

Robert Aitken invited Takemitsu to Canada for performances of his chamber music in the New Music Concerts series in 1975 and 1983. Their close friendship led to the composition of a number of works which were not only personally performed for Takemitsu by the musicians on this recording but benefited from his interpretative insights. The Night from Toward the Sea, one of several works on the subject of water, a continuing theme in the composer's works, received its first performance in Toronto in 1981 by Robert Aitken and the Cuban guitarist Leo Brouwer.

Customer Reviews:

Beautifully performed and superbly recorded late chamber works.......2006-07-23

This Naxos disc contains several chamber works by Toru Takemitsu, the self-taught Japanese composer who was one of the most singular composers of the 20th century. They are performed by flautist Robert Aiken and several other Toronto-based musicians with whom Takemitsu formed a close relationship. With the exception of a single piece, all are from the last two decades of his life, after his modernist apogee and when he had entered a "sea of tonality".

"Voice" for solo flute (1971) is the only piece here from Takemitsu's modernist middle-period. Its writing is rougher than other pieces, sometimes a lot and at other times not much so, and it makes use of quarter-tones. But what really sets it apart is Takemitsu's having the performer shout, sing, and hum into the instrument, amplifying and treating his voice. The opening, with some bold words by Japanese poet Shuzo Takiguchi, will snap you out of any trance entered from the other works. At times it sounds like flute-meets-Ligeti's "Aventures", and so comes across as rather dated, but still it comes across as a nice change of pace on a disc having otherwise only late works. This performance stands in interesting contrast with that of Aurele Nicolet on the DG "Echo 20/21" disc; Aiken's is polished and prim, while Nicolet, the work's dedicatee, gives a rougher and more primal go at it. By the time "Bryce" for flute, two harps, marimba, and percussion (1976) was written, Takemitsu had already left modernism behind and one immediately notices a consistent meditative feel, though it retains the usual touches of quarter-notes and improvisation. I find little that grabs me in this work, and think it the only ho-hum piece on the disc. Takemitsu was clearly still perfecting a new idiom.

"And then I knew 'twas wind" for flute, viola, and harp (1992) bears more than a passing resemblance with Debussy's "Sonata" for the same three instruments, and shares with the French composer's work the interest in timbre for its own sake that marked all of Takemitsu's late works. Takemitsu has been criticized, even by supporters such as Oliver Knussen, of cutting all his final works from the same general carpet, with all being quite mellow and some overly so. This piece, however, really stands out for its dynamic interactions of the three instruments, with the flute often leaping above the encumberance of the other two. This recording is dazzling, much brighter and crystal-clear than the recording in Deutsche Grammophon's "20/21" series.

"Rain Tree" for three percussion players (1981) is glorious. It is related to the later "Rain Tree Sketch" and "Rain Tree Sketch II" for piano, but the expanded timbres and greater use of hall space in this original version make it transcendently beautiful. Two of the percussionists here, Russell Hartenberger and Bob Becker, are members of the Nexus percussion ensemble for whom Takemitsu wrote his "From me flows what you call Time" piece, which is on a worthy Sony disc.

The theme of water is continued in two other works on this CD. "Toward the Sea" for alto flute and guitar (1981) was written for Greenpeace's "Save the Whales" campaign, and is in three movements titled "The Night", "Moby Dick" and "Cape Cod". The flute's melodic line often exhibits a raising three-note phrase S-E-A (German notation having "Es" for "E flat"), while arpeggios on the guitar give a gently undulating touch like the surface of the ocean. This performance is equal to that on DG, but preferable to the Sony recording with John Williams, the London Sinfonietta, and Salonen which lacks confidence. "Rain Spell" for flute, clarinet, harp, piano, and vibraphone (1983) has with arpeggios on the strings evoking the flow or currents. The clarinet, however, performed her by Joaquin Valdepenas, gives a very odd timbre compared by some to insects. The general form of the work is that the melodies get progressively longer.

"Itinerant" for solo flute (1989) was written in memory of the sculptor Isamu Noguchi. It is notable for its slow pace and extremely conservative nature. Silence is an important factor here, and much of the work purposefully consists of what the performer does *not* play. Takemitsu's final work, "Air" for solo flute (1995), continues in this style, but eschews unusual techniques, giving it an even greater simplicity. It was taken from material developed for a work for flute, harp, and orchestra that was not to be, for Takemitsu's untimely death came the next year. The piece is a set of variations in rondo form on a four-note motif, with an interest in ascending and descending scales.

This might be one of the best possible introductions to the late chamber music of this sorely missed composer. (If orchestral music is more your thing, check out the QUOTATION OF DREAM disc on Deutsche Grammophon in the 20/21 series.) Be aware, however, that this is music of great subtlety that demands concentration, but if you are willing to give it your attention, it will demonstrate great beauty.

George Crumb: Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale)

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George Crumb on Naxos

George Crumb: Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale)

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Charles Wuorinen: String Sextet; Piano Quintet; Divertimento
George Crumb: Songs, Drones, and Refrains of Death
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Stephen Albert: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

ASIN: B000JVSVD8
Release Date: 2006-12-12

Tracks:

Vox Balaenae For Three Masked Players
1. La Senorita Del Abanico (Senorita Of The Fan)
2. La Tarde (Afternoon)
3. Cancion Cantada (A Song Sung)
4. Caracola (Snail)
5. El Lagarto Esta Llorando! (The Lizard Is Crying)
6. Cancioncilla Sevillana (A Little Song From Seville)
7. Cancion Tonta (Silly Songs)
An Idyll For The Misbegotten (Images III)
Eleven Echoes Of Autumn (Echoes I)

Customer Reviews:

George Crumb on Naxos.......2007-02-07

The Naxos "American Classics" series continues to offer invaluable introductions to American art music, from the traditional to the avant garde. This Naxos release of music by the American composer George Crumb (b.1929) falls in the latter category. It is the second release on Naxos of music by this intriguing, taut, and serious composer. The earlier Naxos CD, released in mid-2006, featured Crumb's setting of poetry by Federico Lorca, "Songs, Dances, and Refrains of Death" performed by the Arte Nouveau Ensemble. This second release is performed by the New Music Concerts Ensemble, a Toronto group which champions new music, led by flutist Robert Aiken. It includes a short song cycle together with three important chamber works. The program notes are by Crumb himself.

Crumb's music is dramatic and programmatic. His themes include nature, death, and religious mysticism. Crumb's music uses unusual instruments and effects and also uses standard western instruments in novel ways. His works place great emphasis on the timbre -- the qualities -- of the varied instrument and of the human voice. It is spare and minimalist.

Lorca's anguished poetry brings out the best in Crumb. This CD to features a setting of Lorca, but in a lighter vein than Crumb's other works. In 1986, after eight separate settings of Lorca poems including his most famous work, "Ancient Voices of Children," Crumb set a series of seven Lorca poems written for children, titled "Federico's Little Songs for Children." The cycle is performed by Canadian soprano Teri Dunn to the accompaniment of flute and harp. In the seven songs, Robert Aitken performs on four different kinds of flute, including the bass and alto flute and the piccolo, while harpist Erica Goodman likewise exploits the full timbre and range of her instrument. The songs vary in style from the serious to the whimsical, as Dunn alternately sings, declaims, whispers, shouts and snarls through the varied passages of Crumb's score. The text of the songs and translations are offered on the Naxos web site.

Crumb's 1971 composition, "Vox Balaenae" exemplifies his love of nature and of the theatrical. Crumb directs each of the three performers to wear a black half-mask to "effac[e] a sense of human projection [and] represent, symbolically, the powerful impersonal forces of nature." The music is inspired by a tape of the singing of the humback whale and is scored for flute, cello, and piano, each electronically amplified. The music is a lament for the fate of the whale in the face on an increasingly hostile environment created by human beings. In hearing this work, I thought of Rautavaara's "Cantus Arcticus" which, in fact, uses a tape or songs of Arctic birds, and of Alan Hovhaness's "And God Created Great Whales" which explores themes similar to Crumb's work. (Although we writes in a more accessible, popular style, Hovhaness seems to me to share many of Crumb's themes and preoccupations.)

The "Eleven Echoes of Autumn" composed in 1965 for violin, alto flute, clarinet and piano, features three short movements for flute violin, and cello, respectively leading to a stormy climax and then fading away. This chamber work too is inspired by Lorca, as the performers are instructed to whisper a Lorca text, "and the broken arches where time suffers" at several points in the score.

The final work on this CD is the "Idyll for the Misbegotten" composed in 1986. The work is scored for flute and percussion and rises to moments of deep force and intensity. Crumb writes that 'misbegotten' "well describes the fateful and melancholy predicament of the species homo sapiens at the present moment in time" as human beings have set themselves in opposition to nature rather than attempt to live harmoniously within nature. (Crumb here offers a restatement of the human predicament, while holding on to only one end of it.) This work as well includes whispers and vocal asides from the performers as they are instructed to intone lines from an eight-century Chinese poet: "The moon goes down. There/are shivering birds and/ withering grasses."

This Naxos CD offers an excellent opportunity for the adventurous listener to explore the difficult and strangely moving music of George Crumb.

Robin Friedman

Luciano Berio: Sequenzas I-XIV for Solo Instruments

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Spectacular Playing of Extraordinarily Virtuosic Solo Works

Luciano Berio: Sequenzas I-XIV for Solo Instruments

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Berio: The Complete Sequenzas, Alternate Sequenzas & Works for Solo Instruments
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Berio: Recital I for Cathy / Folk Songs / 3 Songs by Kurt Weill
Henze: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 3; Five Night Pieces

ASIN: B000F6YWS0
Release Date: 2006-05-16

Tracks:

Sequenza I For Flute - Nora Shulman
Sequenza II For Harp - Erica Goodman
Sequenza III For Female Voice - Tony Arnold
Sequenza IV For Piano - Boris Berman
Sequenza V For Trombone - Alain Trudel
Sequenza VI For Viola - Steven Dann
Sequenza VIIa For Oboe - Matej Sarc

Tracks:

Sequenza VIII For Violin - Jasper Wood
Sequenza IXa For Clarinet - Joaquin Valdepenas
Sequenza X For Trumpet In C Major And Pianoresonance - Guy Few
Sequenza XI For Guitar - Pablo Sainz Villegas

Tracks:

Sequenza XII For Bassoon - Ken Munday
Sequenza XIII For Accordion (Chanson) - Joseph Petric
Sequenza XIV For Cello - Darrett Adkins
Sequenza VIIb For Soprano Saxophone - Wallace Halladay
Sequenza IXb For Alto Saxophone - Wallace Halladay

Customer Reviews:

Spectacular Playing of Extraordinarily Virtuosic Solo Works.......2006-05-23

I thought I'd never say anything like this, but this music, from my relatively conservative perspective, is extremely thorny, even ugly, but I couldn't stop listening to it, it was so fascinating. And that's a lot of listening when you're talking about three CDs, sixteen tracks, over three hours of music. My only prior exposure to any of Berio's 'Sequenza' series was at a musical house party years ago when the principal trombone of the St. Louis Symphony, Bernie Schneider, played Sequenza V. I was entranced (and impressed with his playing) but never sought out any recordings nor heard any of them in recital. I have to say that I have been more or less obsessed with this recording since I got it. Mostly I am fascinated by the ungodly virtuosity and extended techniques required by the solo instrumentalists but there is also something hypnotic about the music itself as well. I usually am interested to figure out form in new music, but in this case I'm completely stumped. I have not seen scores and perhaps that would help, but I suspect that the serial procedures and new instrumental techniques required by Berio's music would simply leave me confused. Still, I listened on, puzzled, fascinated, repulsed, awed and completely engaged.

From David Osmond-Smith's article on Berio in the online Grove Dictionary: "The 'sequence' of the title is, broadly, that of harmonic fields: fixed pitch resources that are each explored for their melodic and harmonic potential in turn. The ways in which this conception is realized vary widely from one Sequenza to the next. They serve a virtuosity that, as Berio often emphasised, is not merely that of flying finger or agile tongue. The composer also required a virtuosity of 'sensibility and intelligence' that often entails a thoroughgoing understanding of the history of the instrument: most explicitly in Sequenza VIII for violin (1976-7), but also, for instance, in the characterization of registers in Sequenza XII for bassoon (1995). Indeed, the piece may become an essay in the instrument's social history, as in Sequenza XIII for accordion (1995-6), which creates an amalgam of echoes from tango, work-song, cabaret and other forms of popular entertainment. In certain cases, where history has consigned to an instrument an excessively constricted range of characteristics, Berio may write à rebours. Both Sequenza II for harp (1963) and Sequenza VI for viola (1967) invest their instruments with an unwonted ferocity."

Berio wrote fourteen Sequenzas, but two of them have alternate versions (VIIa for oboe and VIIb for soprano saxophone; IXa for clarinet [given a really luscious performance here by Joaquin Valdepenas] and IXb for alto saxophone); hence sixteen tracks. (They are not played in the order in which they were written.) Most of the musicians are Canadian and all the recordings were made in the same venue, St. John Chysostom Church, Newmarket, Ontario, over a period from November 1999 to May 2004. The sonics are excellent with enough room ambience to give a 'real' sound to the recordings. Some highlights: The incredible vocal (dare I call it singing?) rendition by Tony Arnold of Sequenza III; the fiercely hypnotic viola of Steven Dann in VI; the unearthly, often microtonal, bassoon (how does he make it sound like an air raid siren?) of Ken Munday in XII. But then there is not a weak performance here. I wish I could comment more about the music itself but my music-analytical arsenal simply doesn't allow me to do much more than describe it in the most general, and mostly non-technical, terms.

This is the only recorded set of Sequenzas that includes Berio's last one, Sequenza XIV for cello, written in 2002 not long before he died. And of course the set's budget price makes it all the more attractive.

Query: Why (pun intended) can't I hear the trombonist's spoken 'Why?' (or 'Warum?', a tribute to the German clown Grock who often ended his routines by saying that single word) at the end of Sequenza V? Is it spoken through the instrument itself? Maybe my ears need a thorough cleaning.

Heartily recommended for the adventurous and for the student of any of the instruments featured here.

Scott Morrison

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Flute & Harp

Manufacturer: Bis
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000016CH
Release Date: 1993-09-14

Tracks:

Casilda Fantaisie
Ballade
Larghetto Sostenuto -
Andante Poco Allegretto -
Allegro Ma Non Troppo
Moderato -
Lullaby -
Rondo

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Jeux à Deux

Manufacturer: Marquis Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00018D5FI
Release Date: 2003-01-01

Tracks:

Tambourin
Gymnopedies I
Gymnopedies II
Le Tic-Toc-Choc
Minuet And Dance Of The Blesed Spirits
Le Petit Berger
Sicilienne
Entr' acte
Claire De Luen
Orientale
Gavotte
Madrigal
Piece En Forme De Habanera
Berceuse

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Lovely instrumentals with a Celtic touch

Celtic Memories

Manufacturer: Marquis Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Lullabies & Berceuse | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000003WHE
Release Date: 1996-04-09

Tracks:

Ste: Andante
Ste: Allegro
Ste: Moderato
Ste: Giga
A Red, Red Rose
The Bonnie Banks O' Loch Lomon'
Three Scottish Dances, Op.28: Welcome Dance
Three Scottish Dances, Op.28: Kerchief's Dance
Three Scottish Dances, Op.28: Gillie's Dance
Benedictus
Arisaig Mist/Wendy's Lament
Songs Of Hebrides: Skye Boat Song
Songs Of Hebrides: Eriskay Love Lilt
Songs Of Hebrides: Eriskay Lullaby
Three Prlds On Scottish Hymns: Crimond
Three Prlds On Scottish Hymns: Martyrs
Three Prlds On Scottish Hymns: Stracathro
Three Scottish Reels: The East Neuk O' Fife/Gin I Had A Bonnie Lassie/Lady Charlotte Campbell's Reel

Customer Reviews:

Lovely instrumentals with a Celtic touch.......2000-12-23

The more familiar tunes ("Red Red Rose," etc.) sound great in their instrumental versions, as do the lesser-known pieces. Very nice, mellow record to play and relax to.

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Horn & Harp - GREAT COMBO

Horn & Harp Soirée

Manufacturer: Bis
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000016KL
Release Date: 1994-10-14

Tracks:

I. Allegro Assai
II. Andantino
III. Allegro
I. Allegro Con Moto
II. Andante; Variations. Tempo Simile/Var. Piu Allegro/Var. Adagio, Quasi Recitativo/Var. Allegro...
Divert: Andante
Divert: Allegretto
Andante
Solo Pour Cor Avec Accompagnement De Harpe
Introduction
Andante; 1. Allegretto; 2nd Allegreto 3. Finale
L'Echo. Deuxieme Nocturne: I. Intro. Adagio
II. Allegro
L'Echo. Deuxieme Nocturne: Theme Italien. Allegretto/1st Var/2nd Var/3rd Var. Mvt De Marche...
Elegie Pour Cor Et Harpe

Customer Reviews:

Horn & Harp - GREAT COMBO.......2000-06-26

Never know that a combination of Horn and Harp can create such a romantic feeling. Grab it when you got a chance!

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Heavenly to listen to!

Heavenly Harp

Manufacturer: Avalon (Rock Bottom)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Harmonious Harp

ASIN: B00008L3VE
Release Date: 2003-03-04

Tracks:

Prelude No. 1 in C Major from the Well-Tempered Klavier
Morning from Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
Polovtsian Dance No. 17 from the Opera Prince Igor
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Variation 18)
Nocturne No. 2, Op. 9 in E Flat
Piano Concerto No. 21 in C (2nd Mov't) 'Elvira Madigan'
Romanza d'Amour
Liebestraum
Air from Water Music
To a Wild Rose from Woodland Sketches No. 1, Op. 51
Piano Sonata No. 8, Op. 13 (2nd Mov't) 'Pathque'
Gymnopedie No. 1
Romanze (2nd Mov't) From Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Ave Maria
Spring Song
Clair de Lune (From Suite Bergamasque)

Customer Reviews:

Heavenly to listen to!.......2004-05-25

If you're looking for a CD to relax to, or to set a romantic mood, or rock a little one to sleep, this is the one. I was rocking my baby to sleep at a friend's home when she put this on, and he quickly fell fast asleep to the light, beautiful, flowing sounds of harpist Erica Goodman within moments. You don't have to be a fan of the harp to enjoy this music, as the varied composers provide the variety. This is a collection of some the very best possible selections of classical music. It floats lightly through the room and just makes you want to close your eyes, relax, and drink in every sweet note.

Average customer rating:

Like Rainbows
A fine Christmas CD for your collection.

Christmas Dreams

Manufacturer: Moston Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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A Guitar for Christmas
The Spanish Album

ASIN: B00000K5BL
Release Date: 1999-09-14

Tracks:

Christmas Dreams
O Holy Night
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Ave Maria
We Three Kings
The First Noel
Silent Night
Song Of Peace
Hark, The Herald Angels Sing/Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Joy To The World
A Canon For Christmas
Christmas Beyond The Sea

Customer Reviews:

Like Rainbows.......2005-12-07

This album contains some very pleasing music. There's a selection of famous Christmas carols, the majority of which are played as instrumentals, with Liona Boyd on classical guitar, Georges Zamfir on pan flute, and a fine team of other musicians, including Toronto's Children's Chorus and the Orpheus Choir.

Five of the selections include lyrics. The first is the title song, "Christmas Dreams," which begins "Christmas dreams are like rainbows." The others are "Song of Peace," "Silent Night," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear."

It's a good choice for the Holiday season, maybe even more so on the evening of, say, December 6 (Saint Nicholas' Day) or December 24 (Christmas Eve, of course).

If you are a Pagan, the Holiday season is a great time to invite one's Christian friends over to celebrate Yule, sing "O Tannenbaum," and put presents under the tree. If you want to go, um, whole hog, you can even perform the sonargoltr (sacrificing the Yule pig) for the feast. But don't do that in front of the guests! Instead, get this fine album and use it to promote togetherness.

A fine Christmas CD for your collection........2000-05-22

Guess what my wife gave me last Christmas? It was "Christmas Dreams" by Liona Boyd.We played "Christmas Dreams" over, over, and over.... Georges Zamfir plays pan flutes to provide a lovely blend with Liona's beautiful classical guitar playing of Christmas season tunes. Other guest appearances are by Roger Whittaker, The Toronto Children's Chorus, and The Orphius Choir. I enjoy all 14 tracks and highly recommend this CD for this Blessed Christmas Season.