Classical
VOICES Notes and news on Classical releases
Herald Angels Sing
16 NOV 09 JASON SERINUS
If anyone knew how to present America's favorite Christmas hymns and carols with an irresistible blend of homey pronunciation and elevated vocalism, it was Robert Shaw. On his 1994 Telarc CD, Songs Of Angels: Christmas Hymns And Carols, the Robert Shaw Chamber Singers sing with beautiful tone and crystal clear enunciation.
You may have heard "Good King Wenceslas," "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" and "What Child Is This?" countless times, but Shaw's impeccable control and masterly use of tempo and dynamic shifts make you want to listen again and again. The CD's 29 delectable arrangements by Shaw and Alice Parker date from the 1950s, that curious time in American history where, amidst the social and artistic horror of Joseph McCarthy's maniacal witch hunts, everything from music to home appliances was coated in a veneer of familial contentment.
Thankfully, Parker and Shaw rose far above the level of mediocrity. Nor did politics didn't stop them from staging songs from outside U.S. borders, "Fum, Fum, Fum" and "Hacia Belen Va Un Borrico." The latter features a gorgeous-voiced bass soloist who sounds as though he could have easily sustained a professional career.
There are infinite collections of Christmas hymns and carols on the market, but few are this satisfying, affordably priced, and all-embracing in their mixture of joy and reverence.
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Hacia Belen va un borrico
Robert Shaw & Robert Shaw Chamber Singers ...
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O Come, Emmanuel
Robert Shaw & Robert Shaw Chamber Singers ...
in this playlist.
Celestial Voyage
19 OCT 09 JASON SERINUS
Gustav Holst's spectacular orchestral voyage into outer space has proven so popular that, on Oct. 27, Telarc will release its third traversal of the work in 23 years, Holst - The Planets. Recorded in extremely realistic, expansive DSD sound by Grammy Award-winning recording engineer Michael Bishop, the disc finds Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in top (that is to say thrilling) form.
I recall the last time I heard The Planets, in a mediocre performance. Led by an uninspired conductor who seemed intent on squandering the resources of the San Francisco Symphony, Holst's seven celestial bodies seemed dismayingly earthbound. In welcome contrast, nothing in this new Telarc recording gets in the way of lift-off. The huge punch of the opening track, Mars, the Bringer of War, finds its energetic opposite in Järvi's airy presentation of the final voyage to Neptune, the Mystic. Thanks to the clarity of the recording, which excels in preserving detail within a huge, naturally resonant soundstage, Holst's compositional daring impresses anew with its freshness.
The companion work is Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra. Composed in 1946 for an educational film, it begins with an unforgettable theme from Henry Purcell's instrumental music to Abdelazer. In contrast to the darkness of Britten's most probing operas, some of the short movements in Young Person's Guide give Britten an opportunity to indulge in his whimsical side. The zippy final fugue, which packs a punch all its own as it brings the themes together, is an unmitigated delight.
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Britten: Young Person's Guide: Theme B
Paavo Jarvi & Cincinnati Symphony, from ...
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Gustav Holst: First Suite in E-flat major, ...
Various Artists, from Telarc Celebrating ...
in this playlist.
Can't Top This
02 OCT 09 JASON SERINUS
Released one week before the death of Erich Kunzel, longtime conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, From The Top At The Pops finds the beloved musician in ebullient form. Conducting before a live audience in Cincinnati Music Hall last Oct. 27, Kunzel opens his heart to seven gifted pre-collegiate musicians showcased on National Public Radio's 2008 From The Top concert tour.
Given the artists' youth, the musicianship is extraordinary. Ji-Yong, a 17-year-old pianist, plays the opening allegro movement of Grieg's ever-popular Piano Concerto in A minor with fervor, and 14-year-old violinist Chad Hoopes brings gripping tone to the finale of Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor.
Three works are presented in full. After the orchestra performs the sole new composition on the program, 19-year-old Stephen Feigenbaum's romantic Serenade For Strings (written at age 15), 12-year-old Hilda Huang plays J.S. Bach's entire Piano Concerto No. 5 in F minor. For dessert, 16-year-old cellist Matthew Allen dances his way through David Popper's likeable Hungarian Rhapsodie, Op. 68.
There are two special treats. Departing from the line-up of pianists and string players, 17-year-old tenor saxophonist Corey Dundee plays the allegro from Russell Peck's harmonious The Upward Stream. Most exciting, Caroline Goulding, the gifted 16-year-old violinist whose Telarc debut recital was issued last month, joins pianist and From The Top host Christopher O'Riley in the Allegro from the precocious Mendelssohn's Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings.
Thank you for so much delight, Maestro Kunzel.
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Feigenbaum: Serenade for Strings
Erich Kunzel & Cincinnati Pops Orchestra ...
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Gershwin: Selections from Porgy and Bess: It ...
Caroline Goulding, from Caroline Goulding
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Verdi: Grand March from Aida
Erich Kunzel & Cincinnati Pops Orchestra ...
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Jarre: Theme from Lawrence of Arabia
Erich Kunzel, from Erich Kunzel Triple ...
in this playlist.
The Harp Reborn
22 SEP 09 JASON SERINUS
Begone Busby Berkeley-born images of celestial harpists attired in diaphanous gowns, and angelic cherubs strumming amidst rococo splendor. Thanks to composer Bright Sheng and harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, we now know that the harp can get as down and dirty as a horn section in heat as evidenced on Telarc's Never Far Away: Music Of Bright Sheng. (We also know that writers can get carried away by their overheated prose, but that's another story).
The Shanghai-born and schooled Sheng, who studied with Leonard Bernstein and George Perle, Mario Davidovsky, Hugo Weisgall and other luminaries after immigrating to the United States in 1982, wrote his Never Far Away for Harp and Orchestra (2008) expressly for Kondonassis. In addition to plucked strings and glissandi, here given a distinct Chinese tint, the work employs a variety of techniques that pull the harp out of its usual comfort zone. The first movement, inspired by a folk song that depicts a young girl's longing, cedes to a Chinese instrumental melody that portrays a drunken fisherman. The conclusion, Doctored Pentatonics, plays with musical motifs and the harp's prepared strings in ways that can throw you off guard. The ending packs a wallop.
Surrounding this world premiere recording are several others notables: Shanghai Overture; The Nightingale And The Rose, a short ballet based on a story by Oscar Wilde; and the two-part Tibetan Love Song And Swing. Swing it does aplenty, with multiple opportunities for harp, and sensational sections destined for the audiophile Hall of Fame.
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Sheng: The Nightingale And The Rose (World ...
Yolanda Kondonassis, from Never Far ...
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Takemitsu: Toward the Sea II: Moby Dick
Yolanda Kondonassis, from Air
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Bright Sheng: Silent Temple II
Ying Quartet, from Dim Sum
in this playlist.
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