The Wooden Prince (A fából faragott királyfi), ballet in 1 act for orchestra, Sz. 60, BB 74 (Op. 13), (1914-1917) I. Introduction (Molto moderato) II. First Dance: Dance of the Princess in the Forest (Molto moderato) III. Second Dance: Dance of the Trees (Assai moderato) IV. Third...
Tabula rasa, concerto for 2 violins (or violin & viola), prepared piano & string orchestra (1977) I. Ludus: Con moto II. Silentium: Senza moto Adele Anthony, violin Gil Shaham, violin Erik Risberg, prepared piano Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra Neeme Järvi Arvo Pärt composed Tabula Rasa in 1977, shortly after emerging from his self-imposed period of intense study and reflection to demonstrate what would become his characteristic musical technique: the so-called tintinnabuli method. The work is thus a prime example of the technique and demonstrates how, even in its early stages, Pärt's new and innovative musical language was connected indelibly with his sense of musical process and form. One not only hears the tintinnabula system working itself out in this piece, but also gets a clear sense of the aesthetic and spiritual underpinnings of the method and its implications for large-scale musical structure. The work calls for two violin soloists supported by an ensemble of orchestral strings and an obbligato prepared piano. These three textural layers -- soloists, prepared piano, and orchestra -- assume distinct roles within the musical process at the heart of the piece. Stated simply, the tintinnabuli method as practiced by Pärt in this and numerous other works combines simple, usually stepwise diatonic melodies with ever-present interactions of tones from the tonic, or home, chord. There is thus both a strong sense of harmonic stability as well as a continually shifting <b>...</b>
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Fuga for solo violin (1953) Mark Lubotsky, violin Written in 1953, the Fuga is among the adolescent composer's earliest surviving efforts, bearing witness to studies well learnt and, given the enforced insularity of musical life at the close of Stalin's reign, an engaging, if unformed, combination of old and new.
Three Voices, for soprano & tape, or 3 sopranos (1982) I. Opening II. 'Legato' III. Slow Waltz IV. First Words V. 'Whisper' VI. Chords VII. 'A Non Accented Legato' VIII. Snow Falls IX. Legato X. Slow Waltz And Ending Joan La Barbara, voice Morton Feldman wrote Three Voices for Joan La Barbara in 1982, and it stands out among the composer's output as one of the only works that he wrote with any electronic features. The singer performs in front of two loudspeakers that emit two additional female voices. The vocalist and recorded accompaniment emote both sung notes without text and a poem by Feldman's deceased friend, Frank O'Hara. The poem is called Wind, and it was written and dedicated to the composer in 1962. The two men met in New York in the early 1950s, and admired each other's work. They were also great friends. Joan La Barbara is a composer and performer who has been called "the vocal wizard of the avant-garde" by esteemed figures in the contemporary music scene. Three Voices was conceived as a sort of eulogy for O'Hara and the painter Philip Guston, an abstract expressionist painter whose influence on Feldman's development was incalculable. The composer saw the two loudspeakers as tombstones, and with the vocalist on stage the effect was an exchange between the living and the dead. The only other work by Feldman to involve technological effects was his Intersection from 1953, for magnetic tape. He generally did not enjoy music with electronic features because of <b>...</b>
Chet Baker, flugelhorn Bob James, piano Michael Fleming, bass Charlie Rice, drums "I Wish You Love" begins with the pretty verse, played out of tempo by Baker and James only. The drums and bass join in for the chorus, which is taken at a faster pace than usual for this tune. There is a fine piano solo by James, and the high point is Baker´s use of long notes in the release -- a refreshing change from the conventional flurries.
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S.709, for 2-track tape & at least 4 loudspeakers (1994) After composing GENDY3, Xenakis extended the GENDY program, adding the possibility of modulating the parameters of the dynamic stochastic synthesis algorithm. With this version of the program, Xenakis created S.709. S.709 premiered at a concert at La Maison de Radio-France in December 1994. Its title stands for Sequence 709. Sequence was the name that Xenakis gave to the sections created by the PARAG program. In a radio interview, Brigitte Robindoré, head of musical production at Les Ateliers UPIC, said about S.709: "It's unedited. It's unrestrained." It could then be inferred that S.709 consists of the output of only one PARAG program: it could be a PARAG section of 7 minutes in length. In this piece, the rapid and periodic modulation of the parameters creates voices that are constantly and widely fluctuating in pitch, amplitude and timbre. In the same radio interview, Robindoré mentions that S.709 "produces quite a polemical reaction in the audience." This is not surprising; this work is extremely original in its materials and in its construction; it does not resemble any other piece by Xenakis, nor any other piece that I have ever heard. [Sergio Luque, "The Stochastic Synthesis of Iannis Xenakis."]
Stimmung, for 6 vocalists & 6 microphones (1968) 1. Warming Up, Leading To Model 1, Bass 2. Mezzo, "Gott Nochmal" / Soprano 2, GROGORAGALLY, Sun God (Australian Aboriginal) 3. Soprano 2, "Vishnu / Baritone, ELYON, God of Storms (Hebrew) 4. Soprano 1 / Tenor, USI-AFU, God of the Earth (Timor, Indonesia) 5. Baritone, "Saturday", "Saturnstag", "Samstag", "Complement Nous" / Tenor, CHANG TI, Director of the Cosmos (Chinese Buddhist) 6. Tenor 7. Baritone, "Hallelujah" 8. Soprano 1 / Mezzo, UEUETEOTL, God of Fire (Aztec) 9. Bass, "Phoenix" / Tenor, USI-NENO, Sun God (Timor, Indonesia) 10. Soprano 1, "Komit" (Like Screech Owls) 11. Bass, "Moo", "Moo-Coo", "Guru" (A Dove) / Baritone, AHURA-MAZDA, God of Wisdom (Persian) 12. Tenor 13. Baritone / Soprano 2, ABASSI-ABUMO, Creator of Heaven (Ibi, Africa) 14. Soprano 2, "Hippy" / Mezzo, CHALCHITHUITLICUE, Goddess of the Sea and Salt Water (Aztec) 15. Mezzo / Soprano 2, WAKANTANKA, God of Thunder (Sioux Indian) 16. Bass 17. Soprano 1, "The Male Is Basically an Anymale" 18. Tenor 19. Bass, "Sontag", "Sunday" / Soprano 1, DIONYSOS, God of Fertility and Wine (Greek) 20. Soprano 2 21. Baritone 22. Mezzo 23. Baritone 24. Soprano 2 / Soprano 1, VENUS, Goddess of Love (Roman) 25. Mezzo, "Wotansday, "Mittwoch", "We(d)nesday" / Baritone, YAH-WEH, God of Israel (Hebrew) 26. Soprano 1, "Tuesday" / Mezzo, QUETZALCOATL, God of Gods (Aztec) 27. Tenor 28. Bass / Soprano 2, MUNGANAGANA, God of Wind (Australian Aboriginal) 29. Baritone / Mezzo, TLALOC <b>...</b>
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A Love Supreme (1964) 1. Acknowledgement 2. Resolution 3. Pursuance 4. Psalm John Coltrane, tenor saxophone McCoy Tyner, piano Jimmy Garrison, bass Elvin Jones, drums *From the Verve/Impulse recording (2008) Easily one of the most important records ever made, John Coltrane's A Love Supreme was his pinnacle studio outing that at once compiled all of his innovations from his past, spoke of his current deep spirituality, and also gave a glimpse into the next two and a half years (sadly, those would be his last). Recorded at the end of 1964, Trane's classic quartet of Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison stepped into the studio and created one of the most thought-provoking, concise, and technically pleasing albums of their bountiful relationship (not to mention his best-selling to date). From the undulatory (and classic) bassline at the intro to the last breathy notes, Trane is at the peak of his logical yet emotionally varied soloing while the rest of the group is remarkably in tune with Coltrane's spiritual vibe. Composed of four parts, each has a thematic progression leading to an understanding of spirituality through meditation. From the beginning, "Acknowledgement" is the awakening of sorts that trails off to the famous chanting of the theme at the end, which yields to the second act, "Resolution," an amazingly beautiful piece about the fury of dedication to a new path of understanding. "Persuance" is a search for that understanding, and "Psalm" is the <b>...</b>
Cats & Dogs (1993) Recorded for America's number one low-fi underground label, Cats and Dogs was the first indication that Royal Trux could do more than whip up a tornado of distortion. A little less focused than Thank You, it still has its moments of splendor, especially when it sounds as though it's going to fall apart and, suddenly, comes back together. [Allmusic.com]
Dikhthas, for violin & piano (1979) Claude Helffer, piano Irvine Arditti, violin Iannis Xenakis is surely one of the most "unclassical" of composers; the combination of violin and piano suggests Beethoven or Mozart more readily than Xenakis, who rarely employs conventional instrumental groupings or uses instruments in a conventional manner. Dikhthas, "a dual entity made up of two natures," was written in 1979, between Ikhoor (for string trio) and Mists (for piano); strangely, it is both more classical-sounding and more wide-ranging than either of those works. The music is built from dense, polyphonic "arborescent" textures (most often heard in the piano) and from pulsating repeated chords or arpeggiated ostinati based on a limited set of pitches spread over a wide register (more characteristic of the violin). The second section is a long variation on a single note via changes of dynamics, articulations, and, in the violin, microtonal fluctuations of pitch. As brief flurries of scalar activity become more numerous, the texture begins to shift. Eventually, the violin slides away from the central pitch with a series of wild glissando oscillations up and down the strings. As the piano and violin trade flourishes, the music shifts into a quasi-tonal passage of interlocking ostinati, briefly reminiscent, perhaps, of the sonatas of Beethoven. As the violin breaks away into double-stop alternations of different perfect fourths, the piano plays more arborescent passages, settling <b>...</b>
Coltrane Jazz (1960) John Coltrane, tenor sax Wynton Kelly, piano Paul Chambers, bass Jimmy Cobb, drums The first album to hit the shelves after Giant Steps, Coltrane Jazz was largely recorded in late 1959, although one of the eight songs ("Village Blues") was done in late 1960. On everything save the aforementioned "Village Blues," Coltrane used the Miles Davis rhythm section of pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb. While not the groundbreaker that Giant Steps was, Coltrane Jazz was a good consolidation of his gains as he prepared to launch into his peak years of the 1960s. There are three standards aboard, but the group reaches their peak on Coltrane's original material, particularly "Harmonique" with its melodic leaps and upper-register saxophone strains and the winding, slightly Eastern-flavored principal riffs of "Like Sonny," dedicated to Sonny Rollins. The moody "Village Blues" features the lineup of McCoy Tyner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums, and Steve Davis on bass; with the substitution of Jimmy Garrison on bass, that personnel would play on Coltrane's most influential and beloved 1960s albums. The 2000 CD reissue on Atlantic/Rhino adds four bonus tracks: alternate takes of "Like Sonny" and "I'll Wait and Pray" that were first issued on Alternate Takes and alternate takes of "Like Sonny" and "Village Blues" that came out on the Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings box. [Allmusic.com]
Funeral Canticle, for chorus (1996) George Mosley, baritone The Choir of the Academy of Ancient Music Paul Goodwin For John Tavener, mortality is a knot in a string whose ends extend forever in both directions, and while virtually all of his works have an air of prayerfulness and godly mystery to them, in memoriam works such as the Funeral Canticle from 1996 afford the opportunity for deep musical and poetic rumination on the duration of life and the infinity of existence. Though mortal mourning is never entirely absent from works in this vein, it is coupled by an assurance of celestial existence -- an assurance fueled by the composer's personal religiosity. The Funeral Canticle is one of two works inspired by the passing of the composer's father, Kenneth. The other, Eternal Memory, is a co-memorial to Tavener's father and to the late Lady Diana, Princess of Wales. While the ruminations of that work are more secularly philosophical -- it takes its text from William Blake's Auguries of Innocence and Eternity -- the Funeral Canticle is more explicitly religious, having been prepared for the interdenominational funeral service that his father had requested. Its texts include the kliros from the traditional Orthodox funeral service, interspersed with verses composed by Tavener's longtime friend, collaborator (Mary of Egypt, Akathist), and spiritual guide, Mother Thekla of the Monestary at Normanby. As is the case with many of Tavener's other works, an overarching motto <b>...</b>
The Sounds of the Sounds of Science (2002) No stranger to the instrumental form, Yo La Tengo has worked a number of vocal-less tracks into their records as interludes or otherwise. Here, though, they take the idea to another level and compose and score nine tracks for performance in front of French filmmaker Jean Painleve's underwater documentaries and shorts. These were then debuted at the San Francisco Film Festival in April 2001. The result of this studio-recorded CD is still quite cinematic. The movements are moody and textural; the direction is sometimes drastic and dramatic and at others plotting and spinning softly, all the while maintaining an underwater feel without resorting to sound effects or things of that sort. Instead, the impressions are given by liquid guitar playing that is at times quite trembly and all the while bouncing off of bubbling basslines. This is a nice treat for Yo La Tengo fans and also admirers of the Boxhead Ensemble's similar cinematic movements. [Allmusic.com]
Ebony Concerto, for clarinet & jazz band (1945) Allegro moderato -- Andante -- Moderato -- Con moto -- Moderato -- Vivo Michel Arrignon, clarinet Ensemble InterContemporain Pierre Boulez Stravinsky wrote his Ebony Concerto for jazz bandleader Woody Herman, who premiered it with his ensemble the Thundering Herd in March 1946. It is modeled on the Baroque concerto grosso and obviously incorporates jazz styles popular during the wartime era. Cast in three very short movements -- the whole work lasting about nine minutes -- it is scored for clarinet and jazz band. Ebony Concerto opens with a lively Allegro moderato, where the themes are rhythmic and quite jerky in their unpredictability. Everything sounds Stravinskyan, though, the jazz elements fusing naturally with the composer's neo-Classical style. The most lyrical-sounding theme comes on clarinet and trombone, recalling a theme in ragtime from the composer's L'histoire du soldat. A reprise of the main material makes up the second half of the first movement. The middle panel is a bluesy Andante, an almost funereal piece in its lazy, dark mists and lower-range writing for the clarinet. The brief middle section is perky and playful, but the main theme returns in all its delicious gloom to close out the movement. The finale, marked Moderato -- Con moto -- Moderato -- Vivo, begins slowly and darkly then turns lively when a cool, bluesy theme is played by clarinet. The music from the opening returns before the playful Vivo <b>...</b>
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Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 6 (1913-1929) I. "Präludium" (Prelude) II. "Reigen" (Round Dances) III. "Marsch" (March) Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Claudio Abbado In mid-1913 Berg was deeply depressed by the disastrous premiere of some of his Altenberg Lieder as well as by scorching criticism from his mentor Arnold Schoenberg, of the aphoristic nature of his recent music. Berg resolved to write a large-form orchestral work, his first, and initially tried to compose a one-movement symphony more or less in the manner of Schoenberg's first Chamber Symphony. Progress soon stalled, but Berg transferred some of this material into a new project that he called "a suite of character pieces for orchestra." The resulting Pieces (3) for orchestra came to be regarded as one of Berg's most ambitious works, excepting the operas and the Violin Concerto. The opening "Präludium" (Prelude) stands apart from the movements that follow in that it is not based on a traditional form. It does, however, introduce a number of small motivic figures and some larger ideas that recur throughout the work. It rises uncertainly from the depths of the orchestra, experiences a brief eruption, then builds more patiently and yearningly to a huge climax before sinking back into the nebulous material with which it began (with the opening chord sequence now played in retrograde, underlining the movement's arch construction). "Reigen" (Round Dances) features overlapping dance rhythms contrasting with unsettled <b>...</b>
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Trois mouvements perpétuels, for piano, FP 14 (1918) I. Assez modéré II. Très modéré III. Alerte Gabriel Tacchino, piano When not yet 20, Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) composed his Trois mouvements perpétuels for piano in 1918. Written under the twin influences of Ravel and Stravinsky, the Trois mouvements perpétuels are difficult works whose difficulties never intrude on the lyrical lightness of the music. The first mouvement, Assez modere, features a charmingly gallic melody moving through right and wrong keys in the right hand over a relentless ostinato in the left hand. The second mouvement, Très modere, features an ostinato for both hands that eventually parts ways with the left hand keeping the ostinato more or less intact and the right hand moving it across the keyboard. The second mouvement ends with a quirky yet delightful run up to the top of the keyboard. The third mouvement, Alerte, is the least perpétuel of the three, with hardly an ostinato to disturb its flow of melody. Like the second mouvement, the third ends with a quirky yet charming final cadence in what sounds like the wrong key. [Allmusic.com] Art by Armand Guillaumin
Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 6 (1913-1929) I. "Präludium" (Prelude) II. "Reigen" (Round Dances) III. "Marsch" (March) Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Claudio Abbado In mid-1913 Berg was deeply depressed by the disastrous premiere of some of his Altenberg Lieder as well as by scorching criticism from his mentor Arnold Schoenberg, of the aphoristic nature of his recent music. Berg resolved to write a large-form orchestral work, his first, and initially tried to compose a one-movement symphony more or less in the manner of Schoenberg's first Chamber Symphony. Progress soon stalled, but Berg transferred some of this material into a new project that he called "a suite of character pieces for orchestra." The resulting Pieces (3) for orchestra came to be regarded as one of Berg's most ambitious works, excepting the operas and the Violin Concerto. The opening "Präludium" (Prelude) stands apart from the movements that follow in that it is not based on a traditional form. It does, however, introduce a number of small motivic figures and some larger ideas that recur throughout the work. It rises uncertainly from the depths of the orchestra, experiences a brief eruption, then builds more patiently and yearningly to a huge climax before sinking back into the nebulous material with which it began (with the opening chord sequence now played in retrograde, underlining the movement's arch construction). "Reigen" (Round Dances) features overlapping dance rhythms contrasting with unsettled <b>...</b>
berg abbado three orchestral pieces vienna philharmonic orchestra
Violin Concerto (1935) I: Andante Allegretto Liberamente Poco a poco sempre più II: Allegro Pesante, ma quasi a tempo Adagio Coda Yehudi Menuhin, violin BBC Symphony Orchestra Pierre Boulez When Berg received a commission for a concerto from the violinist Louis Krasner in January 1935, he was busy working on Lulu and set the commission aside. On April 22 of that year, the beloved daughter of his friend Alma Mahler, Manon Gropius, died at the age of 18, and Berg ceased work on the opera to compose his Violin Concerto as a memorial. Working at an unusually fast pace, Berg completed the score by August 11, though did not live to hear its premiere in April 1936. Some commentators have lamented the fact that work on the Violin Concerto prevented Berg from completing Lulu, which many view as his most important work. Yet the Violin Concerto has become Berg's single most popular and regularly programmed work. Beyond the firmly tonal works of his youth, the Violin Concerto is also Berg's most accessible score in its compelling combination of both tonal and atonal idioms. As with many of Berg's pieces, the concerto follows a program governed by a strict formal design. The four movements are may be grouped into two parts of two movements each, with only a short break between movements two and three. The first two movements are structured like a Classical sonata-allegro and dance movement, respectively, and together form a musical portrait of the girl. The second part reverses the <b>...</b>
Piano Sonata, Sz. 80, BB 88, (1926) I. Allegro moderato II. Sostenuto e pesante III. Allegro molto Claude Helffer, piano After three years of relative inactivity as a composer, Béla Bartók returned to writing music with a vengeance in 1926, producing a variety of works in what has come to be known as his "piano year." In June, he sent his family to the country and began working on a series of short piano pieces that evolved into his Piano Sonata and the suite Out of Doors. At the time, Bartók did not know how the individual pieces would eventually coalesce into finished works. His primary concern was nothing less than a radical revision of his piano style. Bartók's expanding concert schedule throughout Europe and America provided further impetus to create new works for his own use as a performer. The Piano Sonata is one manifestation of the composer's retooled keyboard idiom. The sonata's language is direct, polytonal, and frequently very dissonant. Its polyphony is clear, its melodic development essentialized: instead of themes, Bartók develops motivic cells, which he subjects to extension and variation. The material itself is folk-derived, reflecting Bartók's interest in Hungarian and Romanian folk music. The sonata opens in heavy stamping rhythm, jolly enough but a bit fearsome for its dissonances and the occasional tone cluster. The first motif, a dotted hop into a repeated, hammering note, is heard immediately; the second, a brusque three-note ascending figure on a <b>...</b>
Novelettes (3) for piano, FP 47 & 173 (1927-1959) I. No. 1 in C major II. No. 2 in B flat minor III. No. 3 in E minor Gabriel Tacchino, piano Art by Armand Guillaumin
Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum, for wind orchestra and metallic percussion (1964) 1. Des profondeurs de l'abime, je crie vers toi, Seigneur: Écoute ma voix! 2. Le Christ, ressuscité des morts, ne meurt plus; la mort n'a plus sur lui l'empire 3. L'heure vient où les morts entendront la voix du Fils de Dieu... 4. Ils ressusciteront, glorieux, avec un nom nouveau - dans le concert joyeux des étoiles et les acclamations des fils du ciel 5. Et j'entendis la voix d'une foule immense... Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Bernard Haitink Messiaen's Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum (I Await the Resurrection of the Dead) is for an instrumental ensemble of 18 woodwinds, 16 brass, and a metallic percussion ensemble. The work was commissioned by André Malraux, the French Minister of Cultural Affairs. At Malraux's request, Et expecto received a private premiere in the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris before the public premiere in front of General de Gaulle in the Chartres Cathedral. The stained glass lining both cathedrals created a fitting aura in which to witness the work, although Messiaen also envisioned it being performed outdoors at the foot of mountain ranges, which he hoped would enhance the music's monumental, timeless, and natural imagery. Although Messiaen acknowledged the existence of death and suffering — himself a prisoner of war in Silesia — he refused Malraux's request to write a requiem commemorating the outbreak of the two World Wars and those who died. Instead, he wrote <b>...</b>
Sonata No. 7 in E minor, Z.796 (ca.1680) 1. Adagio 2. Canzona 3. Largo 4. Grave 5. Vivace London Baroque *Harmonia Mundi (1999) Published in June 1683, Purcell's collection of his 12 Sonnatas of III Parts was dedicated to Charles II and printed by John Playford in London. Purcell sold copies of the sonatas from his home. Purcell began composing these works around 1679, when he became organist at Westminster Abbey, writing most of them in 1680. A second volume of sonatas appeared 1697, published by the successors of Playford at the instigation of Purcell's widow. On the title page of the Sonnatas of III Parts, the sonatas are said to be for "Two Viollins and Basse: to the Organ or Harpsecord." This combination of instruments had recently become fashionable in England. In the preface, the publisher notes that Mr. Purcell has endeavored to imitate Italian composers, urging his fellow Englishmen to avoid the style of the French. To demonstrate this, he used Italian tempo indications such as "adagio" and "allegro" instead of "slow" and "quick," which appear in his fantasias. The Preface also tells us that Purcell at first intended to publish the sonatas without a continuo part, which seems unlikely, because the bass line of the published continuo part is frequently different from that of the bass viol and would have required additional composition before publication. The opening slow movement of the Sonata No. 7, in E minor, betrays the influence of the Corellian model of the <b>...</b>
Cantata profana, for tenor, baritone, double chorus & orchestra (or piano) ("The Enchanted Stags"), Sz. 94, BB 100 (1930) I. There was once an old man (Molto moderato -- Allegro molto) II. But their father grew impatient (Andante) III. There was once an old man (Moderato) John Aler, tenor John Tomlinson, baritone Chicago Symphony Chorus Margaret Hillis Chicago Symphony Orchestra Pierre Boulez Little is known about the evolution of this powerful cantata. Bartók, an inveterate collector, arranger, and borrower of folk music, based this choral work on a Rumanian folk ballad, and translated the text himself into Hungarian. Many forget that the composer was born in a town in Hungary (Nagyszentmiklos) that is now a part of Rumania. What is unusual about this cantata is that it is unique in Bartók's output, like his only opera Bluebeard's Castle. This is not to suggest a kinship between these two masterful works, because stylistically they are quite far apart. Cast in three connected movements, Cantata profana is subtitled "The Nine Enchanted Stags." Its text tells of an old man with nine sons whom he only trained in the hunting of stags (male red deer). They depart without him on a hunting expedition one day and are changed into stags. When their father discovers their fate, he asks them to return home with him, but is told by one son their antlers cannot fit through the doorway and that they must remain in the forest. The first movement, marked Molto moderato, is entitled <b>...</b>
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Zefiro Torna, madrigal for 2 tenors and continuo (from Book 9 & Scherzi musicali), SV 251 (ca. 1632) Les Arts Florissants William Christie This work is one of two madrigals composed by Monteverdi with the title Zefiro torna and is not to be confused with his five-voice a cappella setting of a sonnet by Petrarch published in his Sixth Book of Madrigals in 1614. This madrigal sets a text by Ottavio Rinuccini, the poet who authored the librettos for the first two surviving operas, Peri's La Dafne and Euridice, as well as Monteverdi's lost opera, Arianna. It was published in the collection Scherzi Musicali, and in the composer's Ninth Book of Madrigals (1632). Scored for two tenors and continuo, most of the piece is in the form of a ciaccona or passacaglia, which uses a constantly recurring bass line, and it is the first known example of a vocal duet that uses a ciaccona accompaniment. Although it is sometimes performed in a "straight" manner, it is most frequently interpreted as a comic parody of madrigals as they had evolved by the early seventeenth century, particularly the mannered conventions of the seconda prattica, in which the musical setting is largely driven by the text, and dissonance is used with extreme freedom as an expressive tool. The poem, a sonnet, is a rhapsodic pastoral ode to Zephyr, the west wind that brings Spring and its attendant opportunities for romance, or at least dalliance. Here, as in many of his madrigals, Monteverdi's exceptionally fluid text <b>...</b>
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Catalogue d'oiseaux (in 7 books), for piano, I/42 (1956-1958) First Book I. Le chocard des alpes II. Le loriot III. Le merle bleu Second Book IV. Le traquet stapazin Third Book V. La chouette hulotte VI. L'alouette-lulu Fourth Book VII. Le rousserolle effarvatte Fifth Book VIII. L'alouette calandrelle IX. La bouscarle Sixth Book X. Le merle de roche Seventh Book XI. La buse variable XII. La traquet rieur XIII. Le courlis cendré Håkon Austbø, piano Not until French composer Olivier Messiaen was in his mid-40s did his lifelong passion for ornithology manifest itself in his compositions with startling originality. Over the course of the mammoth, seven-book cycle Catalogue d'oiseaux (Catalogue of Birds), the songs of 77 distinct birds unfold in a series of 13 movements totaling nearly three hours of solo piano music. Messiaen's love of nature, as displayed in the cycle (each movement not only has a title bird but also an actual French geographic region assigned to it), is nearly matched by his love of musical arch form. Both within movements and across books, Messiaen inscribes a rough symmetry: occasionally passages reoccur palindromically; more often blocks of sound mirror one another over a central axis. The first and last books both contain three movements, the third and fifth two apiece, and the second, fourth, and six books a single movement each. Catalogue d'oiseaux begins with "Le chocard des alpes" (the Alpine chough), not only depicting the bird, but also its <b>...</b>
Mysteries of the Macabre, for soprano & ensemble, or trumpet & piano/ensemble (arr. from "Le Grand Macabre" by E.Howarth), (1988-1991) Peter Masseurs, trumpet Asko Ensemble Reinbert de Leeuw Mysteries of the Macabre for solo trumpet and chamber orchestra is a variant of the same piece for coloratura soprano. It is an arrangement of three arias sung by the Chief of the Secret Police in my opera Le Grand Macabre and was rescored for chamber orchestra by Elgar Howarth, who conducted the opera's first performance in Stockholm in 1978, as well as a number of later productions. --György Ligeti Art by Philip Guston
ligeti masseurs leeuw howarth asko ensemble trumpet mysteries grande macabre
Chamber Music, for female voice, clarinet, cello & harp (1953) I. Strings in the Earth and Air II. Monotone III. Wind of May Marco Lazzara, alto Lucia Rosati, clarinet Giovanni Scaglione, cello Alessandra Magrini, harp Chamber Music for female voice, clarinet, cello, and harp is one of Luciano Berio's first important pieces. He wrote the three settings of James Joyce poems in 1953 for soprano Cathy Berberian, who was his wife at that time. Although Chamber Music is basically twelve-tone, Berio's use of the technique avoids many of the prevailing ultra-controlled applications of serial systems. While Berio's work, as with the work of his close colleagues, is informed by the system that was so pervasive among the 1950s avant-garde, he rarely used twelve-tone techniques in an orthodox fashion. Instead, he applies this technique as a set of tools with which to create a given composition's internal hierarchies. Chamber Music is a case in point: Berio's flexible use of a twelve-tone row and its permutations (inversion, retrograde, and so on) allows for repeated note cells or closely cycling fields of pitches comprising only part of the row, for example. A lyric element evident in the vocal line and inherent in the row itself may be traced in part to Berio's contact with Luigi Dallapiccola -- the most lyric of serialists -- at Tanglewood, in the summer of 1952, and through studies of the older composer's scores. In general terms, the textures of Chamber Music tend toward the <b>...</b>
berio joyce lazzara rosati scaglione magrini female voice alto clarinet cello harp strings earth air monotone winds may chamber music
Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 6 (1913-1929) I. "Präludium" (Prelude) II. "Reigen" (Round Dances) III. "Marsch" (March) Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Claudio Abbado In mid-1913 Berg was deeply depressed by the disastrous premiere of some of his Altenberg Lieder as well as by scorching criticism from his mentor Arnold Schoenberg, of the aphoristic nature of his recent music. Berg resolved to write a large-form orchestral work, his first, and initially tried to compose a one-movement symphony more or less in the manner of Schoenberg's first Chamber Symphony. Progress soon stalled, but Berg transferred some of this material into a new project that he called "a suite of character pieces for orchestra." The resulting Pieces (3) for orchestra came to be regarded as one of Berg's most ambitious works, excepting the operas and the Violin Concerto. The opening "Präludium" (Prelude) stands apart from the movements that follow in that it is not based on a traditional form. It does, however, introduce a number of small motivic figures and some larger ideas that recur throughout the work. It rises uncertainly from the depths of the orchestra, experiences a brief eruption, then builds more patiently and yearningly to a huge climax before sinking back into the nebulous material with which it began (with the opening chord sequence now played in retrograde, underlining the movement's arch construction). "Reigen" (Round Dances) features overlapping dance rhythms contrasting with unsettled <b>...</b>
berg abbado three orchestral pieces vienna philharmonic orchestra
Eternity's Sunrise, for soprano & baroque ensemble (1997) Patricia Rozario, soprano The Choir and Orchestra of the Academy of Ancient Music Paul Goodwin Time, for John Tavener, seems to be not the moving endpoint of a line continually being drawn, but the whole line itself, stretching forever in both directions. The composer's own deep religiosity fuels his constant experimentation with the concepts of time, space, eternity, and infinity, resulting in musical works that aren't journeys but states. As with fellow Russian Orthodox composer Arvo Pärt, Tavener's compositions are made of symmetries and patterns that combine to form hovering, three-dimensional sonic shapes. In essence, Tavener composes musical holograms. Or perhaps we should say that the hearing of his works is a hologram; the composition itself is just the film used to project it. And, to further indulge in a rather elaborate but nonetheless accurate metaphor, it is interesting to note that just as each fragment of a broken holographic film creates the whole original visual image, so do Tavener's scores create micro/macroscopic resonances, fractals that replicate themselves on various levels. Such is the case with his 1997 work for soprano soloist, handbells, and Baroque ensemble, Eternity's Sunrise. The work was created in memory of the composer's father as well as the late Princess of Wales, and, like Tavener's other "in memoriam" works (such as the one for Annon Lee Silver), Eternity's Sunrise emphasizes <b>...</b>
tavener rozario goodwin eternity sunrise soprano baroque ensembles academy ancient music
String Quartet in F major (1902-1903) I. Allegro moderato II. Assez vif -- Très rythmé III. Très lent IV. Vif et agité Emerson String Quartet The similarities between Maurice Ravel's only work for string quartet, the String Quartet in F major, and Claude Debussy's only work for string quartet, the String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10, can hardly be avoided or ignored. During the early years of his career, Ravel was frequently and sometimes vehemently criticized for having copied Debussy, and it was only later that musical society began to realize that, in the realm of piano music at least, it was equally possible that Debussy had imitated his younger colleague. With the String Quartet in F, composed in 1902 and 1903 and then revised up to 1910, however, Ravel seems more certain to have relied on Debussy's 1893 Op. 10; as emotionally, psychologically, and even structurally different as the two works are, one could never accuse them of having a language barrier. But, whereas Debussy's quartet is the work of a headstrong progressive still on his way to developing a mature, personal style, Ravel's is the work of an already mature artist more concerned with craftsmanship and traditional structure than with innovation. Not surprisingly, given their relative places in their careers when the two composers wrote their string quartets, Ravel's is the more sound piece of music and Debussy's is the more groundbreaking. Incidentally, Debussy, by all accounts, adored Ravel's piece, and <b>...</b>
Piano Sonata No. 1 (1946) I. Lent -- Beaucoup plus allant II. Assez large -- Rapide Idil Biret, piano Pierre Boulez composed his First Piano Sonata in 1946. The Piano sonata was not as common to the first half of the twentieth century as it was to the nineteenth, and Boulez rarely wrote in a genre that had already been well explored. After Beethoven left behind his legacy of thirty-two sonatas, the most interesting developments have not been in the sonata style. This trend in avoiding territories evincing daunting musical genius has been called "the anxiety of influence," denoting why many composers would steer clear of the sonata genre after Beethoven. It is difficult to hear a sonata without Beethoven coming to mind, and it is equally difficult to avoid making a comparison to Beethoven under those circumstances. That being the case, the great piano works of composers such as Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, and others centered on sets of variations, fantasies, and other structures that did not immediately bring to mind the foreboding Beethoven Comparison. This angst did not seem to grasp Boulez. While history has welcomed him into the Western canon for his lasting contributions to music, he seems to have always known that his place was among the great names. While other composers may have written one or two sonatas after maturing as artists and then finally, painfully producing them in a heightened state of anxiety, Boulez wrote, published, and relentlessly promoted his <b>...</b>
Jeu de cartes (Card Game), ballet in "three deals" for orchestra (1936) I. First Deal: Alla breve -- Moderato assai -- Tranquillo II. Second Deal: Alla breve -- Marcia -- Variazioni IV -- Coda -- Marcia III. Third Deal: Alla breve -- Valse -- Presto -- Tempo del principio BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, Brussels Alexander Rahbari Jeu de Cartes (The Card Game) is cleverly described as a ballet in three deals. Completed in 1936 for the newly formed American Ballet, whose choreographer was the young George Balanchine, the scenario deals with the game of poker, one of Stravinsky's favorite card games. The main character is the deceitful Joker, who fashions himself unbeatable, owing to his chameleonic ability to become any card. There are also other cards -- Queens, Aces -- and several card players portrayed in the ballet. In the first two deals, the all-confident Joker dominates the proceedings, even if he does not always win. In the final deal, however, he is vanquished by a royal flush, ending his menace. Though the music is generally light, it clearly has a satirical side and the devious Joker is viewed by some to represent evil, perhaps the devil. Because of the growing tensions in Europe and the rise of Nazism during the time of its composition, many have also seen the ballet as a sort of allegory of the developing strife. Jeu de Cartes contains several allusions to the works of other composers, a not atypical trait in much of Stravinsky's music. The second deal contains <b>...</b>
stravinsky rahbari ballet jeu cartes card game three deals orchestra
Akea, for piano & string quartet (1986) Claude Helffer, piano Arditti String Quartet The piano quintet is an ensemble with a long tradition, bringing to mind works by Schubert or Schumann, Brahms or Franck. Certainly, it is not a genre normally associated with an arch-modernist like Iannis Xenakis. Be that as it may, pianist Claude Helffer and the Arditti String Quartet unveiled at the 1986 Festival d'Autumne in Paris a new piano quintet, Akea, by one Iannis Xenakis. Not surprisingly, Akea is one of Xenakis' most "classical" scores. The string writing is restrained; there are for example no glissandi, an element typical in Xenakis' music up to that point. The composer even calls for vibrato on occasion, a feature virtually absent from most of his other music. Akea opens with sweeping arpeggios in the piano, set off by sustained chords in the strings that evolve into more sharply defined rhythmic figures. Various attempts at unfurling melodic phrases eventually lead into a more contrapuntal section which becomes dominated by the piano. There is much exchange of material and interplay between the piano and the strings, highlighting the differences in their respective characters. At other points, such as in the third section, Xenakis tries to integrate the two sonorities, drawing all the players into a dense homogenous texture. While there are a number of obvious shifts from one section to another, the overall impression is one of balance and flow, free of dramatic <b>...</b>
Variations II, for any number of players & any sound producing means (1961) Eberhard Blum, flute Jan Williams, percussion Steffen Schleiermacher, piano, celesta The great recorded version that exists of this piece was made by David Tudor, the pianist who rose to fame as an interpreter of the music of the New York School composers, particularly Cage and Feldman. That version, in which Tudor applied contact microphones to the guts of his piano and played upon it in many ways, none of which involved striking keys, has come to dominate its destiny so totally that Variations II is rarely discussed outside of the context of electronic music. Willingly or not, he seems to have sealed the fate of Variations II, which is now grouped with Cage's Cartridge Music (1960), which used sound cartridges from phonographs to pick up sound from various objects. Cage's aim with such pieces was to make the final move into a purely indeterminate music. Electronics in the early '60s naturally provided a ready means, for it was an area of music that hadn't yet become standardized. The score of Variations II is actually composed of 11 transparencies, six with straight lines, five having points. The performer is instructed to superimpose these, then draw perpendicular lines from each point to each line. The drawn lines are then measured and the figures are used to determine values for frequency, amplitude, timbre, duration, point of occurrence, and structure of event. It is as if the performer is <b>...</b>
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Sappho: Lyrical Fragments, for 2 sopranos & strings (1981) Patricia Rozario, soprano Julia Gooding, soprano The Orchestra of the Academy of Ancient Music Paul Goodwin When John Tavener suffered a stroke in 1980 at the age of 36, his former wife Vicky Maragopoulou flew in from Greece; they had remained close friends even after their marriage ended. She was shocked at his appearance but even more amazed that he wanted to compose. He pressed her in to service, as he was setting some poetry by the Classic Greek poetess Sappho. He intended to write it in Greek, and asked her to be sure he did not betray the Greek language. The poetry Tavener selected includes songs depicting Aphrodite; Sappho's beloved daughter Cleis; and Arthis, the woman Sappho had loved in the past. The cycle is written for two soprano voices, often intertwining (while at other times one of the voices provides a drone note for the other), and a string orchestra. The mood of the piece is soft and gentle. There is no effort to capture the sound of Greece music. [Allmusic.com]
String Trio, Op. 20 (1927) I. Sehr langsam II. Sehr getragen und ausdrucksvoll Members of the Juilliard String Quartet The chamber works of Anton Webern, especially those written after his adoption of the 12-tone technique in the late 1920s, present the listener with an enigmatic combination of austere structural integrity and intense, koan-like expressivity. In the Trio for Strings, which Webern began writing in 1926, completed in 1927, and premiered in 1928, the composer seems at first glance to be at his most rarefied. The piece is made of the most tenuous of musical materials; indeed, it is characterized by what scholar Julian Johnson has described as an "ungraspability of surface." Its occasional fits of restless melodic energy are separated by veils of sustained notes and static harmonies that presage minimalist ruminations (indeed, minimalist pioneer La Monte Young's groundbreaking Trio for Strings was composed under the influence of heavy doses of Webern's chamber music). Webern's signature symmetries and palindromes unfold and spin in eccentric motivic orbits, while frequent changes in timbre and articulation add an additional plane of discourse to Webern's contrapuntal shapes. The first of the Trio's two movements (which was actually composed second) creates a finely wrought pointillistic surface, with angular glyphs set against sustained harmonies that have elicited comparisons to Debussy. The sense of temporal pause is enhanced by the use of another of <b>...</b>
Turandot Suite, for orchestra, Op. 41, KiV 248 (1904-1905) I. The Execution, the City Gate and the Departure II. Truffaldino's March III. Altoum's March IV. Turandot's March V. Turandot's Chamber VI. Dance and Song VII. Night Waltz VIII. Quasi-Funeral March and Finale alla Turca Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Samuel Wong Busoni composed this suite in 1905 and introduced it with the Berlin Philharmonic on October 21 of that year. Its lavish scoring includes triple winds (which double two piccolos, English horn, bass clarinet, contrabassoon), four trumpets, and four percussionists. Busoni -- born six years after Mahler, four after Debussy, two after Richard Strauss -- died in his fifties, as the first two did. If heredity didn't endow him with quite their creative genius, he was surely the thinking man's Romantic, with a fascinating musical vocabulary. Although most famous as a keyboard titan, one of the legendary virtuosi in a golden age, he was also a composer, scholar, teacher, and sometime conductor. Antony Beaumont conjectures that the pending centennial (in 1906) of playwright Carlo Gozzi's death prompted Busoni to compose music for Turandot, the best known of the aristocratic Venetian's ten fiabe (fairy tales), written between 1761 and 1765 to protest the new bourgeois realism in Carlo Goldoni's rehabilitation of commedia dell'arte. Carl Maria von Weber had written an overture and six pieces in 1809 for Schiller's German adaptation of the play (part of which <b>...</b>
Nocturnes for cello & piano, H. 189 (1930) I. Andantino moderato II. Lento III. Moderato IV. Allegretto moderato Christian Benda, cello Sebastian Benda, piano During the 17 years Martinu spent in Paris (from 1923 to 1940), his music underwent many stylistic evolutions. Around 1929, he became very interested in chamber music and, along with a variety of trios, quartets, and sextets, he composed a large number of brief studies for pairs of instruments. The cello seems to have caught his fancy in 1930 as he wrote, along with the four nocturnes, a set of six pastorales, and the suite miniature for cello and piano. The nocturnes -- significantly subtitled Four Études for Cello with Piano Accompaniment -- hint at Martinu's newfound love of Baroque music, as well as his increasing interest in the folk music of his Czech homeland. Strangely, only the second of these four pieces is conventionally nocturne-like, slow and mysterious. The other three are rather extraverted and fast in tempo. The first, with its unusual rhythms, has a rough, folk-music flavor. Its puckish, sly humor is quite a contrast to the ambitious second nocturne and at eight minutes, it is by far the longest of the four. Dramatic opening chords alternate between piano and cello, leading into a lovely, gentle central section for both instruments. After a short transition in the lowest register of the cello, the opening chords return, but mellowed a bit the second time through. Slow, agitated arpeggios from the <b>...</b>
Five Nocturnes, for piano (1919) Yitkin Seow, piano Erik Satie completed his five Nocturnes for solo piano between August and November 1919. They were his last piano works. These are oddly humorless works, but after the passing of Debussy in the previous year, Satie's mood remained less than light. His musical focus seemed more strained as well. While his Nocturnes are successful, beautiful pieces, alert listeners can hear the effort the composer put into them, which was not the case for his works from the 1890s. By the end of World War I, Satie's musical language had achieved a perfect union of almost-mechanical gesturing and French fluidity. Satie has included none of the qualities of Chopin or Field's nocturnes in his music, but the nocturnal effect is clearly there. There is something reductive about Satie's Nocturnes that gives them a specific value. One could say that they sound overheard rather than heard; there is no attempt to woo the listener, who is forced to listen closely to hear the striking, macabre pace of each movement that defines their unique qualities. What can be heard and appreciated by almost anyone in this music is an audible transformation of character of the composer that comes through in these works. Most mature people have seen those prone to humor come to an apex in their own thinking and develop a seriousness that cannot completely conceal their formerly humorous selves. This is what happened to Satie, and he became more interested in causing <b>...</b>
8 Instrumental Miniatures, for fifteen players (1962) I. Andantino II. Vivace III. Lento IV. Allegretto V. Moderato VI. Tempo di Marcia VII. Larghetto VIII. Tempo di Tango Ensemble InterContemporain Pierre Boulez Originally composed as a series of five-finger piano exercises, the orchestrated versions of these eight short works were completed singly and in small groups for specific concert occasions, including a Monday Evening Series in Los Angeles (numbers one through four), a concert in Mexico (number eight), and those by the CBC Orchestra of Toronto (numbers five, six, and seven). The eight pieces together may be performed in under eight minutes. Each work is a five-note tone row; that is, each row consists of only five notes with counterpoint added subsequently during the orchestration process. The pieces are extremely sparse, late-Stravinsky works written entirely for higher pitched instruments and played at a generally quick tempo. [allmusic.com]
stravinsky boulez ensemble intercontemporain instrumental miniatures
String Quartet in F major (1902-1903) I. Allegro moderato II. Assez vif -- Très rythmé III. Très lent IV. Vif et agité Emerson String Quartet The similarities between Maurice Ravel's only work for string quartet, the String Quartet in F major, and Claude Debussy's only work for string quartet, the String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10, can hardly be avoided or ignored. During the early years of his career, Ravel was frequently and sometimes vehemently criticized for having copied Debussy, and it was only later that musical society began to realize that, in the realm of piano music at least, it was equally possible that Debussy had imitated his younger colleague. With the String Quartet in F, composed in 1902 and 1903 and then revised up to 1910, however, Ravel seems more certain to have relied on Debussy's 1893 Op. 10; as emotionally, psychologically, and even structurally different as the two works are, one could never accuse them of having a language barrier. But, whereas Debussy's quartet is the work of a headstrong progressive still on his way to developing a mature, personal style, Ravel's is the work of an already mature artist more concerned with craftsmanship and traditional structure than with innovation. Not surprisingly, given their relative places in their careers when the two composers wrote their string quartets, Ravel's is the more sound piece of music and Debussy's is the more groundbreaking. Incidentally, Debussy, by all accounts, adored Ravel's piece, and <b>...</b>
Tabula rasa, concerto for 2 violins (or violin & viola), prepared piano & string orchestra (1977) I. Ludus: Con moto II. Silentium: Senza moto Adele Anthony, violin Gil Shaham, violin Erik Risberg, prepared piano Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra Neeme Järvi Arvo Pärt composed Tabula Rasa in 1977, shortly after emerging from his self-imposed period of intense study and reflection to demonstrate what would become his characteristic musical technique: the so-called tintinnabuli method. The work is thus a prime example of the technique and demonstrates how, even in its early stages, Pärt's new and innovative musical language was connected indelibly with his sense of musical process and form. One not only hears the tintinnabula system working itself out in this piece, but also gets a clear sense of the aesthetic and spiritual underpinnings of the method and its implications for large-scale musical structure. The work calls for two violin soloists supported by an ensemble of orchestral strings and an obbligato prepared piano. These three textural layers -- soloists, prepared piano, and orchestra -- assume distinct roles within the musical process at the heart of the piece. Stated simply, the tintinnabuli method as practiced by Pärt in this and numerous other works combines simple, usually stepwise diatonic melodies with ever-present interactions of tones from the tonic, or home, chord. There is thus both a strong sense of harmonic stability as well as a continually shifting <b>...</b>
arvo part anthony shaham risberg jarvi tabula rasa prepared piano violin string orchestra concerto
Silenzio, five pieces for bayan, violin & cello (1991) I. II. III. IV. V. Maria Kliegel, cello Elsbeth Moser, bayan Kathrin Rabus, violin Sofia Gubaidulina, born in the Soviet Union's Tatar Republic in 1931, became one of the leaders of the group of younger composers who persisted in writing music with Western avant-garde influences. In this piece, the very title shows a relationship with an important idea of the American John Cage: Silence as an important compositional element. Gubaidulina has said that she regards silence as "... the ground upon which something grows." In this piece, the silence is represented actively, by extended passages of pianissimo (ie, very quiet) playing. The five pieces are brief, totaling only eighteen minutes, and are headed only with metronome markings. The music is generated by rhythmic relationships, mainly in the ratio of 7:2:5. In the final movement, this becomes the rhythm on which the accordion makes variations. The composition was dedicated to Elisabeth Moser, a leading classical accordion player who premiered it in Hanover, Germany in November, 1991 with violinist Katherine Rabus and cellist Christoph Marks. [Allmusic.com] Art by Pierre Tal-Coat
Mantra, for 2 pianos with percussion & electronics (1970) Alfons & Aloys Kontarsky, piano Mantra (1970) is a work for two pianos, two sine-wave generators, and two ring modulators. This piece represents a synthesis or "sublation" of the earlier serial method of composition and the emerging post-serial methodology, with its surrealistic or collage tendencies, and its post-modern anachronistic flair. Mantra is based on a thirteen-note series, beginning and ending with A natural. This series is quite complex, expanding from intervals as precise as a minor second, to a simple perfect fourth, always "spurred on" by the artificially introduced tonalities of the ring modulators and wave generators. Both pianists utilize a piece of equipment, placed near the left hand section of the piano, consisting of a microphone amplifier, a sound compressor and filter, a ring modulator, and a scaled sine-wave generator with volume controls. Behind both players are situated loudspeakers, which reproduce the various and sundry effects produced by the lefthand apparati. The purpose of this complex array of notes and effects is the production and exploration of a musical mantra: a precise repetition of certain sounds intended to place the producer (as well as the hearer) in a state of consciousness that is related directly to the musical sounds being produced. We witness here a typical "compositional" methodology of Stockhausen -- that of allowing the listener to participate in the musical <b>...</b>
In croce, for cello & organ (or bayan), (1979) Elsbeth Moser, bayan Maria Kliegel, cello One of the many works in which Sofiya Gubaydulina makes reference to Christian themes and imagery, In croce was composed in 1979 for cellist Vladimir Tonkha, who, along with organist Oleg Yanchenko gave the work its first performance in the concert hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Later on, Gubaydulina began to incorporate the bayan, the Russian push-button accordion, into her works, and she and bayan player Elsbeth Moser rearranged In croce for cello and bayan in 1992. The work's title can mean either "On the Cross" or "Cross-Wise," and it carries a musical meaning, along with the obvious Christian one. Roughly speaking, the organ (or bayan) begins the work playing comparatively diatonic music in the upper part of its register, while the cello plays spare tones in its lower register. Both instruments center their activities on the note E. As the work progresses the two instruments begin to approach each other, eventually crossing in the most aggressive passage. After some wild playing from both instruments, the mood grows hushed again; dissonant chords in the organ accompany the barest of textures from the cello as they both converge again on E. The work's ending is quiet and somber. [Allmusic.com] Art by Francisco de Zurbarán
Song of the Angel (1995) Patricia Rozario (soprano), Andrew Manze (violin). *From the Harmonia Mundi CD "Eternity's Sunrise" (1999). In the CD's booklet, Tavener explains: "This music should be sung and played with a restrained ecstasy. It should not bring pounding of the heart, nor should it lead to melancholy. Like all the music of the East, it should reveal in tranquility an eternal, angelic, ecstatic breath which liberates and humanises."
Formel, for small orchestra (1951) The Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra Karlheinz Stockhausen Stockhausen composed "Formel" ("Formula") in November - December 1951, directly following "Kreuzspiel". The instruments in "Formel" are 3 oboes, 3 clarinets, 3 bassoons, 3 horns, 6 violins, 3 celli, 3 double basses, vibraphone, glockenspiel, celeste, piano & harp. This structures a beautiful, transparent and extremely clear soundweb. Even though "Formel" indeed was composed in 1951, the world premiere of the piece took place twenty years later, as late as 1971, in Paris; Théâtre de la Ville. [sonoloco.com] Art by Luigi De Giudici
stockhausen southwest german radio symphony oboe clarinet bassoon horn violin cello double bass vibraphone glockenspiel celeste piano harp orchestra formel
Trois pièces, for piano, FP 48 (1928) I. Pastorale II. Hymne III. Toccata Gabriel Tacchino, piano The Three Pieces for Piano, although not completed until 1928, began with the composition, ten years earlier, of a trio of Pastorales. He later discarded one and virtually all of another, replacing them with new compositions. Written when Poulenc was not yet 20, the Pastorales showed the influence of both his teacher, Spanish pianist Ricardo Viñes, and the composer Erik Satie. The Hymne and Toccata that replaced the discarded pieces, like the surviving Pastorale, were dedicated to Viñes, whose influence -- in both piano and composition -- Poulenc continually recognized throughout his life. "At first," Poulenc once recalled of his early days under Viñes' tutelage, "it was decided that I would have a half-hour lesson each week, but this lesson soon lasted an hour, then two, and, imperceptibly, I began to spend my life with this Hidalgo with the face of a kind inquisitor." [Allmusic.com] Art by Valentine Hugo
String Sextet in D major, Op. 10 (1914-1915) I. Moderato--Allegro II. Adagio (Langsam) III. Intermezzo (In gemässigten Zeitmass) IV. Finale (So rasch wie möglich) The Flesch Quartet: Philippa Ibbotson, violin Mark Denman, violin Robert Gibbs, viola David Newby, cello With: Ian Humphries, viola David Bucknall, cello Dedicated to Doktor Carl Ritter von Wiener who, as Direktor of the Vienna Staatsakademie has appointed the young Korngold to the position of instructor, the String Sextet is a triumphant work, premièred in Vienna in May 1917 to instant acclaim. Written at the same time as Violanta, it is commonly regarded as the best of Korngold's chamber music and is often compared favorably with Schoenberg's far more well known Verklärte Nacht, its contemporary in the genre with which it is often programmed. [Allmusic.com] Art by Gustav Klimt
korngold flesch quartet ibbotson denman gibbs newby humphries bucknall violin viola cello string sextet