In Honour of the City of London

William Walton - In Honour of the City of London, for chorus and orchestra

I am now based in London, which is my favorite city in the world, so here's a little piece by William Walton to commemorate the occasion. Expect more mixes and posts once I'm all set in my place.

-A.

Exceeded Harmony Mix #2

Behold the second installment of my classical mix series.

I made this mix today for listening while emptying out my room (I'm moving away for college in precisely 5 days). It is very nice, I hope you enjoy it as well.

Tracklist:

1. John Cage (1912-1992) - In a Landscape

2. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) - Interlude (Passacaglia) from Peter Grimes

3. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - Chromatic Fugue in D minor, BWV 903

4. Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) - Glagolitic Mass: Introduction

5. Percy Grainger (1882-1961) - Green Bushes, passacaglia for 22 instruments or orchestra

6. Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) - Concert Champêtre, FP 49 - I. Allegro molto

7. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) - Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, "Spring" Op. 24: II. Adagio molto espressivo

8. Philip Glass (b. 1937) - Massman, from "Naqoyqatsi"

9. Eric Whitacre (b. 1970) - Sleep

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Exceeded Harmony Mix #1

Good friend and blogger-extraordinaire Allie has been posting amazing mixes of her favorite music, which everyone should check out, she has impeccable taste. She has put the idea into my mind of a classical themed mix, which I thought was a great idea. We'll see what happens in the future, it might evolve into a mix of any music I'm loving at the moment, not just classical.

So without further ado, the first Exceeded Harmony mix. I toyed with the idea of including whole works, instead of just movements I liked, but this is more personal. Shows you better what it is I love of certain works..

Tracklist:

1. Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) - Suite No. 2 for Small Orchestra: II. Valse

2. Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) - Cantique de Jean Racine, op. 11

3. Steve Reich (b. 1936) - Duet

4. Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) - Piano Quintet in A, op. 5: I. Allegro ma non troppo

5. Charles Ives (1874-1954) - Symphony No. 1: II. Adagio molto (sostenuto)

6. Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) - Sonata No. 2 in A, op. 100 for violin and piano: II. Andante tranquilo

7. Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) - Clarinet Concerto in C minor, op. 31: II. Adagio, ma senza rigore

8. Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) - Six Pièces for solo harp: II. Scherzetto

9. John Adams (b. 1947) - Century Rolls, for piano and orchestra: II. Manny's Gym

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Benjamin Britten - Peter Grimes

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

Peter Grimes, Op. 33 - Opera in a Prologue and Three Acts (1945)

Peter Grimes - Jon Vickers

Ellen Orford - Heather Harper

Captain Balstrode - Jonathan Summers

Auntie - Elizabeth Bainbridge

First Niece - Teresa Cahill

Second Niece - Anne Pashley

Bob Boles - John Dobson

Swallow - Forbes Robinson

Mrs. Sedley - Patricia Payne

Rev. Horace Adams - John Lanigan

Ned Keene - Thomas Allen

Hobson - Richard van Allan

Chorus and Orchestra of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Sir Colin Davis, conductor

Peter Grimes is Britten's most famous opera and arguably his greatest achievement. Although he wrote the role of Grimes for his life-long partner, Peter Pears, it is widely acknowledged that perhaps the greatest interpretation of the role came from Jon Vickers in this recording.

The music is adequately eerie and atmospheric, describing the otherworldly feel of the coastal Borough, which is based on Britten's Aldeburgh, and it continually rustles with the restlessness of the Borough as gossip and hearsay become more and more important in determining whether Grimes is innocent or not. A beautiful piece of work, and in my opinion, one of the greatest operas ever written.

More about the plot:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Grimes

Download:

Disc 1

Disc 2

I am afraid for myself

Nikolai Kapustin - Piano Music

Nikolai Kapustin (b. 1937)

Piano Music

Marc-André Hamelin, piano

Kapustin is a Russian composer and pianist who writes really great piano music with a lot of jazz influence. The incredibly technically demanding and rhythmic pieces are a perfect fit for the incredible abilities of Hamelin, and this release is just marvelous.

Enjoy

Carl Orff - Carmina Burana

Carl Orff (1895-1982)

Carmina Burana (1936)

Philadelphia Orchestra

Rutgers University Choir

Janice Harsanyi, Rudolf Petrak, Harve Presnell

Eugene Ormandy, conductor

From Wikipedia:

Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana. Its full Latin title is Carmina Burana: Cantiones profanæ cantoribus et choris cantandæ comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis ("Songs of Beuern: Secular songs for singers and choruses to be sung together with instruments and magic images.") Carmina Burana is part of Trionfi, the musical triptych that also includes the cantata Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite.

Orff first encountered the text in John Addington Symond's 1884 publication Wine, Women and Song, which included English translations of 46 poems from the collection. Michel Hofmann, a young law student and Latin and Greek enthusiast, assisted Orff in the selection and organization of 24 of these poems into a libretto, mostly in Latin verse, with a small amount of Middle High German and Old Provençal. The selection covers

a wide range of topics, as familiar in the 13th century as they are in the 21st century: the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the ephemeral nature of life, the joy of the return of Spring, and the pleasures and perils of drinking, gluttony, gambling and lust.

This is a really great work, one of the cornerstones of 20th Century choral music. I'm actually singing this tomorrow, and I have been half-jokingly ragging on Orff's tendency to repeat everything a lot of times and over-simplify harmonically. However, it's obvious that it's the intention of the work to achieve an archaic yet oddly out-of-this-world atmosphere, and he does just that with his mixture of homophonic, almost modal writing, along with Stravinskian orchestration and rhythmic construction. I can't think of another work that I can compare to this, and that is always a good thing. If you don't know this, I suggest you give it a shot, it's always mentioned as a good "introductory" piece to classical music, it's really accessible.

Enjoy

Schnittke / Pärt - Voices of Nature

Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)

Concerto for Choir (1984-85)

Voices of Nature, for ten women's voices and vibraphone (1972)

Arvo Pärt (b. 1935)

Doppo la Vittoria (Piccola Cantata) (1996-98)

Bogoroditse Djevo (1990)

I am the true vine (1996)

Swedish Radio Choir

Tonu Kaljuste

Amazing choral music from Russian composer Alfred Schnittke, who is best known for his 9 symphonies and his series of neo-baroque Concerti Grossi. The Concerto for Choir is one of the most incredible a capella choral pieces I've ever heard, and the Swedish Radio Choir does a wonderful job with it.

Also included, little known choral settings from the 90's by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, which also offer a lot of surprises and beautiful moments.

This disc is truly one of the best I have to offer, so git on it!

Enjoy

Steve Reich - Different Trains/Electric Counterpoint/Three Movements

Steve Reich (b. 1936)

Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint / Three Movements

Kronos Quartet

Pat Metheny, electric guitar

London Symphony Orchestra

Michael Tilson Thomas

Different Trains was composed by Reich for the Kronos Quartet, and it is a reflection on how different his life could've turned out if he had only been born in Europe. Being Jewish, he sees now that instead of traveling from SF to NY as a child, he would've been in a very different train had he been born in Europe. The work makes use of a technique that has come to be a trademark of Reich, which is to notate musically pre-recorded spoken excerpts. The excerpts come from interviews with Jewish people and with people Reich knew, who talk about subjects from the trains themselves, to Europe and American before and after WWII. A thoroughly gripping work, and its intense rhythmic drive is pure Reich, especially foretelling the rhythmic intensity of later works like Double Sextet and 2x5.

Electric Counterpoint is a work for electric guitar and tape that Reich wrote for jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. Building dense layers of polyphonic textures in the tape, the live guitarist and the listener becomes enveloped in an amazing soundscape, which goes from pulsating harmonies, very much a la Music for 18 Musicians, in the first movement, to a funky, bass-driven counterpoint texture in the third movement.

The disc doesn't originally include the Three Movements for Orchestra, but I've included them, as the corresponding disc on the Steve Reich 1965-1995 box set does, in a great interpretation by the LSO with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting.

Enjoy

Franz Schubert - Lieder (21 CDs)

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Lieder

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

Gerald Moore

This set is one of the best things I have. Schubert's Lieder are amongst the most beautiful music I've ever heard, and it saddens me that the only people who seem to pay proper attention to it are singers and accompanists.. You'll find some of the best Schubert compositions in this set.

DFD is on top form, singing everything perfectly and expressively, bringing out all the nuances in the music. Gerald Moore, probably the greatest accompanist to ever have lived, plays beautifully, showing how much you can make a piano sing, and how many different levels you can bring out to a piece of music.

I'll be posting the 21 discs on this same post, so stay tuned.

Download:

Disc 1

Disc 2

Disc 3

Disc 4

Disc 5

Disc 6

Paul Hindemith - Organ Works

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)

Organ Works: Concerto for Organ & Orchestra, Organ Sonatas 1-3

Anton Heiller, Elisabeth Ullmann

ORF-Symphonieorchester

Milan Horvat

Great organ music by one of the 2oth Century's most overlooked composers. The Concerto for Organ and Orchestra is a particular favorite of mine, and his three organ sonatas are worth a good look. Good additions to the organ repertoire.

Enjoy

Arvo Pärt - Stabat Mater

Arvo Pärt (b.1935)

Stabat Mater, Psalom, Summa, Fratres, Es Sang von Langen Jahrer

Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montreal

Christopher Jackson

Quatuor Franz Joseph

Daniel Taylor

Some more Pärt for you. This has another two of my absolute favorite Pärt pieces, Summa, a beautiful choral setting reminiscent of the early church music, and Fratres, in a version for string ensemble that is unlike anything I've ever heard.

Enjoy

Arvo Pärt - Arbos

Arvo Pärt (b. 1935)

Arbos

The Hilliard Ensemble

Gidon Kremer

Vladimir Mendelssohn

Thomas Demenga

Brass Ensemble Staatorchester Stuttgart

Dennis Russel Davies

Beautiful music by the unique Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.

Pärt is amazing to me in that he's not afraid to sound like he's in a time warp and he's actually living in the 15th Century. I guess I wish I was brave enough to write music like that as well, since it's often the music I most connect with.

Anyway, this disc includes one of my absolute favorite of his works, De Profundis, a haunting and heart-wrenching setting that you won't forget.

Enjoy

American Choral Music (Ives, Copland, Foss, Persichetti, Corigliano)

American Choral Music

Susanne Mentzer, mezzo-soprano

The University of Texas Chamber Singers

James Morrow

11 tracks, 72 minutes

Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987)

Flower Songs

Charles Ives (1874-1954)

Psalm 90

John Corigliano (b. 1938)

A Dylan Thomas Trilogy, Part I: Fern Hill

Lukas Foss (1922-2009)

Behold I Build An House

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

In the beginning

I apologise for being AWOL from this site for such a long time. I started out with the full intention of updating regularly, but of course, school work decided otherwise. Well, now, I'm practically done with school, so you can expect a flurry of postings during the summer, including a couple of nifty box sets I've bought recently.

This is a wonderful collection of american choral music. Of special interest are Persichetti's absolutely gorgeous Flower Songs, and Ives' amazing setting of Psalm 90, which in my opinion should be as sung in Anglican churches as any Howells or Parry setting. Corigliano contributes a spirited and very beautiful Dylan Thomas setting, and both the Foss and the Copland pieces show why they're both regarded as two of the most important 20th Century american composers. Beautiful interpretations of some beautiful and sadly under-heard music.

Enjoy

Osvaldo Golijov - La Pasión Según San Marcos

Osvaldo Golijov (b.1950)

La Pasión Según San Marcos

Luciana Souza; Reynaldo Gonzáles Fernández

Orquesta La Pasión; Schola Cantorum de Caracas; Cantoría Alberto Grau

Maria Guinand, conductor

Golijov's La Pasión Según San Marcos is a bit of a response to Bach's own Passions. As is natural for Golijov, however, this music is heavily influenced and imbued with Latin American rhythms and harmonies. I don't know what all to say about this, except that it's really amazing, and unlike anything I had ever heard before, and I'm sure you'll all enjoy it.

Download:

Disc 1

Disc 2

Arturo Márquez - The Danzón According to Márquez

Arturo Márquez (b. 1950)

Danzones Nos. 1-5, 8

Octeto Malandro

La Pasión Según San Juan de Letrán

Orquesta Mexicana de las Artes

Eduardo García Barrios, conductor

Arturo Márquez is a mexican composer known for his series of symphonic danzones, a traditional genre of music and dance that originated in Cuba and is now a staple of mexican culture.

This is incredibly beautiful music, with a very distinct personality and harmonic language. The orchestration is nothing short of superb, and the Danzon No. 2 is easily one of the finest Mexican orchestral pieces ever written.

Anyone who enjoys Latin-American music like Ginastera or Villa-Lobos, or Mexican music like Moncayo and Revueltas, will adore this.

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Louis Vierne - Complete Organ Symphonies

Louis Vierne (1870-1935)

Complete Organ Symphonies

Jeremy Filsell, organ

Vierne, it seems to me, is often quite unfairly overlooked in favor of the other french organ composer "par excellence", Charles-Marie Widor, even though he's an incredible composer capable of both incredible organ writing in his symphonies and amazingly beautiful chamber music, his Piano Quintet being an extremely unfairly unknown piece that is really, really great.

His six organ symphonies are towering monuments to the biggest instrument in the world, and are full of incredibly huge moments and very subtle and even reverent ones.

These recordings by Jeremy Filsell are nothing short of breathtaking, even though the reverb in the church is so thick a bit of detail is lost. Don't let that fool you, though, this is great music in every sense of the word.

Download:

Disc 1

Disc 2

Disc 3

William Walton - Belshazzar's Feast; Crown Imperial; Orb and Sceptre

William Walton (1902-1983)

Belshazzar's Feast

Christopher Purves, Baritone

Huddersfield Choral Society, Leeds Philharmonic Chorus, Laudibus

English Northern Philharmonia

Paul Daniel, conductor

11 tracks; 49 minutes

This is a really good release from Naxos. Walton is one of those composers who get thrown around by name but no one really knows very profoundly.

Belshazzar's Feast is an oratorio for baritone, chorus and a huge orchestra with an augmented brass section. It takes as it subject the scene from the Bible in which, at Kng Belshazzar's feast, a hand appears and prophetically writes a doom-laden message on the wall. It is often compared to Orff's Carmina Burana on account of its pulsating drive and barbaric splendour. According to Naxos it is now regarded as the finest British large-scale choral work since Elgar's Dream of Gerontius, which sounds about right.

The album also includes two great marches composed for the coronations of two different British monarchs, Crown Imperial and Orb and Sceptre.

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Ottorino Respighi - Three Preludes on Gregorian Melodies - I

Beautiful music for your beautiful ears.

I'm not sure if anyone actually follows or visits this blog, but the Mediafire files have some downloads counting, so I feel the need to explain the lack of recent uploads. I just got back to school and I'm just figuring out my timetable, as well as having a very important and possibly life-changing event coming up next week, but after that I promise I'll be back to posting regularly. If anyone's reading this, I hope your days are filled with light and beauty.

John Adams - Century Rolls

John Adams (b. 1947)

Century Rolls

Emanuel Ax, piano

5 tracks; 50 minutes

Century Rolls, for piano and orchestra (1997)

Lollapalooza, for orchestra (1995)

Slonimsky's Earbox, for orchestra (1996)

Century Rolls is a piano concerto composed by John Adams for Emmanuel Ax. It is, in my opinion, one of the best piano concertos of the second part of the 20th century. It goes from an incredibly muscular and thumping first movement to the most delicate slow movement back to a rampage through the piano in the third movement. It's really incredible and everyone needs to hear it.

The orchestral piece Lollapalooza is incredibly fun. It's built on the rhythm of the word "Lollapalooza" with a great motive in the low brass (c-c-c-long e-flat-c) and amazingly intricate asymmetrical rhythmic patterns thrown around the rest of the orchestra. It's funky rhythms and syncopation will crack all of your rhythmic pre-conceptions!

"Slonimsky's Earbox" is an orchestral work celebrating the work of musicologist Nicolas Slonimsky, who compiled an essential Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns, which has served as a foundation for a lot of modern music. This Adams' way of recognizing Slonimsky, using a lot of the patterns found in his thesaurus with his usual rhythmic drive and intensity.

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Philip Glass - Naqoyqatsi

Philip Glass (b. 1937)

Naqoyqatsi, music for the film by Godfrey Reggio

Yo-Yo Ma, solo cello

I just watched this for the first time last night. I've been a huge fan of the first two films for a long time and a bigger fan of Glass's music for them, but somehow I never got around to watching this.

I'll just skip the film review and just say EVERYONE should see this trilogy. It's beautiful, it's rousing and it's terrifying, and absolutely worth your time.

Glass delivers more glassy goodness on this score but adding the voice of the solo cello, which is something that has proved extremely fruitful for Glass recently, and it takes the score to new heights of beauty. I thought the music was good but not as great as the other two scores as I was watching it, but it has that strange power of growing of you and I'm completely in love with it. In just one day!

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Osvaldo Golijov - Oceana

Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960)

Oceana

12 tracks; 1 hour

Oceana (1996)

Luciana Souza, vocals

Scott Tennant, John Dearman, guitars

Elizabeth Remy Johnson, harp

Jamey Haddad, percussion

Jay Anderson, bass

Gwinnett Young Singers

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus

Robert Spano

Tenebrae (2002)

Kronos Quartet

Three Songs (2002)

Dawn Upshaw, soprano

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Robert Spano

Golijov is one of those composers who are treading the line between "serious" and "popular" music. I could attempt to describe Oceana, but I would fail. It's a unique work with a very specific atmosphere, and everyone needs to hear it. That Golijov is extremely talented should go without saying, this music exhibits both incredible passion and understanding for the music of his roots and for the classical tradition. Great stuff.

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Milton Babbitt - Occasional Variations

Milton Babbitt (1916-2011)

Occasional Variations

4 tracks; 56 minutes

String Quartet No. 6

Occasional Variations

String Quartet No. 2

Composition for Guitar

Challenging music, to say the least. The two string quartets are great experimental pieces, conjuring up some really interesting sounds, and the synthesizer piece "Occasional Variations" shows why Babbitt was at the forefront of electronic music.

His death is unfotunate, but even worse is the fact that something like this could be released during his lifetime.

Comic Sans? Word clouds?? CLIP ART?! What is going on?! This cover confuses me in ways I didn't know possible.

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RIP Milton Babbitt

I can't say I'm extremely familiar with his music, but it's always a sad day when an artist of such stature leaves us. I will post something by him before the day is over. I remember reading his essay "Who cares if you listen?", and it is still one of the biggest shocks I've had concerning the philosophy of music, I couldn't believe that there were people who thought that. But the few things of his I've heard are interesting and worth a shot. So rest in peace Maestro.

Remember

I miss him, and I didn't even know him. Funny how that happens sometimes.

Rest in peace Górecki, the emotions and feelings you left behind will keep going forever, and I'm sure you are enjoying that sweet place where only your harmony can be exceeded.

Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians

Steve Reich (b. 1936)

Music for 18 Musicians

Steve Reich and Musicians

14 tracks; 67 minutes

If you're in any way interested in new music, either as a composer, performer or listener, this is an absolute MUST. It's basically essential listening. Reich's style is the most influential of any of the post-war era. I love this piece very dearly and it has had a tremendous effect on the way I look at music, as it has on countless other composers of today.

(One of my most prized possesions. Nothing derives more pleasure for me than burying my face in this score and immersing myself in the shimmering nuances of this work. It plugs me out of everything around me like little else does.)

Do yourself a favor and download this like now.

Download

Philip Glass - Einstein on the Beach

Philip Glass (b. 1937)

Einstein on the Beach, opera in four acts (1976)

Music and Lyrics: Philip Glass

Design & Direction: Robert Wilson

The Philip Glass Ensemble

Michael Riesman, conductor

3 discs; 20 tracks; 3 hours 20 minutes

It's been at least three years since I first heard Einstein on the Beach, and I still, for the life of me, cannot figure out what it is about. Suffice it to say it is one of the most unique works in both operatic and in 20th-century repertoire. This is a good introduction for Glass newbies if they take it in small doses, and it is probably, with Music in 12 Parts, the greatest statement Glass made during his purely minimalist period.

Download:

Disc 1

Disc 2

Disc 3

Charles Ives - Symphonies

Charles Ives (1874-1954)

The Symphonies; Orchestral Sets 1 & 2

2 discs; 22 tracks; 2 hours 38 minutes

Disc 1:

Symphony No. 1

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra

Zubin Mehta

Symphony No. 4

Orchestral Set No. 2

The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus

Christoph von Dohnányi

Disc 2:

Symphony No. 2

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra

Zubin Mehta

Symphony No. 3

Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields

Neville Marriner

Three Places in New England (Orchestral Set No. 1)

The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus

Christoph von Dohnányi

So here's the deal. Charles Ives was a BEAST of a composer, and I don't really hear much recognition towards that fact, to be honest. Even at school he's just acknowledged as an outsider figure who just grazed and pointed towards most 20th Century trends. "That old beardy dude who sort of tried out all the stuff we're doing much better now."

Here's the thing, though. Charles Ives, before going out and doing the amazing ground-breaking stuff he did with stuff like the Concord Sonata or the Fourth Symphony, displayed some mad traditional skills in works like his ultra-romantic First Symphony, which is a step most modern composers altogether skip nowadays, leaving it to speculation if they do in fact possess such mad skills.

I'll say no more, just that Ives is pretty much unparalleled in the art of quotation and motivic development of the quotations he used, and the Fourth Symphony is crazy good.

Download:

Disc 1

Disc 2

Frederic Rzewski - The People United Will Never Be Defeated

Frederic Rzewski (b. 1938)

The People United Will Never Be Defeated

Stephen Drury, piano

39 tracks; 58 minutes

Let me just say right off the bat, this is a difficult work, both aurally and intellectually. Rzewski is as eccentric and massive a piano composer as there ever was. However, if you can wrap your head around its incredible structural arc, you're in for a world of treats. This is without a doubt one of the most mindblowing set of variations this side of the Diabelli's. From Wikipedia:

"In general, the variations are short, and build up to climaxes of considerable force. The 36 variations, following the 36 bars of the tune, are in six groups of six. The pianist, in addition to needing a virtuoso technique, is required to whistle, slam the piano lid, and catch the after-vibrations of a loud attack as harmonics: all of these are "extended" techniques in 20th-century piano writing. Much of the work uses the language of 19th-century romanticism, but mixes this language with pandiatonic tonality, modal writing, and even serial techniques."

Sounds amazing, huh? I really cannot recommend this recording enough, and it has as an added bonus the original Quilapayún political protest song that inspired the variations. Truly amazing stuff.

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 22)

I bet he's saying:

"You pushed me into serialism, Bob, I'll get you for it!"

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 22: Robert Craft conducts under the supervision of Igor Stravinsky

15 tracks; 68 minutes

Song of the Nightingale (1917)

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Danses Concertantes (1942)

Columbia Chamber Orchestra

Epitaphium (1959)

Arthur Gleghorn, flute

Kalman Bloch, clarinet

Dorothy Remsen, harp

Double Canon (1959)

Israel Baker and Otis Ingleman, violins

Sanford Schonbach, viola

George Neikrug, cello

Abraham and Isaac (1963)

Richard Frisch, baritone

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Variations (Aldous Huxley in memoriam) (1964)

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Requiem Canticles (1966)

Linda Anderson, soprano

Elaine Bonazzi, alto

Charles Bressier, tenor

Donald Gramm, bass

The Ithaca College Concert Choir

Gregg Smith, chorus master

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Robert Craft, conductor

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 21)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 21: Sacred Works Vol. 2

15 tracks; 70 minutes

Canticum Sacrum ad Honorem Sancti Marci Nominis (1955)

Richard Robinson, tenor

Howard Chitjian, baritone

Los Angeles Festival Symphony Orchestra and Chorus

Introitus (1965)

Gregg Smith Singers

Columbia Chamber Ensemble

A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer (1961)

Cantata

Shirley Verrett, mezzo-soprano

Loren Driscoll, tenor

John Horton, speaker

CBC Symphony Orchestra

Anthem (The Dove descending breaks the air) (1962)

Festival Singers of Toronto

Elmer Iseler, director

Threni (id est lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae) (1958)

Bethany Beardslee, soprano

Beatrice Krebs, contralto

William Lewis, tenor

James Wainner, tenor

Mac Morgan, baritone

Robert Oliver, bass

The Schola Cantorum

Hugh Ross, director

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Igor Stravinsky, conductor

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Track 13 (re-upload)

Track 14 (re-upload)

Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 20)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 20: Sacred Works Vol. 1

23 tracks; 69 minutes

Chorale Variations (1920)

Zvezdoliki (Le roi des étoiles) (1912)

Festival Singers of Toronto

Elmer Iseler, chorus master

CBC Symphony Orchestra

Ave Maria (1934)

Festival Singers of Toronto

Elmer Iseler, chorus master

Credo (1932)

Gregg Smith Singers

Gregg Smith, director

Pater Noster (1926)

Festival Singers of Toronto

Elmer Iseler, chorus master

Cantata (1952)

Adrienne Albert, mezzo-soprano

Alexander Young, tenor

Gregg Smith Singers

Columbia Chamber Ensemble

Mass (1948)

Gregg Smith Singers

Columbia Symphony Winds & Brass

Babel (1944)

John Calicos, narrator

Festival Singers of Toronto

Elmer Iseler, chorus master

CBC Symphony Orchestra

Igor Stravinsky, conductor

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 19)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 19: Oratorio - Melodrama Vol. 2

9 tracks; 73 minutes

Perséphone (1933)

Perséphone (the Goddess): Vera Zorina

Eumolpus (The Priest): Michele Molese, tenor

Ithaca College Concert Choir

The Texas Boys Choir of Fort Worth

Gregg Smith Singers

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Ode, for orchestra (1943)

Cleveland Orchestra

Monumentum pro Gesualdo di Venosa ad CD Annum (1960)

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Igor Stravinsky, conductor

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 18)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 18: Oratorio - Melodrama Vol. 1

9 tracks; 72 minutes

Oedipus Rex (1927)

Libretto by Jean Cocteau

Oedipus: George Shirley, tenor

Jocasta: Shirley Verrett, mezzo-soprano

Creon: Donald Gramm, bass

Tiresias: Chester Watson, bass

Messenger: John Reardon, bass

Shepherd: Loren Driscoll, tenor

Narrator: John Westbrook

Chorus and Orchestra of the Opera Society of Washington D.C.

Igor Stravinsky, conductor

The Flood, opera for television (1962)

Text compiled by Robert Craft

Narrator: Laurence Harvey

Noah: Sebastien Cabot

Noah's wife: Elsa Lanchester

God: John Reardon & Robert Oliver, bass

Lucifer: Richard Robinson, tenor

Caller: Paul Tripp

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Gregg Smith, chorus director

Robert Craft, conductor (in the composer's presence)

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Discs 16-17)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Discs 16 & 17: The Rake's Progress

32 tracks; 2 hours 20 minutes

The Rake's Progress, opera in three acts (1951)

Libretto by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman

Truelove: Don Garrard, bass

Anne (his daughter): Judith Raskin, soprano

Tom Rakewell: Alexander Young, tenor

Nick Shadow: John Reardon, baritone

Mother Goose: John Manning, mezzo-soprano

Baba the Turk: Regina Sarfaty, mezzo-soprano

Sellem (Auctioneer): Kevin Miller, tenor

Keeper: Peter Tracey, bass

Colin Tilney, harpsichord

The Sadler's Wells Opera Chorus

John Barker, director

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Igor Stravinsky, conductor

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Disc 1

Disc 2

Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 15)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 15: 35 Songs

38 tracks; 60 minutes

Faun and Shepherdess (1907)

Mary Simmons, mezzo-soprano

CBC Symphony Orchestra

Two Poems of Paul Verlaine (1910)

Donald Gramm, baritone

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Two Poems of Konstantin Bal'mont (1911)

Nezabudochka-Tsvetochek

Three Japanese Lyrics (1913)

Evelyn Lear, soprano

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Robert Craft, conductor

Three Little Songs (1913)

Pribaoukti (Pleasant Songs) (1914)

Cat's Cradle Songs (1916)

Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Four Russian Peasant Songs (1917)

Gregg Smith Singers

Gregg Smith, director

Four Russian Songs (1954)

Adrienne Albert, mezzo-soprano

Louise di Tullio, flute

Dorothy Remsen, harp

Laurindo Almeida, guitar

Three Songs from William Shakespeare (1953)

Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano

Columbia Chamber Ensemble

In Memorian Dylan Thomas (1954)

Alexander Young, tenor

Columbia Chamber Ensemble

Elegy for J.F.K. (1964)

Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano

Paul E. Howland, Jack Kreiselman and Charles Russo, clarinets

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat (1966)

Adrienne Albert, soprano

Robert Craft, piano

Tilim-bom / Klabum-Klabam (1917)

Evelyn Lear, Soprano

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Robert Craft, conductor

Igor Stravinsky, conductor

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 14)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 14: Operas

14 tracks; 72 minutes

The Nightingale (1914)

Libretto by Igor Stravinsky and Stepan Mitussov

Fisherman: Loren Driscoll, tenor

Nightingale: Reri Grist, soprano

Cook: Marina Picassi, soprano

Chamberlaine: Kenneth Smith, bass

Bonze: Herbert Beattie, bass

Emperor of China: Donald Gramm, baritone

Death: Elaine Bonazzi, alto

Japanese Envoys: Stanley Kolk and William Murphy, tenors; Carl Kaiser, bass

Chorus and Orchestra of the Opera Soiety of Washington D.C.

John Moriarty, Chorus Master

Mavra (1922)

Libretto by Boris Kochno

Parasha: Susan Belinck, soprano

Mother: Mary Simmons, mezzo-soprano

Neighbour: Patricia Rideout, contralto

Husar (Cook): Stanley Kolk, tenor

CBC Symphony Orchestra

Igor Stravinsky, conductor

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 13)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 13: Chamber Music & Historical Recordings Vol. 2

20 tracks; 70 minutes

Duo Concertant for Violin and Piano (1932)

Joseph Szigeti, violin

Igor Stravinsky, piano

Serenade in A (1925)

Igor Stravinsky, piano

Concerto for 2 Solo Pianos (1935)

Igor Stravinsky and Soulima Stravinsky, pianos

Piano-Rag Music (1919)

Igor Stravinsky, piano

Sonata for 2 Pianos (1943)

Arthur Gold and Robert Fizdale, pianos

Piano Sonata (1924)

Charles Rosen, piano

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 12)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 12: Chamber Music & Historical Recordings Vol. 1

15 tracks; 65 minutes

Preludium for Jazz Ensemble (1937)

Columbia Jazz Ensemble

Concertino for 12 instruments (1953)

Octet for Wind Instruments (1923)

Ragtime for 11 instruments* (1918)

*Toni Koves, cimbalom

Columbia Chamber Ensemble

Tango (1940)

Columbia Jazz Ensemble

Septet (1953)

Pastorale* (1933)

Israel Baker, solo violin

Columbia Chamber Ensemble

Ebony Concerto for Clarinet solo and Big Band (1945)

Benny Goodman, clarinet

Columbia Jazz Ensemble

Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1920)

Symphonieorchester des Nordwestdeutschen Rundfunks

Igor Stravinsky, conductor

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 11)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 11: Miniature Masterpieces

32 tracks; 62 minutes

Greeting Prelude (1955)

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Suite No. 1 for Small Orchestra (1925)

Suite No. 2 for Small Orchestra (1921)

Members of the CBC Symphony Orchestra

Concerto in E-flat for Chamber Orchestra, "Dumbarton Oaks" (1938)

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Four Norweigan Moods for Orchestra (1942)

Circus Polka (19429

CBC Symphony Orchestra

Concerto in D for String Orchestra (1946)

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Eight Instrumental Miniatures for fifteen players (1963)

Members of the CBC Symphony Orchestra

Four Etudes for Orchestra (1928)

CBC Symphony Orchestra

Igor Stravinsky, conductor

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 10)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 10: Concertos

15 tracks; 65 minutes

Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments (1924)

Philippe Entremont, piano

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Movements for Piano and Orchestra (1959)

Charles Rosen, piano

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra (1929)

Philippe Entremont, piano

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Robert Craft, conductor (under the supervision of the composer)

Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra (1931)

Isaac Stern, violin

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Igor Stravinsky, conductor

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 9)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 9: Symphonies

10 tracks; 70 minutes

Symphony in Three Movements (1945)

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Symphony in C (1940)

CBC Symphony Orchestra

Symphony of Psalms (1930)

Festival Singers of Toronto

Elmer Iseler, director

CBC Symphony Orchestra

Igor Stravinsky, conductor

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 8)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 8: Symphony in E-flat, Rehearsals and Talks

Columbia Symphony Orchestra; Igor Stravinsky, conductor

11 tracks; 71 minutes

Symphony in E flat, Op. 1 (1907)

Portrait of Stravinsky

Stravinsky in his own words

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 7)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 7: Ballets Vol. 7 (Suites)

Columbia Symphony Orchestra; Igor Stravinsky, conductor

34 tracks; 74 minutes

Suites from:

Petrushka (1911)

Pulcinella (1920)

The Firebird (1910)

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 6)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 6: Ballets Vol. 6

16 tracks; 69 minutes

Pulcinella (1920)

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Orpheus (1947)

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Igor Stravinsky, conductor.

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 5)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 5: Ballets vol. 5

22 tracks; 67 minutes

Scènes de Ballet (1944)

CBC Symphony Orchestra

Bluebird - Pas de deux: Transcriptions for chamber orchestra of portions of "Sleeping Beauty" by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1941)

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

The Fairy's Kiss (1928)

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Igor Stravinsky, conductor.

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 4)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 4: Ballets Vol. 4

29 tracks; 74 minutes

Apollon Musagète (1928)

Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Agon (1957)

Los Angeles Festival Symphony Orchestra

Jeu de Cartes (1937)

Cleveland Orchestra

Igor Stravinsky, conductor.

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 3)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 3: Ballets Vol. 3

14 tracks; 64 minutes

Les Noces (1923)

Mildred Allen, soprano; Regina Sarfaty, mezzo-soprano; Loren Driscoll, tenor; Robert Oliver, bass; Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss and Roger Sessions, pianos; The American Concert Choir - Margaret Hills, Director; Columbia Percussion Ensemble

Renard the Fox (1916)

George Shirley and Loren Driscoll, tenors; William Murphy, baritone; Donald Gramm, bass; Toni Koves, cimbalom; Columbia Chamber Ensemble

The Soldier's Tale (1918)

Israel Baker, solo violin; Charles Brady, trumpet; Richard Kelly, bass; Roy d'Antonio, clarinet; Don Christlieb, bassoon; Robert Marsteller, trombone; William Kraft, percussion; Columbia Chamber Ensemble

Igor Stravinsky, conductor

(Check out the pianos on Les Noces. Yeah, that's right, Barber, Copland, Foss and Sessions. CRAZY!)

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 2)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 2: Ballets Vol. 2

Columbia Symphony Orchestra; Igor Stravinsky, conductor

29 tracks; 65 minutes

Petrushka (1911 version)

Le Sacre du Printemps (1913)

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Igor Stravinsky - Works of Igor Stravinsky (Disc 1)

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Works of Igor Stravinsky - Disc 1: Ballets vol. 1

Columbia Symphony Orchestra; Igor Stravinsky, conductor

25 tracks; 63 minutes

The Firebird (1910)

Scherzo à la Russe (1944)

Scherzo Fantastique, Op. 3 (1908)

Fireworks, Op. 4 (1908)

There's a bunch of incredibly good music blogs around, and I don't pretend I can add a lot to what they are doing. I don't have a particularly large or noteworthy CD collection, but one of my prized possessions is the great Sony Stravinsky set, which I believe is now out of print (though it doesn't go for much on places like Amazon Marketplace (30 bucks!? I mean come on, that's the best bargain I've ever seen, you'd all better be on it like a fat kid on twinkies)), and I have never seen it posted anywhere apart from a FLAC rip which at 22 CDs comes to about, oh let's see, a gazillion Rapidshare (yeah, Rapidshare) links and basically weeks of downloading to get. So here I am posting it in 22 easy to get Mediafire links! Yay!

This set is really really cool in that almost everything is conducted by Stravinsky himself. Granted, he wasn't the most gifted of conductors, and I've heard many people say nasty things about his interpretation of HIS OWN MUSIC! I mean, come on, this is about as real as it gets, in my opinion, and frankly, his Rite -though admittedly not as visceral and wild as say Ozawa's or Salonen's- is up there with the finest recordings of it around. Just sayin'. So get this amazing document of this great composer's music. Alright?

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Alan Hovhaness - Symphonies Nos. 4, 20, 53, etc.

Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000)

Symphonies Nos. 4, 20, 53; The Prayer of St. Gregory; Return & Rebuild the Desolate Places

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Wind Orchestra; Keith Brion, conductor

Hovhaness was an american composer of armenian roots. His output is both vast and extremely varied. He has works for all sorts of instrument combinations and also instruments you've never heard of. He was very interested throughout his life in learning more about the musical traditions of other areas of the world.

His music is immensely spiritual and gorgeous and really worth checking out. He's also amazing with counterpoint, his double fugues will have you running around proclaiming his genius. Ascending scales have never sounded prettier! Also, he does this great interweaving sort of thing with trombone glissandi like every other piece and it doth pleaseth exceedingly. So please get in on this (So Unjustly) neglected composer. He's really amazing.

Enjoy

John Adams - Nixon in China

John Adams (b. 1947)

Nixon in China, opera in three acts

Libreto by Alice Goodman; Directed by Peter Sellars

3 discs; 2 hours 24 minutes

Ok, on occasion of its long overdue revival at the Met next month (you're all seeing the HD broadcast, right? right?) I'm posting one of the finest operas of the latter part of the 20th Century. This is pretty much required listening if you're in any way interested in minimalism, modern music, contemporary composition and/or opera. It's supreme. I dare you to find a more rousing opening aria than "News Has a Kind of Mystery". Didn't think so.

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Disc 1

Disc 2

Disc 3

Also, 80's Adams looks like a supporting character in an James L. Brooks movie, amirite?