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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