23 Results for : lulling
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Lest We Forget-An Armed Forces Salute
Concert Review - Sacramento Choral Calendar Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra Lest We Forget - An Armed Forces Salute - May 18, 2013 by Dick Frantzreb This final concert of the Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra's 17th season seemed to nearly fill the Sacramento Community Center Theater. The first half of the program was a performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Dona Nobis Pacem." As explained in the program, this cantata "vividly proclaims the harshness and cruelty of war, the intense and somber burial of a father and son, the anguished cry for peace, and a final message of good will and peace toward men." It's texts draw inspiration from nearly 100 years of war preceding it's composition in 1936 in the gathering shadow of World War II. The performance of this work was filled with drama from both chorus and orchestra, with the score well suited to the evocative and thought-provoking text. To me, it was all riveting. Of course, it was hard to pick up words (despite the chorus' valiant efforts to enunciate), but having them printed in the program and displayed as supertitles, it was not hard to get the full emotional impact of this piece. Indeed, when you have the option of reading the lyrics, it seems like the chorus is articulating better. You hear enough of the sounds to attribute words to them, and the whole experience is all the more satisfying. Soprano soloist, Karen Slack, displayed a strong lyric voice that filled the theater. She was easily heard over the chorus, even in the forte passages. She demonstrated great control throughout the required dynamic range, and to my thought, she was perfectly suited to her part in this work. The singing of the baritone soloist, Austin Kness, was technically correct with a pleasing tone, but it seemed to me that he lacked the dramatic intensity called for by his part. The chorus, of course, performed up to it's usual high standards, and there were points where I found it's power quite arresting. I should add that I felt that the singing in the "Reconciliation" section was particularly poignant. And the final a cappella "pacems" were hypnotic. Focusing on choral performance, I don't often take special note of the orchestra. But in this case, I couldn't help being aware of an orchestral sound that seemed unusually precise, unified, and limber in changes of tempo and volume. That of course, is largely attributable to the preparation and conducting of Director Kendrick. I noted how extraordinarily fluid were his movements as he controlled all those voice parts and instruments with great sensitivity. He seemed to be in complete control of every change in mood, and he didn't just conduct (as I have seen so many others do): he felt the music and inspired the singers and instrumentalists to feel it, too. The beginning of the second half of the concert saw a presentation of the American flag by a 4-person color guard that brought the audience to it's feet. With half the chorus on the stage and the other half spread along the sides of the theater, we were encouraged to sing along in a rousing version of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Then in great contrast, we were given Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings." I have heard this music countless times, and this performance was as good as any I've heard: dreamy, lulling, soothing, unspeakably gentle - and ultimately cathartic. Next was "Kontakion." The program notes explained this as a "form of hymn performed in the Eastern Orthodox church and the Eastern Catholic Churches that follow the Byzantine Rite." In 1997 Canadian composer Rupert Lang created a popular arrangement of the piece for a men's chorus, and it has subsequently been rearranged and widely used in memorial services. SCSO actually commissioned an arrangement of this piece by Lang for SATB choir and orchestra especially for tonight's performance. Moreover, the audience was invited to join in the refrain, which was sung several times. Although a few people around me actually acted on this invitation, the piece was completely unknown to me before this evening, and so I (and perhaps many others in the audience) were left feeling a bit uncomfortable at not knowing something we were apparently expected to know. All this time, half the chorus remained standing at the sides of the theater. Their moving up to their seats on the stage was covered by an orchestral interlude: the "Bugler's Dream" and "Olympic Fanfare and Theme." It was especially interesting to hear John Williams' whole piece played for once, instead of the selection one gets when the Olympics are televised. Predictably, it was stirring - and beautifully played. Next was Williams' "Hymn to the Fallen" from the movie, Saving Private Ryan. With the chorus singing just "oohs" and "aahs," it was still expressive and moving. At this point in the concert, there was a change of pace with a dramatic reading of Maya Angelou's "Amazing Peace" by Michael Stevenson. His skillful presentation was, however, marred somewhat by the absence of a pop filter on his microphone, such that there was an annoying "pop" every time he spoke the word "peace." The following presentation of "America" ("My Country 'Tis of Thee") featured a traditional arrangement with women singing the first verse, men singing the second, and all singing the third. The orchestration, though, made it quite grand. It was at this point that it struck me that this whole program really showed off this fine orchestra (particularly the brass, as this occasion would dictate) to a greater extent than most SCSO performances that I have witnessed. The evening's program culminated in "An American Celebration," which included another setting of "America," then "America the Beautiful," then "Yankee Doodle." These were followed by a medley of songs honoring the branches of the Armed Services. As each was played, veterans of that branch (and their spouses) - and those on active duty - stood to the applause of the audience. Through this time, the audience was actively engaged, often clapping in time to the music. This segment continued with a gentle playing of "The Star Spangled Banner" that began with a soft trumpet solo. Then, as the emotion heightened, the narrator came in with a moving text that included the words, "like the Liberty Bell, we are imperfect messengers of noble ideals." When he got to "May God bless the United States of America," there was spontaneous applause. The chorus finally came in on the refrain of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." As they finished, there was a well-earned standing ovation with many shouts of approval, especially when the chorus was recognized - and 2 curtain calls. Apparently, I was not the only one who felt this was one of the SCSO's most impressive, audience-pleasing performances of recent times.- Shop: odax
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Winter Delights
The multi-talented musicians of Cambiata offer a delightful draught of Renaissance cheer for a cold winter's night with this collection of Christmas songs and instrumental settings from England, Germany, and Spain. The versatile quartet, based in Bethlehem, PA, is joined by Alyssa Thatcher, who adds her lovely lyric soprano voice to many of the carols on this recording. John Playford provides the tune for the opening piece, Drive the Cold Winter Away, and Thomas D'Urfey, author of Wit and Mirth: Pills to Purge Melancholy, is generally recognized as the author of the 12-verse ballad text. Cambiata has woven two of these verses into a setting that begins slowly and austerely with unaccompanied voice, then gradually builds to a rousing climax. Greensleeves, one of the most popular and immediately recognizable of all Renaissance melodies, was originally a secular song, and only since 1856-when William Dix added the words "What Child is This?"-has it assumed the role of a Christmas classic. Cambiata offers three settings of this evergreen melody: the first, track 2, is the elaborate and highly ornamented version for English consort by John Johnson, arranged here for solo lute with viol, harpsichord, and recorder accompaniment. It begins in a stately 4/4 time, then moves seamlessly into a spritely 6/8 jig. The second, track 10, is a set of variations for lute by Francis Cutting in 6/8 time. The third setting, track 13, comes from John Playford's The Dancing Master, and segues into Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind, from Shakespeare's comedy As You Like It, sung to the tune of another popular Playford tune, "Goddesses." The refrain "This life is most jolly" is perfectly captured in Cambiata's effervescent arrangement. Rorate Coeli Desuper is a hauntingly beautiful Scottish hymn based on the tune "The Strily Vale." The text, an accretion to the Advent liturgy by the early 16th century poet William Dunbar, is full of rich and evocative imagery. Sara Cox's soaring recorder counterpoint in the second verse is the perfect embodiment of the "celestial fowlès" of Dunbar's poetry. The dulcet sounds of high and low recorders suggest a dialogue of shepherds at the beginning of Quem Pastores Laudavere, a very familiar German tune dating back to the 14th century. Via a solo recorder rendition of the medieval Polish carol Jesuza Judasz Przdal, the medley ends with the cheerful Tempus adest floridum, a 16th century Finnish tune much better known to the English-speaking world as "Good King Wenceslas." Another tune with early origins, Ther is no ros of swych virtu, beautifully illustrates the medieval theme of Jesus as the new-flowering rose, a sentiment also heard in the popular German carol, Es ist ein Ros. The Spanish Carol, with it's flamenco-like guitar accompaniment and syncopated strings, perfectly complements the ever-popular villancico, Riu Riu Chiu. Here, a colorful battery of percussion instruments punctuates a back-and-forth exchange between recorder and krummhorn, again evoking a pastoral duet. No Renaissance Christmas collection would be complete without a lullaby, which evokes the image-so often rendered in paintings of this era-of the tender relationship between the Virgin and the Child. Cambiata offers two of the most beautiful in the repertory: The Lute Book Lullaby ("Sweet was the Song the Virgin Sung") and the Coventry Carol, both affectingly sung by Alyssa Thatcher. Cambiata's arrangement of the very familiar carol The Holly and the Ivy employs only lute and strings accompanying the voice. This is a gentle, lulling rendition of a tune first collected by Cecil Sharp in the early 20th century but doubtless of earlier origin. The text is an amalgam of pagan and Christian imagery, and contains a feature common to several songs on this CD: a comparison of the newborn Jesus to a flower or blossom. Sing Hey for Christmas presents the lustier side of English Yuletide celebrations-a Hogarthian depiction of Christmas revelry that gets a little out of hand. The saucy tune, known as "Dargasson" in the Playford collection, with even saucier words from an anonymous 17th century source, encourages us to throw another log on the fire, make a return trip to the wassail bowl, and toast the New Year.- Shop: odax
- Price: 19.58 EUR excl. shipping
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Saveja
Belinda and Mary are composers and performers of works across many genres and enjoy combining the territories of these varied styles of music. Their works traverse many landscapes, capturing scenes of rich complexity and simple brevity. With unique approaches to their respective instruments, Belinda and Mary take the flute and harp duo to new levels, creating sounds and textures that are expansive, multi-dimensional and at times unexpected. The compositions presented on this album have been developed over a number of years as a duo with the intention of melding compositional frameworks with improvisation. Whilst the compositions themselves are played with integrity, with harmonic and energetic structures retained, the blending of improvisation techniques into the works allow each player to contribute as an individual, spontaneously utilising their own unique, expressive devises to offer realisations of personal discoveries. Review by Andrew Lindsay... Free, open, lulling, gorgeous are the first words that come to mind on hearing this recording. It's a series of duets for flute and harp, the flute player is Belinda Woods, the harpist is Mary Doumany. There's a delight in hearing music that defies a category. Is this jazz, or new chamber music, or... Frankly, who gives a toss, when we are brought face to face with the sublime and the exquisite? I missed the Melbourne launch, at Northcote's Open Studio, though friends who caught it were rapturous. Having already heard the CD I was envious, but not surprised. Days after the launch I bumped into Belinda Woods, who has written the music, and asked her what it was all about. 'Imagine two Melbourne jazz girls get together and decide to do something different!' was her response. Two Melbourne jazz girls. They both have profound groundings in classical and neo-classical traditions, and yet they also share a love of jazz and improvisation. They are both virtuosic players. I asked Ms Wood how much of the music had been composed before the recording, and how much had been improvised. 'Does it all sound composed?' she asked, because to my ears it did. She revealed a magician's secret. 'The first track was completely notated. Other pieces exist as charts....' If that is true, then there are glories of improvisation revealed, and concealed, on this beguiling work. The communication between the players, and the improvisations they achieve together, are marvels. It sounds classical because it's flute and harp, and rejoices in revealing some vital musical underbelly. And yet it also reeks of jazz. It poses the question of what jazz can and cannot be. And finally renders the question obsolete, in the face of it's understated beauty, and the bliss and hauntings that it inspires, and revels in. Prepare for awe, and wonder, and delight. There are exquisite voicings on the flute, and flute players will know how difficult some passages are to achieve, while making them seem so effortless. Ms Doumany's gentle command of the harp renders the loquacious mute. It's surprising that Ms Woods has chosen this as her first release of her own compositions. Over the last decade I've heard her play in Bohjass, and Meter Maid, and the errant womens' marching band The Red Brigade, and Lo-Res, who only play her compositions. It's a marvellous, quirky, even risky feat, but those who know her playing will recognise some fundamental aspect of the woman in this choice. Her music is lyrical, reflective, and impulsive. A self-portrait achieved for flute and harp? I play Saveja to a friend, then ask 'Can I call this jazz?' She is adamant that I can't, but I've always enjoyed pulling a long bow. If you're a lover of new music, virtuosity, and sweet invention, you might want to check these two chicks out...and to my mind, it's definitely jazz, it's just a jazz we haven't heard before. It is both lyrical and edgy, the players make fantastic choices, and as it ends, you're waiting for the notes that never come, some vital space is left, and that empty space is full of music that's not yet played, the jass that's yet to come...- Shop: odax
- Price: 26.46 EUR excl. shipping
