• 

  Love & Loss Music of Rachmaninoff Vol. I: Preludes

  All of Rachmaninoff's Preludes qualify as miniature masterpieces. Even the popular Prelude in C# minor that Rachmaninoff's audiences demanded he play after every one of his performances is a musical gem. Written at the age of 19, we hear the tolling of the cathedral bells of Moscow and their dark and rich sonorities. Each of these 24 Preludes takes us on a separate spiritual journey, exploring the deeper regions of his Russian soul. Perhaps that's why we love Rachmaninoff's music so much- we know exactly what he is talking about- we know these emotions- they are universal and familiar to all of us and most importantly, Rachmaninoff's music makes us feel- whether he is describing love, loss or joy or sorrow or melancholy, we feel his pain and can identify with the emotional turmoil. Yet, he always manages to bring us back into the light even within the short time frame of these pieces. His music is capable of touching the heart and comforting the soul. What a blessing he has given us! "What you have here is an ideal balance of brain and heart...In short, this is just about the best Rachmaninov playing I've come across in quite a while." Awarded 6 stars (top rating) from Klassisk Magazine- Norway.

  • Shop: odax
  • Price: 28.05 EUR excl. shipping
• 

  Sonorities: The 20th Century Piano Sonata

  SONORITIES: The 20th Century Piano Sonata What could Russian romantic virtuoso Sergei Rachmaninoff, caught in the turmoil of 1913 just before his escape from Russia during World War I, have in common with American modernist composer Elliott Carter, contemplating the end of World War II in 1945-6? The answer is that each wrote a 42-page piano sonata, fascinatingly similar in technique, structure, and expression. Both introduce booming bass octaves in Bs, A sharps, or B flats, continue with scurrying sixteenth notes, then segue into a melody marked "Meno Mosso" (less movement). In both, a chordal slow movement, expanded with improvisatory passagework, breaks into a fiendishly difficult finale. The "great big sound" of these works, as Carter put it, is an exploration of bell-like sonorities. Motives in thirds are built into a panoramic soundscape. The music resounds with the turbulent clashes of twentieth century conflict, fought by similar rules but with very different conclusions reached.

  • Shop: odax
  • Price: 21.58 EUR excl. shipping
• 

  L.A. Trumpet Works

  Lauridsen: Sonata for Trumpet and Piano (published 1973) As a performer on both trumpet and piano it was a natural undertaking for me to compose a Sonata for this combination of instruments. I consider the Sonata my Opus 1, composed while an undergraduate at the University of Southern California School of Music. Also studying at USC at the time as Ronald Romm, who premiered the Sonata in 1965 and later went on to fame as a founding member of the Canadian Brass. Calling for virtuoso playing (especially in the third movement), the Sonata has become a staple in the Twentieth-Century trumpet literature. (Morten Lauridsen) Newman: Kestrel and Leonardo for Trumpet and Viola (1996) 'Kestrel and Leonardo' is based on poems of Canadian poet, Susan Musgrave, and compositionally paints the vivid texts quite literally. The poems speak of two magical children that travel odd and delightful dimensions of the universe, leaving a unique mark wherever they go. Musically speaking, the sonorities point to the fantasy-like nature of the poetry, and though tonal, challenge with form and rhythmic drive. This programmatic set of wordless songs emerges in three contrasting movements, illustrating the utterly diverse natures of the bird-like Kestrel and her strong-willed and sometimes ferocious compatriot, Leonardo. This work was commissioned by and dedicated to Roy Poper and Laura Kuennen-Poper, who gave the first performances in Los Angeles and Germany in 1996. (Maria Newman) Stone: Pastorale (1989) The 'Pastorale' is a simple, lyrical, and beautiful one-movement work based on the hymn tune 'All Creatures of Our God and King.' Consisting of three parts (A-B-A), it is more musically than technically challenging, and very well complements any program by providing contrast to the more athletic trumpet literature. 'Pastorale' was written for my good friend Bill Bing, who in turn introduced me to Dwight. (Roy Poper) Halligan: Meditation (1999) I commissioned this work almost by accident. While working on Halligan's 'Dialogues' I realized that I had room on the CD for an other short work. In discussing my progress on the 'Dialogues' with Dick I mentioned this, and asked if he might be able to write a meditative piece for Bb trumpet. He responded that he'd think about it. This work arrived in the mail one week later, and I found it to be delightful and exactly what I was looking for. The 'Meditation' is beautifully melodic and almost operatic in nature. (Roy Poper) Halligan: Dialogues for Trumpet, Piano and Percussion (1996) I was pleasantly surprised to answer the phone one day and hear Dick Halligan at the other end of the line. We had worked together for over 20 years on many of his projects but had been out of touch for several years. Dick, composer for the band 'Blood, Sweat, and Tears' and many commercial recording projects, told me that he had again returned to writing 'art' music (frankly, I think everything he ever wrote was 'art') and he asked me if I'd like a piece. I was elated at the prospect, and suggested that a valuable addition to the repertoire might be a work for trumpet, piano, and one other instrument. I was also looking for a piece that could 'bridge' the classical and jazz-rock fusion styles. We discussed the work several times, and the result is 'Dialogues.' (Roy Poper) Stevens: Sonata for Trumpet and Piano (1959) The Sonata for Trumpet and Piano is an enduring contribution to the trumpet literature, having become a standard in most serious performers' repertoire. The work is comprised of two lively and technically challenging outer movements and a sparsely lyrical, almost eerie second movement, the work is a true sonata, in that the musical lines are interwoven between the instruments to create a seamless whole. Composed during his tenure as Professor of Composition at the University of California School of Music, the f1rst performance was actually accomplished on clarinet, when the trumpet student who had taken it on realized that it was, at least temporarily, beyond his reach. That trumpet student was Thomas Stevens (no relation), the now-retired Principal Trumpet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic! The Halsey Stevens Sonata remains a difficult, if rewarding, challenge for the best of players. (Roy Poper)

  • Shop: odax
  • Price: 29.26 EUR excl. shipping
• 

  Monique Elias Plays Chopin Mendelssohn Szymanowski

  Monique Elias is a Dutch pianist trained in the 'Horowitz style' tradition of eastern Europe. She is a very versatile pianist who can really make the listener hear the distinction between the different composers and the style they represent. In this CD she has brilliantly captured the then avant-garde style of Chopin that we now refer to as 'romantic' in contrast to the 'classical' style of Mendelsohn even though both composers lived at the same time. Then again, the style of Szymanowski is very different from Chopin with his long phrases and big sonorities, more in the style of Rachmaninoff. Any classical music lover would revel in these distinctions that paint such a different oral picture. It takes a sensitive pianist to pull this off successfully. Monique Elias's technique of playing has been compared to that of Alicia de la Rocha. For classical music teachers this CD would be an excellent eample for the illustration of these different musical periods.

  • Shop: odax
  • Price: 25.46 EUR excl. shipping
• 

  Velena

  The French guitarist Roland Dyens is a uniquely gifted composer and improviser, who was born in Tunisia and strongly influenced by the music of Brazil. Since the Portuguese word saudade translates as a 'longing for one's homeland,' these three works may serve as homages to Dyens's three greatest terrestial influences. The first Saudade is filled with elements of early twentieth-century French music: richly voiced major-ninth chords, punctuated bass lines, and it maintains a graceful balance between twentieth-century tonalities and more traditional phrasing and expressive gestures. The second Saudade is unabashedly Brazilian, and is expertly constructed on the framework of a standard Brazilian choro, or chorinho. The final Saudade is intriguingly dark and fiery, with a flavor that evokes the music of North Africa, and instruments such as the ud and the rebab. It's introduction, labeled 'Rituel,' is an abstract expression of the sonorities that are to emerge and meld into the charming dance rhythm that serves as the primary motif of the piece. The energy builds and intensifies in the section titled 'Fête et Final,' before returning to a beautiful resetting of the main theme at a slower, reflective pace. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: A highly skilled guitarist, singer, and luthier, Luigi legnani who wrote many works for guitar. His Opus 1 is a theme and variations, with a slow introduction, and ends with a pensive larghetto, a capricious moderato, and a climactic finale. Although this work has not been frequently performed or recorded, it features all of the character and cohesion of Legnani's later works. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Felix Mendelssohn composed no music for the guitar, but his Songs Without Words fit the personality of the instrument extremely well, matching the expressive tones of the guitar. The third movement of Mendelssohn's String Quartet Number 1, Opus 12, titled 'Canzonetta,' provides material for a challenging arrangement that captures the excitement and clean lines of Mendelssohn's style. It was originally arranged by Francisco Tárrega, then altered by Andrés Segovia, and the arrangement recorded here borrows from both, while also reflecting the sleek character of the scalar violin passages. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Leo Brouwer is a prolific composer and guitarist, and his works are frequently performed and recorded. In his Sonata for solo guitar, Brouwer presents a masterfully constructed dialog featuring musical elements that shaped and influenced his own musical style. The first movement, 'Fandangos y Boleros,' provides the setting for this complex discussion, and utilizes a variety of input-from rhythmic dance motives to an interaction between Antonio Soler and Ludwig van Beethoven. It is in this first movement that Brouwer most fully illuminates these elements that influenced his compositional style, and it is his unique style that allows these elements to meld into a sum that is strengthened and transformed by it's parts. The second movement is a straightforward homage to Alexander Scriabin, and the final movement, 'La Toccata de Pasquini,' is where Brouwer allows his voice to speak above all others, unleashing a flurry of arpeggios in a climactic completion of the Sonata. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Agustin Castillavila is an accomplished composer and guitarist from the Jerez region of Spain, and his compositions encompass a wide variety of characteristics and settings. His Suite Veleña is dedicated to Jeff Copeland, and this is the world premiere recording of the suite. The first movement begins under the tempo descriptor "Misterioso," and introduces focused vibrations of simple opposites: the deep growl of the guitar's lowest string along with the crystalline chime of high-pitched harmonics. Thicker textures emerge, as well as short breaths of scalar passages, dancing on a variety of rhythms. The second movement compresses this energy as taught thirds and speedy triplets fly forward, almost out of control, towards an aggressive flurry of rasgueados that briefly interrupt their path. Once their wits are about them, the third movement takes over, and immediately wrestles to take them away once more. A humorous scherzo, this section of the suite continues to juxtapose thick textures against thin lines, and contains a beautiful interlude, reminiscent of a gondolier's barcarolla, resting in the middle of the chaos. As the suite continually expands and condenses thematic material, the final result is the 'Danza,' where all of the suite's elements are free to celebrate the harmony and order of their union. The motion is swift and relentless, free of hesitation and untethered by restraints. Motives morph, and tensions are released as the entire suite swells to it's final and unwavering climax.

  • Shop: odax
  • Price: 23.13 EUR excl. shipping
• 

  Great Northern Express

  This debut recording by the Cal State Long Beach Concert Jazz Orchestra, directed by trumpeter/composer Jeff Jarvis is a worthy addition to the big band landscape. You'll enjoy the wide array of styles, and terrific soloists. Hear the beautiful textures created by this large ensemble, enhanced by French horns and beautifully blended to create a balance of sheer excitement and warm sonorities.

  • Shop: odax
  • Price: 18.66 EUR excl. shipping
• 

  Portuguese Music for Solo Cello

  'In Antagonia, for solo cello, the first and second strings are tuned half a tone lower (A and D flat). This tuning divides the instrument in two contrasting fields: two perfct fifths separated by an augmented fourth that makes them "antagonistic". This antagonism is transposed to every aspect of musical construction: there is one force trying to ascend and another one pushing down (or vice-versa), rhythmical characters opposing each other in expansions and contractions, and dynamic progressions in different directions. The work is divided into six parts: prologue (pesante), four variations (fuido, presto, allegretto, lento) and epilogue. In the introduction there is no theme but a structure that is transformed in tempi, textures and sonorities peculiar to each variation. In the epilogue there is a deformed condensation of all the previous sections: it is the non-resolution of an untransposable conflict. It's anguish is intensified by the dissonances of the scordatura, wich "repress" the natural tone of the cello. Written in Almoçageme in March 1990, it was first performed in Barcelona three months later, in a concert in memory of Jean Etienne Marie. It was recorded by the Czech and the Portuguese Broadcasting Companies, and selected by the jury of the International Society for Contemporary Music for the World Music Days that took place in Mexico City, in November 1993. It is dedicated to the Portuguese cellist Irene Lima.' Alexandre Delgado 'The composition of this piece, like all my music, is based on listening and spectral understanding of the sound phenomena, taking into account the acoustic properties of the musical instrument, which is the subject of research, leading to the abstract speculation on the compositional process. The piece is based on a defective spectrum on C (one octave below the C on the cello), in which only 11 partials (from the fundamental up to the 29th harmonic) are taken into consideration. From this defective spectrum I realized 8 micro-intervallic frequency shifts, resulting in a total of 9 sound aggregates. These aggregates have a slightly different intervallic structure between them, yet this small difference is of great importance - in terms of acoustics and perception it changes considerably the harmonicity / inharmonicity of the aggregates, what actually means being more consonant or less consonant in terms of perception. Each of these sound aggregates corresponds to a section of the piece. Although the sections succeed without interruption, some interludes and transitions are introduced here and there between them. There are also few sections, where some of the material presented earlier is reintroduced from a new perspective. Within each section, every aggregate is the subject of successive transpositions, yet retaining the same intervallic structure and also conforming to the base harmonic spectrum. These transpositions give origin to numerous melodic figurations, often in accelerando and appearing throughout the piece. The electronics operates primarily as a shadow or double of the acoustic instrument, blending with it, and extending it's identity. Occasionally, it can also act as a counterpoint.' Miguel Azguime, 29th July 2014 'Labirintho was written for the cellist Filipe Quaresma. The piece is clearly divided into two major parts recognizable by the change in tempo. The construction of this piece is centred on a theme that is constantly repeated and varied, resembling an obsession from which it can not escape (like in a maze).' Carlos Azevedo 'One of the salient features of the work of Corte-Real has been it's umbilical relationship with Portuguese culture and, above all, with it's poetry. Poets that the composer has put to music or from whom has taken inspiration are already numerous: Pessoa, Pascoaes, Régio, Agostinho da Silva, Eugénio de Andrade or Florbela Espanca. The work Bicicleta do Poeta (The Poet's Bicycle) (2014) for solo cello, is inspired by the poem Bicicleta (Bicycle) by Herberto Hélder. As in the poem, the music is full of sudden changes of speed and pace, unpredictable changes of direction and hard braking. The calm, relaxed, summer's-day ride itself gives way to the speed and vertigo inside...' Afonso Miranda 'Ostinati (2010) represents a change of direction in the composer's work: a turn that incorporates previously rejected elements, guided under a greater freedom, in the sense that it suffers less from the denial of material and solutions than from the meeting of musically sufficient ideas in order to create one sound identity. The material found in the origin of the score is, therefore, quite concise. Like other works from Ricardo Ribeiro, if the thought associated to the electronic processing is present since the first moment, it is true that the instrumental part lives by itself as an autonomous piece. This phenomenon doesn't work both ways: the electronic is only possible as a factor that improves the original idea, sometimes even recreating it, according to the notes which date from the elaboration of the instrumental part. The idea that each performance consists in a unique piece is, in Ostinati, taken a step further, since the electronic program was designed with some characteristics of randomness concerning to the degree of microtonality's range and overlapping of elements closer or furthest in time, which can be triggered in certain sections. The same electronic works as an orchestration of a particella, adding the microtonality and enhancing the timbre. The persistence of ideas and gestures is a metaphor of the idea of repetition, a presence that is increasingly evident in the last works of the composer. The repetition that in Intensités (2001) happened at the harmonic level, is present in Ostinati at a much more immediate level, in the movement, in the heights, in the continuous manifestation of strength which simultaneously transmits serenity.' Diana Ferreira.

  • Shop: odax
  • Price: 26.29 EUR excl. shipping
• 

  Beckett Miscellany

  All of the works assembled for this recording were written for specific times, places, or events that cover a span of 23 years. They were all written for specific performers who are, in nearly every case, different from the ones who play them on this CD. In making the musical selections for this CD, I made an attempt to include as many instrumentalists from Arcady, the ensemble of which I am founding director, as possible. Arcady has recorded two choral-vocal/ orchestral CDs, A Baroque Messiah and Welcome Yule! - Christmas Music of Ronald Beckett, and has been featured on a third - Peace on Earth with flutist Kim Shippey. The opera Ruth will be released late in 2006. For The Woodwind Quintet, I was fortunate to have four of the five original Essex Winds, for whom the work was originally written, play for this CD. I was always impressed by the players' technical skills and sense of style, as well as by the humour that they brought to their live performances. The work is an attempt to capture all of those qualities. The Fantasia, a completion of an organ fragment by Bach, is a piece that to me always had more the feeling of a trio sonata. It is in that guise that it appears for this CD. The Trio for Flute, Clarinet, and Horn, Three Short Pieces for Piano, and the Mixolydian Quartet, arranged here as a piano duet, were written for instructional purposes. They are simple, lyric, and a definite contrast to the 11/4 metre Toccata from the Oboe Sonata, which was written for university performance. The Octatonic Suite was written for this CD. Of the modes of limited transposition, the octatonic scale, which alternates whole and half steps, is probably the most useful in that it is able to suggest a full range of harmonic and melodic sonorities. In Arcady's history, it's most significant achievement has been it's performances of the operas written for it. Included on this CD are two of the cycle's instrumental dances: the festive harvest celebration of Ruth and the Wedding at Cana from I Am.... In the medley from John we hear instrumentally the voices of Elizabeth and Zacharias, the chaotic dance that precedes Herod's appearance, and the dance of Salome. For a more complete description of the CD's contents, please consult it's liner notes. I hope that you enjoy the music of this CD. If you have a group of your own and wish to use any of these works, do not hesitate to contact us. These are works to be shared. -Ronald Beckett Acclaim "Listening to these charming suites, epilogues, fantasias, dances, toccatas, and trios by Canadian composer Ronald Beckett makes one realize just how far the neo-tonal counter-revolution has come. Written over a 23-year period, these are cheery, player-friendly 'works to be shared' (in the composer's words) employing baroque counterpoint, occasional minirealist rhythms, and lots of diatonic tunes. Arcady, a chamber group founded by Beckett himself, plays with bubbly energy." -American Record Guide "If Ron Beckett's music is half as much fun to write as it is to hear, he must go around smiling all the time" -Richard Todd, Ottawa Citizen "He has drive, energy, movement and motion all bundled up in old and new style writing that never leaves you bored." -George Sandford, 701.com "This CD demonstrates his solid craftsmanship and pleasant nature as a composer. Mr. Beckett should be commended for his creativity and obvious mastery at bringing people together to make music: a positive force." -Larry Beckwith, WholeNote "...intellectually stimulating music that is fun and pleasant to listen to." -Murray Charters, Brantford Expositor "Listeners who sometimes despair when listening to new music will delight in the beautifully lyrical music comprising A Beckett Miscellany." -Robert Reid, Kitchener-Waterloo Record.

  • Shop: odax
  • Price: 22.25 EUR excl. shipping
• 

  Werke für Cello & Klavier

  As a young boy, Brahms was given rudimentary lessons on both the violin and cello by his father, although it was the piano that primarily activated his executant and creative imagination. Accordingly, his first published works included three virtuoso piano sonatas that rejoice in the instrument's potential for rich and powerful middle-register (cello) sonorities.

  • Shop: odax
  • Price: 13.39 EUR excl. shipping
• 

  Choral Music of David Ludwig

  Four Ladino Folk Songs (2012) for SATB Choir - 8' -written for the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia 1. Durme durme mi alma donzella 2. Ven hermosa ven con mi 3. Camini por altas torres 4. Cuando veo hija hermosa Four Ladino Folk Songs was inspired by a work I wrote for Lara St. John of arrangements of Ladino songs for unaccompanied violin. I was so taken with these songs-with the richness of melodies and harmonies and wide range of emotional expression-that I decided to set four of them for unaccompanied choir. These songs are folk tunes arranged to compliment their texts, some with a gently rocking four-part texture, others with percussive sounds and effects that would be familiar to Ladino folk singers. The mood ranges from playful, to serene, from raucous to quiet despair, just as the original tunes do. I owe a debt of gratitude to the seminal scholarship of Isaac Levy, who transcribed most of these songs in his four-volume "Chant Judéo-Espagnols," a repository of this rich musical heritage from a dying language scattered across Europe, Africa, and Central Asia.Composer David Ludwig's music has been called "entrancing," and that it "promises to speak for the sorrows of this generation," (Philadelphia Inquirer). It has further been described as "arresting and dramatically hued" (The New York Times) and has been noted for "music supercharged with electrical energy and raw emotion" (Fanfare). The New Yorker magazine calls him a "musical up-and-comer" and the Chicago Tribune says that he "deserves his growing reputation as one of the up-and-comers of his generation." He has had performances in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Library of Congress, and has been played on PBS and NPR's Weekend Edition. NPR Music selected him as one of the Top 100 Composers Under Forty in the world in 2011. The New Colossus (2002) for choir - 3' (Lazarus) -SATB choir -Commissioned by Judith Clurman and the TODI Music Festival Choir "The New Colossus" was written for conductor Judith Clurman and the Todi music singers. Ms. Clurman recommended that I set the poem by Emma Lazarus that is at the site of the Statue of Liberty. On reading these words, I was very moved by the sentiment of welcome that Lazarus-herself an immigrant-conveys in the message: "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..." And it is not just some people that the Statue welcomes, but everyone-even the "wretched refuse." This to me was the true spirit of the United States embodied in poetry: our strength in diversity and tolerance. I wrote the work soon after 9/11, and because of that, the words of the poet were particularly poignant to me. The piece begins in somber unison and remains in that setting, like chant, as the poet compares the Statue of Liberty to the Colossus of Rhodes from ancient Greece. It is not like the Colossus, she notes, in that it is not meant to be an imposing figure but instead the embracing "mother of exiles." At the most famous lines the music opens up into harmony until the end, repeating the words "I lift my lamp, beside the Golden Door"-to the port of entry of a nation of immigrants. Press "Ludwig's The New Colossus began in sober unison. As harmonies evolved to greater dissonance, the singers became more expressive, an effective dramatic device." -The Virginian Pilot Hanukkah Cantata (2007) - 24' (Trad. Hebrew and English) -SATB Choir + soloists, 0000 0130 percussion, organ, strings -Commissioned by the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia -Premiered 2007 at Rodeph Shalom, Philadelphia The Hanukkah Cantata was written for the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia and was funded by the Philadelphia Music Project. I wrote the cantata with a lot of help from some good friends and fabulous musicians, but my first word of thanks has to go to Cantor Dan Sklar who not only assembled and translated the texts for me, but also sang the wonderful Hannukah songs for me to hear. I remembered Dan's voice all the while I arranged these songs. When Choral Arts director Matt Glandorf asked me to write a piece for the holiday, I immediately saw the challenge of writing a new work to commemorate an ancient tradition. It would need to be accessible to an audience whether or not they are familiar with the story of the holiday. I decided to integrate Hanukkah songs in their original Hebrew with the narrative taken from Scripture as translated into English. It was important for me that the piece be set in the "vernacular," so to speak, but to also preserve what is to me beautiful folk music. To that end I kept the music within the boundaries of functional sacred music, rather than attach it to a more abstract musical language or idiom. I also knew the piece would have to be in eight movements. I wanted to style it after the customary practice of including soloists in recitative and arias who would convey the thread of the story poetically. This made the arc of the piece clear to put together. The opening comes with a question from the traditional song "Mi Y'maleil": "who can recount the feats of the holy land?" The next two movements tell of the oppression of the Jews through the eyes of their ruler Mattathias, as well as the rise of his son Judas Maccabeus. After Judas is pronounced "blessed," in the fourth movement, the women of the chorus sing the traditional candle blessings sung while lighting the Menorah. The fifth movement opens the second half of the piece, and details the triumph of the Jews over their oppressors. Here, they find their most holy temple desecrated, and this is where the real heroism takes place. Rather than give up or give in, they decide to completely rebuild and rededicate the temple, replacing every defiled stone anew-even constructing a new altar like the previous one. The music turns to the triumphant "Al Hanisim" to commemorate the occasion. The seventh movement is instrumental dance music, a "dreydl dance" with a narration that is meant to capture both traditional sonorities of Jewish music and incorporate the importance of dance into the cantata. The narrator's part is to tell the how the story happened when the Jews decided to reconstruct the temple and the miracle that occurred when they found only enough oil to light their lamp for one day. They needed enough oil to last for eight days, or enough time to consecrate the next batch of fuel. As it so did, miraculously confirming the merit and holiness of their efforts. The final movement is another arrangement of the song "Maoz Tzur," which is a song that will be familiar to many. The medieval nature of the words conveys the unfortunate glorification of war (a matter I tried to avoid in arranging the text, given the state of our world. I see no reason to exalt the killing of anyone, including the "enemy," "foe," or "heathen.") But the story of the last song, and indeed the story of Hannukah is about oppression, loss, and overcoming that loss to move on with strength and love. The Jews defeat their oppressors and then grieve for their losses. The heroism of the story is in the rebuilding after that loss, and the power of the community unified to help the individuals of that community continue on. They construct a new altar after losing the old one, yet, significantly, it is not a "new" altar insofar as it acknowledges and never forgets the loss. My nephew, Michael Henry Ludwig, would have celebrated his tenth Hannukah this year passed away suddenly and unexpectedly just four days before writing this program note. He was a magnificent kid, always enthusiastic, beaming and smiling when I would bring him close and rub my knuckles on his head. The Choral Arts Society has graciously agreed to dedicate this performance to Michael-the premiere of this work will be in the temple of his great grandparents. Every day I didn't spend with him feels like time lost. I am honored to be able to remember him with this music. Kaddish (2006) -10' (Trad. Hebrew) -0000 4331 + 3 perc SAB choir and tenor so

  • Shop: odax
  • Price: 16.53 EUR excl. shipping

---

---