Invented Folksongs is a set of four pieces by Anna Pidgorna inspired, rather than based on, traditional Ukrainian folk songs collected by her in the field and recorded by her with the Ludivico Ensemble. My review is now available at La Scena Musicale.
Catalogue information: Redshift Records TK557
Äneas Humm and Renata Rohlfing’s new album Sehnsucht features songs from four composers whose careers were derailed by Nazi persecution of the Jews. Three of them; Arnold Schoenberg, Alexander von Zemlinsky and Eric Zeisl were Viennese composers who left for the United States though none of them managed to make the kind of success (financially at least) that Korngold and Weill achieved, though Schoenberg’s reputation was sufficiently established that he survived the transition pretty much intact. The fourth composer is Henriette Bosmans who was half Jewish and survived the war in Amsterdam though unable to perform after 1942. The songs by the Germans are settings of German texts. Bosmans’ songs are in French. Continue reading
So another rather interesting chamber opera from Europe has come my way. It’s Like Flesh; music by Sivan Eldar and English language libretto by Cordelia Lynn. It’s 80 minutes long and uses three soloists, a chorus of six and an eight piece instrumental group plus electronics. It’s sort of a modern ecological take on Ovid’s idea of a woman turning into a tree. Here the woman is unhappily married to the Forester who buys into the basic idea that Nature exists to serve humans and is a willing accomplice in environmental degradation. There’s also a female student who is studying the forest and is discovering much that isn’t covered in the classroom. The transformation takes place against a back drop of destructive wild fires and the wanton felling of woodland to make way for concrete. Given the subject matter, the libretto is really quite poetic. Continue reading
Frano Parać’s opera Judita is unusual in at least one respect. The libretto is in Old Croatian and is based on a 1501 epic poem by Marko Marulić, in turn based on the Book of Judith so the story is the familiar one about Judith and Holofernes. It’s quite short; around 70 minutes, and it follows the biblical story pretty closely.
It premiered in Split in 2000 (both Parać and Marulić are/were from the city) but the recording was made at a live concert performance in Munich in 2023. It’s a pretty interesting piece. The music is clearly modern but essentially tonal. It’s got lots of energy and is sometimes quite grand and dramatic but also with quieter moments. There are elements of minimalism, especially in the rather declamatory and percussive music given to the Assyrian soldiers. Continue reading
New York Polyphony are a quartet of singers; Geoffrey Williams – counter-tenor, Steven Caldicott Wilson and Andrew Fuchs – tenors and Craig Phillips – bass. On Sky of My Heart they mostly sing unaccompanied but are joined by the LeStrange Viols (Loren Ludwig and John Mark Rozendaal – treble viol, Kivie Cahn-Lipman – tenor viol, Zoe Weiss and Douglas Kelley – bass viol).
The album is a mix of Renaissance and contemporary pieces; most of the latter composed for NYP. They are very good singers with terrific control and a very clean largely vibrato free sound that works well for most of the music on the disk. Some of the material is religious; William Byrd’s setting of Ecce quam bonum, Becky McGlade’s setting of Prudentius’ Of the Father’s Love Begotten and Ivan Moody’s settings of three excerpts from the Song of Songs. All of these are unaccompanied in a churchy sort of style. Continue reading
Duo Concertante play Alice Ho’s Dark Tales; pieces for violin and piano inspired by Newfoundland ghost stories. Full review at La Scena Musicale.
Two hours of soprano Dory Hayley multi tracking with live and recorded electronics in a tribute to Morton Feldman’s Three Voices. Fascinating if not everyone’s cup of tea. Full review at La Scena Musicale.
Frank Horvat’s Banff Suite is a series of piano pieces inspired by hiking the trails around Banff. Full review at La Scena Musicale.
Ambroise Thomas’ Psyché is yet another more or less forgotten French opera rescued from obscurity by the Bru Zane label. Canadian Hélène Guilmette sings the title role. Full review at Opera Canada.
One tree, two guitars, one sound. This was the creative mission for Hugo Cuvilliez, guitar-maker and wood-whisperer from the Drôme region of south-eastern France: to honour the essence of a partnership with the sonic unity of one and the same instrument.
This was the vision of Thibault Garcia and Antoine Morinière; guitarists at the Paris Conservatory. The goal, to create a version of Bach’s Goldberg Variations in which each guitarist becomes one hand of the keyboard. Each on a sonically identical instrument. It’s fascinating because it’s close to, but not exactly like, the piece played on a harpsichord. And it is beautifully played.
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