Share This
Album at a Glance
Record Label: Bridge RecordsTags
Related Posts
George Crumb: Songs - Voices from the Heartland; Sun and Shadow / Ann Crumb, soprano; Orchestra 2001
Posted by George Adams on May 13, 2015 in Contemporary | 0 comments
This Bridge Records release of two books of songs by George Crumb makes for a very nice collector’s item. The songs, which have made few appearances on CD, are collected here in their entirety, and receive an elegant and thorough presentation as Volume 16 of Bridge's Complete George Crumb Edition. Among the performers are the composer’s daughter, Ann Crumb, and Orchestra 2001, the Philadelphia contemporary music ensemble that is in the process of recording all seven of Crumb’s American songbooks. Listeners who favor organization, consistency, and dedication, not to mention stellar performances, will value this addition to their collections.
Crumb is one of America’s best-known contemporary composers, famous for works like Black Angels (1970) for electric string quartet and Voice of the Whale (1971) for electric flute, electric cello, and amplified piano. In these earlier pieces, Crumb explored dark and unsettling sounds, experimented with costumes and lighting, and struck a balance between radical modernism and a sense of the familiar in music—melody and thematic development. The songs presented here show Crumb’s continued interest in creative instrumentation, but are decidedly more approachable for general audiences. Both books of songs feature theatrical shouting and noise-making by the singers and instrumentalists, and extended techniques like tapping on the body of the piano and plucking its strings. But because these songs borrow from sources like Native American chants, Crumb keeps these pieces relatively grounded, he says, in order “not to harm these wonderful melodies, to stay out of the way of those beautiful tunes.”
The Spanish Songbook II (2009) is for voice and amplified piano; American Songbook VII (2010) is scored for soprano and baritone, amplified piano, and percussion. The Spanish Songbook consists of settings of the poetry of Federico García Lorca translated to English. Images of the outdoors and feelings of longing pervade the cycle. These songs are full of life and love, a culmination of Crumb’s obsession with Lorca’s poetry that reaches back to the early 1960s. The American Songbook is more quintessentially Crumb. The percussionists provide generally sparse, eerie accompaniment to relatively straightforward folk melodies and some Sprechstimme recitation of the traditional texts. Song II, “Ghost Dance,” is a Pawnee chant that ends with aggressive, violent drumming and shouts from the percussionists as well as the singer. Song VI, “War of the Sexes,” pits Ann Crumb against baritone Patrick Mason; Crumb sings “Come All Ye Fair and Tender Maidens” while Mason sings “On Top of Old Smoky,” the two melodies clashing and weaving together.
These songs are at once exciting, odd, simple, and bizarre, and have roots in American musical traditions as old as Native American chants and as recent as contemporary classical music. The remarkable balance that Crumb achieves is befitting of the artistic stature he has enjoyed over the last half century. While collectors may relish the opportunity to obtain these two books of songs in such an authoritative and pleasing package, listeners who are just coming to know Crumb’s music will also be duly intrigued and entertained by this repertoire. This uniquely American creative voice deserves nothing less than the most faithful and spirited performances in the first complete edition of his works. Fortunately for all, that’s exactly what is available here.
This important release features the premiere recording of the final installment of George Crumb’s monumental American Songbook series. Songbook VII,titled Voices from the Heartland, includes songs both humorous and tragic, and concludes with the largest song setting of the seven-part cycle, the 'Native American Song of the Earth.' As in previous works in this cycle, Crumb employs a percussion “orchestra” of more than 100 instruments, creating a rich tapestry of beguiling sounds. Also included is the premiere recording of Sun and Shadow, Crumb’s new cycle on poems of Lorca.
The featured artists, Ann Crumb, Patrick Mason and Orchestra 2001, are the dedicatees of these compositions, with both recordings made under the composer’s supervision.
Source: Bridge Records
 George Crumb |
George Crumb, composer George Crumb (born October 24, 1929) is an American composer of avant-garde music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull-like effects for the cello (e.g. Vox Balaenae), metallic vibrato for the piano (e.g. Five Pieces for Piano), and using a mallet to play the strings of a contrabass (e.g. Madrigals, Book I), among numerous others. He is not an electronic music composer; however, many works call for amplification of instruments, such as Black Angels (string quartet) or Ancient Voices of Children (mixed ensemble). Crumb defines music as “a system of proportions in the service of spiritual impulse.” Source: Wikipedia |
|
Ann Crumb |
Ann Crumb, soprano Ann Crumb is an American actress and singer. The daughter of composer George Crumb and sister of composer David Crumb, she made her Broadway debut in 1987 as a member of the original cast of Les Misérables. Additional Broadway credits include Chess, Anna Karenina, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1993, and Aspects of Love, as Rose Vibert, a role she originated in the West End. Crumb has toured in the title role of Evita and appeared in numerous regional theater productions staged by the Guthrie, Coconut Grove Playhouse, and Tennessee Repertory Theater, among others. Her television credits include the daytime soaps As the World Turns, The Guiding Light, and Another World, and the prime-time dramas Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She presently is in pre-production for a mini-series entitled The Road to Saint Lazarre in which she will portray famed spy Mata Hari. Crumb’s recordings include A Broadway Diva Swings, a concert version of Nine with Jonathan Pryce and Elaine Paige, and Unto the Hills, in collaboration with her father. Her upcoming jazz CD is entitled Goodbye Mr. Jones. Source: Wikipedia |
 Patrick Mason |
Patrick Mason, baritone The distinguished American baritone, Patrick Mason, has performed and recorded a wide range of music spanning the last 10 centuries. Mason began his career singing early music with groups such as The Waverly Consort, Schola Antiqua and The Boston Camerata. Since 1970 he has concertized with guitarist David Starobin in venues such as London’s Wigmore Hall, Merkin Hall in New York and in festivals throughout the United States and Europe; the pair has produced numerous recordings. In a long and successful association, Patrick Mason has made numerous recordings with Bridge Records: Songs of Amy Beach (Grammy finalist, 2006); Franz Schubert’s Winterreise; Mélodies (French songs by Fauré, Poulenc, Ravel and Dutilleux) and others. Source: www.colorado.edu |
 Marcantonio Barone |
Marcantonio Barone, piano Born in 1962, American pianist Marcantonio Barone made his debut at the age of ten at a Philadelphia Orchestra children’s concert. He returned in 1990 as soloist on the Orchestra’s subscription series under the direction of William Smith. He has also performed as soloist with the Saint Louis and Houston Symphony Orchestras, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has collaborated with such eminent conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Leon Fleisher, Arther Fiedler, and Barry Tuckwell, and has performed in solo recitals at the Metropolitan Museum and at Weill Recital Hall in New York, at the Wigmore Hall in London, and at the Large Hall of the Saint Petersburg Filarmoniya. He performs frequently as a member of the Lenape Chamber Ensemble, 1807 and Friends, Orchestra 2001, and many other groups. He has given the world premiere performances of works by several distinguished composers, including George Rochberg, David Finko, Gerald Levinson, and Thomas Whitman. In addition to his duties at Swarthmore, Mr. Barone is also on the faculty of the Bryn Mawr Conservatory of Music, where he is head of the piano department. Source: www.swarthmore.edu |
 James Freeman |
James Freeman, conductor James Freeman is Professor Emeritus of Music at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA. He is also the artistic director and conductor of Philadelphia’s renowned contemporary music chamber orchestra and ensemble, Orchestra 2001, which he founded in 1988. He was trained at Harvard University (B.A., M.A., Ph.D), Tanglewood, and Vienna’s Akademie für Musik. He counts among his principal teachers pianists Artur Balsam and Paul Badura-Skoda and his father, double bassist Henry Freeman. As a conductor, he has commissioned and given the first performances of many new works by American composers. In 1990 he was given the first Philadelphia Music Foundation’s award for achievement in Classical Music. Other honors include two Fulbright Fellowships, grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, Swarthmore College, the German Government, and Harvard University’s Paine Traveling Fellowship. He spent the spring of 1991 at the Moscow Conservatory as a guest conductor and lecturer on new American music. Source: Wikipedia |
 Orchestra 2001 |
Orchestra 2001 Orchestra 2001 is an American orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which specialises in the performance of contemporary classical music. Orchestra 2001 is the performance ensemble-in-residence atSwarthmore College, and performs concerts at Swarthmore’s Lang Concert Hall as well as in Philadelphia. James Freeman founded Orchestra 2001 in 1988 as its artistic director and conductor, and continues to serve in both posts. The ensemble is noted for performances of works by composers based in the Philadelphia region, in particular George Crumb. Orchestra 2001 has performed many of Crumb’s works since the ensemble’s inception. Source: www.orchestra2001.org |
About George Adams
Twitter •
| Thinking about purchasing this album?
Follow this link for more album details or to make the purchase. Buy it now |
“Not just recommended. Guaranteed.”
We stand behind every album featured on Expedition Audio. Our objective is to take the monetary risk out of music exploration. If you order this album from HBDirect.com and do not like it you can return it for a refund.
George Crumb: "Black Angels" / Filarmonica Quartet