Nicolae Bretan: Golem and Arald

On this CD:

1. Golem
Composed by Nicolae Bretan
Performed by Moldova Philharmonic Orchestra with Alexandru Agache, Tamas Daroczy, Sanda Sandru, Dan Zancu
Conducted by Cristian Mandeal

2. Arald
Composed by Nicolae Bretan
Performed by Moldova Philharmonic Orchestra with Alexandru Agache, Ionel Voineag, Sanda Sandru, Dan Zancu
Conducted by Cristian Mandeal

Nicolae Bretan: Golem and Arald, Music, Alexandru Agache, Dan Zancu, Nicolae Bretan, Cristian Mandeal, Iasi 'Moldova' Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Moldova Philharmonic Orchestra, Sanda Sandru, Ionel Voineag, Tamas Daroczy, Classical, Classical Music, Miscellaneous Music, Miscellaneous Vocal Music, Opera, Opera/Operetta, Vocal
Nicolae Bretan: Golem and Arald
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Beautifully understated drama
  • More beautiful music than we'd any right to expect.
  • Two short beautiful, somber lyric operas.
 Nicolae Bretan: Golem and Arald

Manufacturer: Nimbus Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General ModernGeneral Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
OperettasOperettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000037FS
Release Date: 1995-09-05

Tracks:

  1. Golem: Intro - PO Moldova, Iasi/Cristian Mandeal
  2. Golem: Leave Me Alone, Golem, Leave Me! - Alexandru Agache
  3. Golem: I Looked Deep Into Her Eyes... - Alexandru Agache
  4. Golem: I Cannot Change You Into A Man - Tamas Daroczy
  5. Golem: I Formed You Of Clay... - Tamas Daroczy
  6. Golem: Under The Earth, You Do Not Feel The Cold - Alexandru Agache
  7. Golem: Did You Call Me? - Dan Zancu
  8. Golem: No! I Won't Tear It Out! - Alexandru Agache
  9. Golem: Why Don't You Give Me That Talisman? - Alexandru Agache
  10. Golem: Peace To You, Dream Of The Human Mind - Sounds Of The Autumn Wind
  11. Arald: Prologue- Arald On His Charger Sweeps... - Dan Zancu
  12. Arald: To You, O Timeless Seer, Across The World I Ride... - Ionel Voineag
  13. Arald: You Were Still But A Child - Alexandru Agache
  14. Arald: My People Ceased Their March... - Ionel Voineag
  15. Arald: Out Of The Heart Of Earth Let Man The Dead Awake... - Alexandru Agache
  16. Arald: Come, Arald, Your Sweet Brow Against My Bosom Lean... - Sanda Sandru
  17. Arald: Interlude - PO Moldova, Iasi/Cristian Mandeal
  18. Arald: Lost Of All Eternity Within The Tomb's Constraint - Alexandru Agache

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Beautifully understated drama.......2005-06-10

Despite a lack of big arias, Golem is a good opera. The singers in this production are very effective in conveying the inner tensions of their characters. Although there is little physical movement, the drama of Rabbi Judah Loeb confronting the monster he has created is intense.
The scenic cantata, Arald, is Bretan's masterpiece. It is a lyrical evocation of memory, despair, and resignation. Arald puts the listener through all of the emotional upheaval of Das Lied von der Erde in half of the time. This performance of Arald is as affecting as the best performances of Das Lied von der Erde that I have heard.

4 out of 5 stars More beautiful music than we'd any right to expect........2001-01-25

The Transylvanian composer Bretan had one of the grimmer lives of any notable composer - his wife's family were murdered in Auschwitz; his refusal in post-war Romania to become a Communist led to his silencing - but you wouldn't know it from either of these operas.

They are serious and solemn enough. 'Golem' takes the old story of a rampaging Frankenstein-type monster and turns it into a melancholy dialogue about life, science, creation, family. 'Arald', with its hero supplicating the Seer of the Underworld to resuscitate his dead love, forswears doomy Gothic in favour of more metaphysical musings.

From a dramatic point of view, both works are static. Musically, however, they are gloriously reminiscent of mid-period Verdi - bountifully melodic, rapturously sad - with an Eastern European flavour. The fact that an opera composer in the mid-20th century dared even write a TUNE is reason enough to rejoice.

4 out of 5 stars Two short beautiful, somber lyric operas........1999-05-07

"Golem" is a one-act opera about the legendary clay man created by the Rabbi of Prague. The poignant libretto is by the composer. The music is beautiful and lyric, but has no memorable tunes. Stylistically, it is a bit like Rimsky-Korsakoff's operatic writing. "Arald" is not really an opera but a scenic cantata. It tells of the despair of the khan of the Avars over the loss of his wife. The gloom of both text and music put me off at first. On second hearing, I loved it! It is more tuneful than "Das Lied von der Erde" and has none of the dissonance of Bartok's "Duke Bluebeard's Castle", but the mood is similar.

Music Review:

  1. Nocturno
  2. Operatic Paraphrases & Transcriptions
  3. Parsadanian: Symphony No. 1/No. 2
  4. Piano Concerto 5 in E Flat
  5. Piano Duets 1
  6. Plays Brazil: Brass Music from Northeastern Brazil
  7. Premeire Sonate / Printemps 1 Cahier
  8. Quintet in C Major
  9. Rakhmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3; Piano Sonata No. 2
  10. Richard Wagner: Orchestra Music

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