A Portrait of Britten

On this CD:

1. Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge, for strings, Op. 10
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by English String Orchestra
Conducted by William Boughton

2. Simple Symphony, for string orchestra, Op. 4
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by English String Orchestra
Conducted by William Boughton

3. Lachrymae, reflections on a song of Dowland, for viola & piano, Op. 48
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by English String Orchestra
Conducted by William Boughton

4. Prelude & Fugue, for 18 strings, Op. 29
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by English String Orchestra
Conducted by William Boughton

5. Sea Interludes (4), from Peter Grimes, for orchestra, Op. 33a
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by English String Orchestra
Conducted by William Boughton

6. Suite on English folk tunes (A time there was), for orchestra, Op. 90
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by English String Orchestra
Conducted by William Boughton

7. Gloriana, symphonic suite for tenor (or oboe) & orchestra, Op. 53a Courtly Dances
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by English String Orchestra
Conducted by William Boughton

8. Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell), for speaker ad lib & orchestra, Op. 34
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by English String Orchestra
Conducted by William Boughton

9. Les illuminations, song cycle for high voice & strings, Op. 18
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by English String Orchestra with Jerry Hadley
Conducted by William Boughton

10. Serenade, for tenor, horn, & strings, Op. 31
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by English String Orchestra with Jerry Hadley, Anthony Halstead
Conducted by William Boughton

11. Nocturne, for tenor, 7 instruments & strings, Op. 60
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by English String Orchestra with David Campbell, Jerry Hadley, Rachel Masters, Paul Arden Taylor, Peter Hamburger, Michael Hirst, Keith Rubach, Stephen [horn] Roberts
Conducted by William Boughton

A Portrait of Britten, Music, Keith Rubach, David Campbell, Benjamin Britten, William Boughton, Michael Hirst, Rachel Masters, Anthony Halstead, Stephen Roberts [horn], English String Orchestra, Jerry Hadley, 20th/21st Century Orchestral Music, 20th/21st Century Symphony, 20th/21st Century Variations, Chamber, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Concerto, Orchestral, Orchestral & Symphonic, Solo Voice(s) and Small Ensemble, Song Cycle for Solo Voice and Orchestra, String Chamber Music, Suite for Orchestra, Symphonic, Viola Concerto, Vocal
Arvo Pärt: A Portrait
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Not the best performances, but still a pretty good collection
  • A Written and Sound Portrait of One of Our Most Important Composers
 Arvo Pärt: A Portrait

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. Arvo Pärt - A Tribute
  2. Lamentate
  3. Alina - Arvo Part
  4. Arvo Pärt: Passio
  5. Arvo Part: 24 Preludes for a Fugue

ASIN: B00093O6OY
Release Date: 2005-06-21

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Not the best performances, but still a pretty good collection.......2007-04-20

Naxos has never provided the best performances of the music of Arvo Part--the long line of ECM recordings were made under the composer's supervision and thus may be seen as definitive--but the collection ARVO PART: A PORTRAIT is a nice effort indeed. Issued in 2005, the year of the Estonian composer's 70th birthday, this package features selections from nearly his entire career over two discs, in recordings drawn from the Naxos, BIS, and Nimbus labels, and also contains a 78-page booklet with Nick Kimberley's essay "Arvo Part: A Musical Journey".

Arvo Part came to worldwide attention through the minimalistic and overtly spiritual music he began composing in the mid-1970s, but ARVO PART: A Portrait features some music from his early career as well. Part was something of an enfant terrible in the Soviet music world, and in the 1960s he infuriated the socialist realist musical establishment by producing dodecaphonic and collage works through the 1960s. From this era we get the second movement of the Symphony No. 1, the "Collage ueber B-A-C-H", and the cello concerto "Pro et Contra". One does regret, however, that his important piece "Credo", discussed at some length in Kimberley's piece, is not featured here, but perhaps Naxos could not find a recording that could be licensed for inclusion here.

The bulk of the collection, however, is dedicated to Part's "holy minimalism" output, a style which he calls "tintinnabuli" for its bell-like tones. Two selections from his hour-long masterpiece "Passio" are included here, one begin four minutes long and the other twelve. Of the "Berliner Messe" we have the Kyrie and Credo, and the other late pieces here are included full-length.

"Fur Alina", the exceedingly simple piano piece he wrote in 1976, breaking a silence of nearly a decade, is featured here in its scored form in performance by Alexei Lubimov. The ECM recording of this piece is a much longer improvisation by Alexander Malter, so this Naxos collection (or the BIS disc the selection was drawn from) is a good way to hear the piece at its most simple.

Over the last decade or so, Part has began reconciling his tintinnabuli style to the more fiery spirit of his youth. However, none of those pieces, such as "Como cieva sedienta" are represented here, which is regrettable.

While the Naxos performances of Part's music are not the best available, only the Naxos recording of "Tabula Rasa" by the Ulster Orchestra and Takuo Yuasa is outright unlistenable. The rest are acceptable, and this collection makes a more more economical introduction to Part's career than the many full-price ECM discs. And for established Part fans, the included essay by Nick Kimberley is interesting reading, especially when the only other major English-language coverage of Part, Paul Hillier's Arvo Part (Oxford Studies of Composers), is difficult to find.

5 out of 5 stars A Written and Sound Portrait of One of Our Most Important Composers.......2005-07-13

"Contemporary classical music which genuinely touches people is rare, but the rapt, contemplative music of Arvo Pärt communicates readily, and without pandering to the demands of a mass audience." -- Nick Kimberley

"It is enough when a single note is beautifully played." -- Arvo Pärt

These two comments shed light on Arvo Pärt, both the music and the man. An intensely private man who came of age in repressive Stalinist Soviet Estonia but who always maintained his stalwart religious beliefs, against all fashion, and who, though he started out as an avant-gardist, became the prophet of what has been called 'the new simplicity,' Arvo Pärt is perhaps the most beloved composer of classical music in the world. His music is known by people who have almost no interest otherwise in classical music, largely because of the effect it has on even the casual listener, as reflected in Nick Kimberley's comment above. It also has devoted followers among the musical cognoscenti. His piece 'Fratres,' in its myriad forms, is his most widely performed work, but it is probably his ecstatic 'Passio' that has created the most devoted following, particularly following its first recording by the Hilliard Ensemble on the ECM label.

This release has two CDs chockfull of unfailingly beautiful performances of Pärt's music, generally in complete movements taken from releases by Naxos and other labels. Such disparate works as his spare piano piece, 'Für Alina,' movements of his Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3, the 'Berliner Messe,' the 'Magnificat,' 'Collage über B-A-C-H,' 'Spiegel im Spiegel,' and 'Triodion,' are represented here. Two versions of 'Fratres' are included, one for cello and piano, the other for percussion and strings. His cello and orchestra work, 'Pro et Contra,' is performed by Frans Helmerson and the Bamberg Symphony under Neeme Järvi. Excerpts from 'Passio' ('Passion According to the Gospel of St. John') from the recording by Antony Pitts, Pärt expert and a composer in his own right, and his choral group Tonus Peregrinus are particularly haunting. Celebrated organist Kevin Bowyer is heard playing Pärt's 'Annum per annum.'

The illuminating accompanying essay, 70 pages long, is by Nick Kimberley, a noted British arts critic. All of this is in a glossy booklet enclosed in a cardboard box, typical of Naxos's classy presentation of both recorded music and booklet notes.

This release is for all those who are already devotees of Pärt's music and for those who are just coming to admire his music. The budget price makes it all the more attractive.

2 CDs TT=164mins

Scott Morrison
Frederica von Stade sings Dorumsgaard, Mahler, Ives, Poulenc and others
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Dorumsgaard; who knew?
  • Recitals should always be as thoughtful as this one
  • Absolutely priceless early Von Stade not available elsewhere
 Frederica von Stade sings Dorumsgaard, Mahler, Ives, Poulenc and others
Arne Dorumsgaard , Jules Massenet , Jacques Offenbach , Francis Poulenc , Benjamin Britten , Charles Ives , Gustav Mahler , Mario Bernardi , Frederica von Stade , and Martin Isepp
Manufacturer: Gala
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by BrittenAll Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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  5. Songs by Fauré, Hahn and Head; Arias by Rossini and Handel

ASIN: B00000JWHG
Release Date: 2000-06-06

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Dorumsgaard; who knew?.......2006-07-18

This is a great CD. I bought this CD specifically because I am a fan of Flicka. The CD opened a whole new world of music to me.
Dorumsgaard is an amazing composer who has, I've come to find out, over 20 volumes of beautiful music written for the voice and piano.

This has led me to other singers who have recorded his music.

This CD, however, stands alone as a great recital from top to bottom by Frederica von Stade.

4 out of 5 stars Recitals should always be as thoughtful as this one.......2002-07-26

This is a great find, recorded live in Edinburgh in 1976. Hearing this outstanding concert, it is easy to understand why Von Stade has a reputation for intimate rapport with an audience; she has a beautiful instrument coupled with unusually sensitive interpretive skills, plus a sense of humor. The program is wide-ranging and includes two of her best-known encores, as well as a bonus track from Massenet's "Cendrillon," with full orchestra conducted by Mario Bernardi.

The Ives set, with its contrasts in color and mood, could be a microcosm for the entire recital. "Memories," with its two contrasting parts, seems to be the audience favorite, judging from the laughter and spontaneous applause. And "Tom Sails Away" quietly quotes a familiar George M. Cohan song with gentle poignancy. The Mahler set is gorgeously done, as well as a colorful Poulenc group. And Benjamin Britten's haunting chord changes put a set of British folk songs in a fresh new context.

The two encores could not be more different: a sly rendition of the "Tipsy Song" from Offenbach's La Périchole, followed by Carol Hall's touching "Jenny Rebecca," which von Stade apparently learned after she heard it sung by Barbra Streisand.

Two small quibbles that keep this from being a five-star recommendation: the piano sound is a bit metallic, in the way that some live recordings can be. This should not deter anyone from purchasing the disc, and is no reflection whatsoever on Martin Isepp, whose outstanding playing and instincts are crucial to this recital's success. Also, the booklet notes are a bit sloppily edited. The track numbers begin with 1 through 7, then skip to 9 - i.e., track 9 should be no. 8, track 10 is no. 9, and so on. And the last paragraph just ends, with an incomplete sentence dangling in the air. But this is minor; just take a nice pen and make the changes in the booklet yourself.

An unusually varied recital by one of the most poised and intelligent singers of our time.

5 out of 5 stars Absolutely priceless early Von Stade not available elsewhere.......1999-08-28

What a wonderful concert! The material is varied and well-executed. Only three years into her international career, Miss Von Stade shows here exactly why she became an ovenight sensation in Europe. Most of the material in this concert has not previously been available on record. For Von Stade fans, this is an absolute MUST. For others, who obviously have never heard her, this is a glorious introduction to one of the world's finest singers.
A Portrait of Britten
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		A Portrait of Britten

    Manufacturer: Nimbus Records
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    All Works by BrittenAll Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
    SuitesSuites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
    Chamber MusicChamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
    SymphoniesSymphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
    VariationsVariations | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
    General ContemporaryGeneral Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
    ViolaViola | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
    Modern & 20th CenturyModern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
    Hadley, JerryHadley, Jerry | ( H ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
    ASIN: B00000JCAX
    Release Date: 1999-06-15

    Tracks:

    1. Vars On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op.10: Intro And Theme - Roger Best
    2. Vars On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op.10: Adagio - Roger Best
    3. Vars On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op.10: March - Roger Best
    4. Vars On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op.10: Romance - Roger Best
    5. Vars On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op.10: Aria Italiana - Roger Best
    6. Vars On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op.10: Bourree Classique - Roger Best
    7. Vars On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op.10: Wiener Walzer - Roger Best
    8. Vars On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op.10: Moto Perpetuo - Roger Best
    9. Vars On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op.10: Funeral March - Roger Best
    10. Vars On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op.10: Chant - Roger Best
    11. Vars On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op.10: Fugue And Finale - Roger Best
    12. Simple Sym, Op.4: Boisterous Bourree - Roger Best
    13. Simple Sym, Op.4: Playful Pizzicato - Roger Best
    14. Simple Sym, Op.4: Sentimental Saraband - Roger Best
    15. Simple Sym, Op.4: Frolicsome Finale - Roger Best
    16. Lachrymae-Reflections On A Song Of Dowland: Lento-Allegretto, Andante Molto-Animato-Tranquillo... - Roger Best
    17. Plrd And Fugue, Op.29: Prld: Grave - Roger Best
    18. Plrd And Fugue, Op.29: Fugue: Allegro Energico - Roger Best

    Tracks:

    1. Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op.33a: I. Dawn - Michael Bochmann
    2. Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op.33a: II. Sunday Morning - Michael Bochmann
    3. Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op.33a: III. Moonlight - Michael Bochmann
    4. Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op.33a: IV. Storm - Michael Bochmann
    5. Ste On English Folk Tunes 'A Time There Was...', Op.90: I. Cakes And Ale - Michael Bochmann
    6. Ste On English Folk Tunes 'A Time There Was...', Op.90: II. Bitter Withy - Michael Bochmann
    7. Ste On English Folk Tunes 'A Time There Was...', Op.90: III. Hankin Booby - Michael Bochmann
    8. Ste On English Folk Tunes 'A Time There Was...', Op.90: IV. Hunt The Squirrel - Michael Bochmann
    9. Ste On English Folk Tunes 'A Time There Was...', Op.90: V. Lord Melbourne - Michael Bochmann
    10. Gloriana: The Courtly Dances, Op.53a - Michael Bochmann
    11. The Young Person's Guide To The Orch, Op.34: Vars And Fugue On A Theme Of Purcell - Michael Bochmann

    Tracks:

    1. Les Illuminations, Op.18: Fanfare - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    2. Les Illuminations, Op.18: Villes - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    3. Les Illuminations, Op.18: Phrase - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    4. Les Illuminations, Op.18: Antique - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    5. Les Illuminations, Op.18: Royaute - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    6. Les Illuminations, Op.18: Marine - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    7. Les Illuminations, Op.18: Interlude - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    8. Les Illuminations, Op.18: Being Beauteous - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    9. Les Illuminations, Op.18: Parade - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    10. Les Illuminations, Op.18: Depart - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    11. Ser, Op.31: Prologue - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    12. Ser, Op.31: Pastoral - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    13. Ser, Op.31: Nocturne - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    14. Ser, Op.31: Elegy - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    15. Ser, Op.31: Dirge - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    16. Ser, Op.31: Hymn - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    17. Ser, Op.31: Sonnet - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    18. Ser, Op.31: Epilogue - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead
    19. Nocturne, Op.60 - Jerry Hadley/Anthony Halstead/Michael Hirst/Paul Arden Taylor/David Campbell/Keith Rubach...

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