Composer: Harrison Birtwistle
Performer: Alice Rossi, Das Neue Ensemble, Kuss Quartet, Soloists of the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover
Conductor: Stefan Asbury
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Toccata
Catalogue: TOCC0281
Release: 2015
Size: 198 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Nenia: The Death of Orpheus
Orpheus Elegies (Live)
02. No. 1, —
03. No. 2, —
04. No. 11, Sonnet I
05. No. 5, —
06. No. 14, Sonnet III
07. No. 12, —
08. No. 25, —
09. No. 20, Sonnet V
10. Fantasia III
9 Settings of Lorine Niedecker (Live)
11. I. There’s a Better Shine
12. II. My Friend Tree
13. III. Along the River
14. IV. Hear Where the Snow-Grave Is
15. V. How White the Gulls
16. VI. My Life by Water
17. VII. Paul When the Leaves Fall
18. VIII. O Late Fall Marsh
19. IX. Sleep’s Dream
20. Frieze I
21. Lullaby (Live)
Songs by Myself
22. I. O Light Set the Flame in Amber
23. II. I Lean Against a Shade
24. III. Cold Statements
25. IV. Steps
26. V. The Silence Before Light
27. Interview (Live)
28. Cantus iambeus
Among the events celebrating Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s 80th birthday last year were two concerts in Hannover, attended by the composer, which concentrated on his songs, the highlights of which feature on this release.
Birtwistle’s ‘songs’ blur the boundaries between vocal and instrumental techniques; on occasion, indeed, they involve instruments only.
The songs are a relatively neglected part of Birtwistle’s output: this CD contains the first recording of the Canteus Iambeus, the first recording of the Lullaby for solo voices and the only recording currently available of the Songs by Myself.
These pieces highlight his fondness in juxtaposing the static and the violently dynamic, his concern with ritual and myth, and his obsession with the Orpheus myth. This CD also features a recording of Sir Harrison talking about his songs in interview.
The recording features the young Italian soprano Alice Rossi, as well as some of the rising names of the next generation, the star students of the Institute of Chamber Music and Lied, University of Music, Drama and Media, Hanover. It also includes performances by the Kuss Quartet, winners of a Borlotti-Buitoni Award in 2003, and by the crack Das Neue Ensemble, conducted by modern-music specialist Stefan Asbury, Chief Conductor of the Noord Nederlands Orkest.