{"id":6724,"date":"2021-11-23T17:49:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T17:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.larkreviews.co.uk\/?p=6724"},"modified":"2021-11-23T17:52:30","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T17:52:30","slug":"cds-november-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/?p=6724","title":{"rendered":"CDs November 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

XIAOGANG YE \u2013 THE ROAD TO THE REPUBLIC<\/span>
\n CHINA NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, CHORUS & SOLOISTS<\/span>
\n BEIJING PHILHARMONIC CHOIR<\/span>
\n DEUTSCHE STAATSPHILHARMONIC RHEINLAND-PFALZ<\/span>
\n JIA LU & FRANCK OLLU, conductors<\/span>
\n NAXOS\u00a0 8.579089\u00a0\u00a0 67\u201901<\/span><\/p>\n

This disc collects recordings of two recent works by this leading Chinese composer. Both works draw on traditional music. The Road to the Republic <\/em>is a cantata dating from 2011, commemorating the centenary of the Revolution. Cantonese Suite <\/em>(2005) is a large scale orchestral work. Both combine the traditional with Ye\u2019s contemporary voice.<\/p>\n

FLORENCE PRICE \u2013 SYMPHONY NO 3<\/span>
\n ORF VIENNA RADDIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, JOHN JETER, conductor<\/span>
\n NAXOS\u00a0 8.559897\u00a0\u00a0 66\u201948<\/span><\/p>\n

The music of Florence Price is slowly experiencing more exposure and appreciation. Written between 1932 and 1940 the three orchestral works here also combine traditional music from a particular culture with more contemporary techniques and ideas. The Symphony No 3 in C minor <\/em>is a 4 movement work, the 3rd<\/sup> movement being the Juba, <\/em>recently aired at the Last Night of the Proms. Coupled with this are The Mississippi River <\/em>and Ethipia\u2019s Shadow in America<\/em>. There is a filmic quality to much of the music here and much to explore and enjoy.<\/p>\n

TOWARDS THE FLAME \u2013 ECCENTRIC PIANO WORKS<\/span>
\n ALEXANDER SCRIABIN\/RUED LANGGAARD<\/span>
\n GUSTAV PIEKUT, piano<\/span>
\n NAXOS\u00a0 8.574312\u00a0\u00a0 56\u201915<\/span><\/p>\n

The title of this CD was enough to make me want to listen and when I discovered its contents I was even keener. This is a lovely collection of music that often defies description and which comes from highly individual composers exploring spiritual themes without borders. A very welcome CD to return to for immersive listening. Included among the pieces here are two of Scriabin\u2019s Sonatas <\/em>(Nos 9 & 10) and Langgaard\u2019s Afgrundsmusik (Music of the Abyss). <\/em>Dedicated performances are given by Gustav Piekut throughout the programme.<\/p>\n

IAN KROUSE \u2013 SYMPHONY NO 5 \u2018A JOURNEY TOWARDS PEACE\u2019<\/span>
\n MICHAEL DEAN, bass-baritone<\/span>
\n JENS LINDEMANN, trumpet<\/span>
\n UCLA BRASS QUINTET<\/span>
\n SEOCHO PHILHARMONIA, conductor JONG HOON BAE
\nNAXOS 8.559907 69’23<\/span><\/p>\n

I sometimes find it difficult to get into the mindset of those who have commissioned works to commemorate historic occasions, particularly when they are linked to military action. Nevertheless this music is both effective and affective, combining both the triumphant and the sombre. I knew nothing of contemporary American composer Ian Krouse\u2019s music before hearing this disc. His Symphony No 5 \u2018A Journey Towards Peace\u2019 (<\/em>which includes text by Walt Whitman) is coupled with Fanfare for Heroes of the Korean War. <\/em>Also included are two Symphonies of Strings<\/em>, both of which draw on different musical traditions.<\/p>\n

MATTHIAS KRUGER \u2013 AIN\u2019T NUTHIN\u2019 BUT FAIRY DUST<\/span>
\n ENSEMBLE ASCOLTA, director NICHOLAS KOK<\/span>
\n ENSEMBLE BRUCH<\/span>
\n WDR SINFONIEORCHESTER, director ELENA SCHWARZ<\/span>
\n ENSEMBLE INNERSPACE<\/span>
\n WERGO\u00a0\u00a0 WER 64352\u00a0 61\u201931<\/span><\/p>\n

A CD for the adventurous listener. These recent electroacoustic works by Matthias Kruger are very absorbing. Drawing on a range of techniques, traditions and technology there is great crossover between styles and genres, signifying the great freedom and wealth of experience that today\u2019s composers enjoy. A comprehensive booklet provides helpful background to the three works \u2013 Le vide a perdre, Wie ein stuck fett (redux) <\/em>and Bellygoat Boom. <\/em>There is also a link to a further audio\/visual performance available online, Sweep over me them dusty brooms.<\/em><\/p>\n

A BELFAST CHRISTMAS
\n<\/span>BELFAST CATHEDRAL CHOIR, conductor MATTHEW OWENS<\/span>
\n GRAINNE MEYER, harp<\/span>
\n JACK WILSON, organ<\/span>
\n RESONUS\u00a0 RES10292\u00a0\u00a0 67\u201959<\/span><\/p>\n

The newly formed all-adult choir of Belfast\u2019s St Anne\u2019s Cathedral makes its debut on Resonus with this lovely programme of carols from the twentieth century onwards. Composers include four Philips – \u00a0Stopford, Ledger, Moore and Wilby! John Gardner and Elizabeth Poston also feature with Gary Davison, John Ireland, Patrick Hadley, John Rutter, Bob Chilcott and an arrangement of Praetorius by Erling Pedersen. Matthew Owens\u2019 Toccata on Good King Wenceslas <\/em>is also included. Many of these fine recordings are world premieres.<\/p>\n

CHRISTMAS BELLS \u2013 ORGAN MUSIC FROM BELFAST CATHEDRAL<\/span>
\n MATTHEW OWENS, organ of Belfast Cathedral<\/span>
\n RESONUS RES10293\u00a0 78\u201929<\/span><\/p>\n

A companion release to the above (although it stands well completely on its own) is this brilliant recital by Matthew Owens. This is a great collection of seasonal organ music, much of it referencing traditional carols. The title track is a piece by Howard Blake. It also includes chorale preludes<\/em> (and the canonic variations<\/em>) by JS Bach, JG Walther and Flor Peeters. Noels<\/em> by Daquin and Guilmant represent another tradition. Other more recent composers featured are Philip Wilby, Gary Davison and Philip Moore. Matthew Owens\u2019 own Prelude on Yorkshire <\/em>is included and the CD ends with Garth Edmundson\u2019s exuberant Toccata on von Himmel hoch.<\/em><\/p>\n

SP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

XIAOGANG YE \u2013 THE ROAD TO THE REPUBLIC CHINA NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, CHORUS & SOLOISTS BEIJING PHILHARMONIC CHOIR DEUTSCHE STAATSPHILHARMONIC RHEINLAND-PFALZ JIA LU & FRANCK OLLU, conductors NAXOS\u00a0 8.579089\u00a0\u00a0 67\u201901 This disc collects recordings of two recent works by this … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6724"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6724"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6726,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6724\/revisions\/6726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}