Robert Shaw, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus - Adams: Harmonium; Rachmaninov: The Bells (1996)
Robert Shaw, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus - Adams: Harmonium; Rachmaninov: The Bells (1996)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 299 Mb | Total time: 73:52 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Telarc | # CD-80365 | Recorded: 1995
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 299 Mb | Total time: 73:52 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Telarc | # CD-80365 | Recorded: 1995
Robert Shaw and Telarc have released another disk of not-too-often performed choral/orchestral works, but they are ones that are important: John Adams' Harmonium and Rachmaninoff's The Bells, two works featuring texts by important authors.
John Adams is considered the emancipator of strict minimalism, and really has done much for the genre. This work contains many of the usual techniques: repetitive, "mantra"-like rhythms, slow building harmonies and slow harmonic rhythm, all with inner drive and vitality. The three-movement cantata Harmonium, uses the poem Negative Love by John Donne and Because I Could Not Stop for Death and Wild Nights by Emily Dickenson. Negative Love begins with highly repeated nonsense syllables which eventually turn into the actual text. Adams starts on a unison note and adds notes little by little. When the text comes in, a chanting quality begins. Eventually a two against three, poly-tonality choral interplay segues into a reprise of the nonsense syllables, all of which builds into a grand climax and fades away, ending peacefully. Usually without melodies, the second movement shows Adams at his most tuneful in Because I Could Not Stop for Death. Death picks up the speaker of the text for a slow carriage ride to eternity. They pass various life sequences, but the musical carriage ride never quickens until the mention of eternity. The creeping, and somewhat tuneful movement segues into the wild, orgiastic Wild Nights. After a wild orchestral build-up, voices in extreme high registers, portray the ecstasy of the text in a passionate fervor. Waves of crescendos and decrescendos make a tumultuous rhythmic feeling. The work ends peacefully flowing with texts of rowing and the sea. This early Adams cantata shows the expansion of the minimalist genre Adams is famous for, as well as the expansion of American music. This cantata is certainly groundbreaking in the scheme of choral music, not to mention much of the choral/orchestral oeuvre.
Rachmaninoff's choral symphony, The Bells, is a Russian version (here translated into English) of Edgar Allen Poe's The Bells. It is a look at the role of bells throughout ones life (youth, marriage, mortality, and death). Highly romantic, rich luscious orchestrations permeate the work. The first movement, for chorus, solo tenor, and tinkly bells, is a sprite and fond look at youth, with the trumpety tenor Karl Dent. Filled with utter joy, there is a brief respite of a minor passage (each movement seems to dwell on mortality), but overall, an innocent mood prevails. Soprano soloist Renée Fleming is featured in the sentimental second movement. "Mellow wedding bells" in a dreamy setting, is intoned by the chorus, while the soprano emotionally depicts the importance of bells at matrimony. The raucous third movement is a scary realization of mortality. A frightening orchestral and purely choral feature, the mood is fearful and panicked. In opposition, the final movement, featuring baritone Victor Ledbetter, is a calm and contemplative view of death. The final two pages of purely orchestral music is the most satisfying sounds of all (perhaps in all of Rachmaninoff's works even); an emotional ride.
Performer:
Renée Fleming, soprano (The Bells)
Karl Dent, tenor (The Bells)
Victor Ledbetter, baritone (The Bells)
Atlanta Symphony Chorus
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Robert Shaw, conductor
Track List:
John Adams (b. 1947)
Harmonium
01. I. Negative Love
02. II. Because I Could Not Stop for Death
03. III. Wild Nights
Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
The Bells, Op. 35
04. I. Allegro
05. II. Lento
06. III. Presto
07. IV. Lento Lugubre
Exact Audio Copy V1.5 from 20. February 2020
EAC extraction logfile from 4. October 2020, 4:56
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==== Log checksum 08E6640341CF8A122DF9062C64BA2E917889B89AE4CE7CCB59F822E857B12CAB ====
Robert Shaw, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus - Adams: Harmonium; Rachmaninov: The Bells (1996)
Thanks to the original releaser