If you could actually hear an abstract expressionist painting, it would probably sound a lot like the work of Morton Feldman. And that's no accident: Feldman hung out in '50s and '60s New York with Jackson Pollock, Philip Guston (whose work graced the cover of Feldman's first album), and Robert Rauschenberg. Like the paintings of his visual artist peers, Feldman's work emphasized tonal color over structure, rhythm, or melody, the traditional building blocks of music. It also employed the musical equivalent of painterly "negative space" with it's use of silence and stasis; that Feldman and John Cale were enormous influences on each other will come as no surprise. So, it makes sense that Feldman would dedicate probably his two most celebrated compositions to two giants of the New York scene: abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, whose famous Chapel adorns this LP's front cover, and writer and critic Frank O'Hara, whose own work drew inspiration from the same sources as Feldman's. Rothko Chapel and For Frank O'Hara first were released in 1976 on a seminal album from the Odyssey imprint on Columbia Records; for it's 50th anniversary and first LP reissue, we've had it pressed on 180-gram black vinyl at Gotta Groove Records for the quietest listen achievable, using new transfers from the original master tapes. Profound, career-defining work that opened the door for latter-day ambient composers like Brian Eno to walk through.
Scottish Ensemble’s new release fuses together French and Japanese influences. Featuring works by Debussy and Takemitsu, instrumental color and textures are explored through these works. Scottish Ensemble is the UK’s only professional string orchestra. They are built around a core twelve members, and are known throughout the United Kingdom for their virtuosic and ambitious programming. ”…a scintillation of ace soloists who combine bracing energy, flexibility and precision, breathing and moving as one.” (The Observer)
Hurd: The Aspern Papers & The Night of the Wedding
Lyrita
CD · 2 discs
$20.99Mar 11, 2016
This two-disc set contains two of Michael Hurd’s chamber oepras, The Aspern Papers, and The Night of the Wedding. The Aspern Papers is based on the novella by Henry James, with libretto by the composer. The Night of the Wedding is a one act chamber opera based on Frank Witney’s Nuit de Noces. Some artists featured on this album include the Ulster Orchestra under the direction of George Vass, pianist Simon Lepper, conductor Ronald Corp, and many talented vocalists.
Tchaikovsky & Shostakovich: Music for Strings / Scottish Ensemble
Linn Records
SACD · 1 disc
$21.99Feb 10, 2015
Under the directorship of Jonathan Morton, Scottish Ensemble adds the Tchaikovsky Serenade, regarded by the composer as one of his finest works, to it's impressive Linn discography. Imbued with the classical spirit of Mozart, but with Tchaikovsky's style to the fore, the Serenade contains some strikingly effective scoring and an exhilarating Finale the ensemble relishes. SE brings the same level of precision and finish you would expect from a string quartet; this is particularly evident in the elegiac third movement, one of Tchaikovsky's most inspired musical moments. This recording also marks the premiere of Jonathan Morton's 2013 transcription of Shostakovich's Quartet No. 2. Drawn to the work's large, epic scale and the richness of it's sound-world, Morton was keen for the ensemble to tackle this masterpiece from the chamber repertoire. With his arrangement Morton adds to SE's enviable reputation for Shostakovich transcriptions established by the late Rudolph Barshai. Re-defining the string orchestra, Scottish Ensemble inspires audiences with vibrant and powerful performances. Scottish Ensemble is the UK's only professional string orchestra, built around a core of twelve outstanding string players. The ensemble is known both in the UK and internationally for it's versatility and ambitious programming. Performing standing up, the individual layers bring an energetic and passionate dynamic to every performance.
The Eight Seasons - Vivaldi, Piazzolla / Morton, Scottish Ensemble
Signum Classics
CD · 1 disc
$19.99Jan 01, 2011
A unique disc from one of Scotland's most dynamic and versatile groups – the Scottish Ensemble is a tight-knit band of outstanding string players from around Europe who perform regularly together under Artistic Director, Jonathan Morton. This disc – one of their first solo releases following acclaimed discs with artists such as Alison Balsom and Toby Spence – contrasts Vivaldi's timeless Four Seasons with Piazzolla's tango-inspired The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.
Combining Vivaldi and Piazzola together like this underlines the meteorological and cultural differences between Mediterranean Europe and the heart of South America. To have them performed side by side creates a fascinating programme of similarities and contrasts.
Christopher Roberts’s five intimate and virtuosic movements/pieces for a trio of double basses are here performed by the composer and two other virtuosos of the instrument, Mark Morton and James Bergman. This music, much of it inspired by the composer’s life in Papua New Guinea (where he ran off to after Juilliard to study music’s “natural prosody”), subtly extends the double bass’s standard playing techniques with such expressive elements as bowing patterns inspired by the sound of hornbills in flight. Famed bass virtuoso Bertram Turetzky called Trios “A magnificent piece! There’s nothing like it. Roberts has a truly original voice.” And composer Michael J. Schumacher declared that “Roberts has arrived at a new American music by traversing the heart of Papua New Guinea...and the result is something unique.” Writing in The Wire magazine, Julian Cowley called this recording of Trios “An elegantly reverberant, harmonically rich and gracefully delineated composition for resonant strings.” Writing in Seattle’s The Stranger, Christopher DeLaurenti proclaimed this CD “A remarkable disc.... Recommended.” And noted music critic and author Greg Sandow wrote, “Trios for Deep Voices is thoughtful music, beautifully worked out, and very absorbing to listen to. It’s wonderfully individual, both in its sound and its construction. Clear some space in your life, both literally and figuratively, and give it a listen.”
Rescued from the vaults, ArkivMusic reissues a long lost Christmas Treasure! The Musical Christmas Tree from Morton Gould is an orchestral holiday classic. Featuring Holiday standards, this unique release includes many of Morton Gould's own arrangements as well as original compositions written for the holidays, including "Winter" from the Burchfield Gallery and "Skiers Waltz" from the Cinerama Holiday Suite.
Ariosti: Stockholm Sonatas Vol 1 / Harris, Morton, Georgi
BIS
CD · 1 disc
$21.99Jun 01, 2006
Attilio Ariosti (1666-1729) was a singer and organist, as well as a cellist and composer. When his name appears today, however, it is usually in connection with the viola d'amore. Ariosti was famous as a virtuoso performer on this instrument, but he also composed for it. The chamber works for viola d'amore which have survived are his Collection of Lessons and the Recueil de Pièces pour la Viol d'Amour, comprising 21 solos - really sonatas in all but name. Together they form the largest single set of baroque works for the viola d'amore. During Ariosti's lifetime these works probably circulated in manuscript copies. That the solos of the Recueil survive at all is thanks to a young music student, Johan Helmich Roman, later known as the father of Swedish music, who copied them in the late 1710s and brought them home with him to Stockholm. In his initiated liner notes, Thomas Georgi, one of today's finest exponents of the viola d'amore, gives an interesting introduction to Ariosti and the instrument, including the various tunings and notational system that are associated with it. This disc, the first of three, contains the six Lessons of the Collection, produced by Ariosti in order to promote the viola d'amore in England, his new home. Five of them appear as in the original, whereas Thomas Georgi has combined the sixth with four movements from the Recueil de Pièces, to form two sonatas - 'Stockholm Sonatas'. A fascinating opportunity to enjoy a rarely heard instrument, expertly supported by Lucas Harris and Joëlle Morton, two of North America's finest baroque instrumentalists.
