Coleman: Starry Night

Polish Violin Music

A modern version of the old European folk-tale about the cruel, blue-bearded prince and his many disappearing wives, Bart k's oper Bluebeard's Castle is a metaphor for the impossibility of complete love between a man and a woman. A vast orchestra.

The Boston Cecilia' concert performance of Scott Wheeler' one-act opera on 1st April, 2007, in New England Conservatory' Jordan Hall, was hailed with a Boston Globe headline: "CONSTRUCTION OF BOSTON is a love note to the city".

Stephen Hartke's the Greater Good was commissioned by Glimmerglass Opera, and is a strikingly original contribution to the operatic repertory. Based on an iconic short story by Maupassant set during the immediate aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War.

CLASSICS AT THE MOVIES - SUSPENSE

The Classics at the Movies: Sci-Fi

The Classics at the Movies: Epics

The Magnificat (Latin for: [My soul] magnifies) -also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and in Byzantine tradition the Ode of the Theotokos; is a canticle frequently sung (or spoken) liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn. It's name comes from the first word of the Latin version of the canticle's text. The text of the canticle is taken directly from the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:46-55) where it is spoken by the Virgin Mary upon the occasion of her Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. In the narrative, after Mary greets Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist, the child moves within Elizabeth's womb. When Elizabeth praises Mary for her faith, Mary sings what is now known as the Magnificat in response. Within Christianity, the Magnificat is most frequently recited within the Liturgy of the Hours. In Western Christianity, the Magnificat is most often sung or recited during the main evening prayer service: Vespers within Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism, and Evening Prayer (or Evensong) within Anglicanism. In Eastern Christianity, the Magnificat is usually sung at Sunday Matins. Among Protestant groups, the Magnificat may also be sung during worship services.

After finishing the work in 1980, Schiff rescued some of the music in a purely instrumental score Divertimento from Gimpel the Fool (1982), one of the great post-war chamber pieces, which is how I first heard it (available, incidentally, on Delos 3058; however, Delos has had such trouble in recent years, you'd better grab it while you can). Nevertheless, the opera is just as wonderful. There's not a dull scene in it. The singers are ideal for the piece. The ensemble is sharp (a fiendishly close canon on the words "Mazel tov" to a klezmer riff made my jaw drop). Above all, the performance involves a listener in the drama. The CD case proclaims this as part of the "American Opera Classics" series. From the Naxos marketing department, to God's ear.

ORCHESTRAL SPECTACULAR

The Vivaldi Collection

CINEMA CLASSICS 2007

CINEMA CLASSICS 2006

Classics at the Movies: War