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American Classics - Harris: Complete Piano Music / Burleson
Naxos

American Classics - Harris: Complete Piano Music / Burleson

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Details

Composer
HARRIS, ROY
Artist
Geoffrey Burleson
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Sep 28, 2010
Catalog #
8559664
UPC
636943966426

About

These days, Roy Harris is remembered as the composer of a famous 3rd Symphony, who wrote a lot of other Symphonies, but whose other music is hardly known, let alone heard. There is a school of thought which believes that beyond the 3rd Symphony most of his work isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Certainly there appears to be a lack of self-criticism on Harris’s part which allowed less well constructed and written works out into the public arena. Works such as the Concerto for Piano, Clarinet and String Quartet, op.2 (1927), String Quartet No.3, Four Preludes and Fugues (1937), Violin Sonata (1941) and the chamber cantata Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight (1953), not to mention the orchestral works When Johnny Comes Marching Home: An American Overture (1934), the Violin Concerto (1949) and the 1st (1933) and 7th (1955) Symphonies show a composer of real stature. The chamber works could so easily be programmed but they’re not and our not hearing them is our loss, and a significant loss at that.

None of the pieces on this disk could be claimed to be major works but there are some very attractive and interesting things nonetheless. The two sets of American Ballads use folk-tunes, such as The Streets of Laredo and When Johnny Comes Marching Home, and are delightful suites with some nice quirky turns of phrase. In feel they are reminiscent of Barber’s Excursions for piano and would enrich any recital of modernish piano music. The early Sonata is a tersely argued work in four succinct movements, and it’s easy to see why the original scherzo wouldn’t have fitted into Harris’s scheme of things. The Piano Suite is another strong work; the first movement is bold and brassy, demonstrative and forthright, the middle movement pensive and the finale a French flavoured gigue.

For the rest we have six miniatures. The Toccata contains elements of both the headlong rush you’d expect from such a work, and short reflective interludes. The Variations on an American Folksong, True Love Don’t Weep starts in a most serious manner, becomes lighter then just as you think it’s going somewhere it stops! Untitled is, I believe, the earliest piece we know by Harris and it’s very strange, questing and angular, almost tuneless and imbued with an otherworldly feel. Little Suite is fun, this could almost be a teaching piece. A Happy Piece for Shirley is a delightful tribute. Orchestrations, a strange title for a solo piano piece, especially from someone as adept at orchestration as Harris, is very serious and profound.

Whilst most of these works have been recorded before, it’s good to have them collected together on one disk, and although none of them can claim pretensions to be a lost masterpiece, they are more than mere chippings off the block of genius. The performances have an air of authority about them and the recording is clean and clear. The notes, if not exhaustive, are helpful. Essential for anyone investigating the Symphonies which Naxos is in the process of recording and there are works here which pianists should be investigating when seeking something piquant for their recitals.

-- Bob Briggs, MusicWeb International

Tracklist 24 tracks

  1. 1 I. Prelude: Maestoso, con bravura 02:10
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Prelude: Maestoso, con bravura
    Duration
    02:10
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  2. 2 II. Andante ostinato: Misterioso 05:24
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Andante ostinato: Misterioso
    Duration
    05:24
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  3. 3 III. Scherzo: Vivace 02:31
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Scherzo: Vivace
    Duration
    02:31
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  4. 4 IV. Postlude: Maestoso, con bravura 01:40
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Postlude: Maestoso, con bravura
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  5. 5 I. Bells 01:03
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Bells
    Duration
    01:03
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  6. 6 II. Sad News 00:47
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Sad News
    Duration
    00:47
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  7. 7 III. Children at Play 00:31
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Children at Play
    Duration
    00:31
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  8. 8 IV. Slumber 00:47
    Track
    8
    Title
    IV. Slumber
    Duration
    00:47
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  9. 9 I. Streets of Laredo 02:11
    Track
    9
    Title
    I. Streets of Laredo
    Duration
    02:11
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  10. 10 II. Wayfaring Stranger 02:04
    Track
    10
    Title
    II. Wayfaring Stranger
    Duration
    02:04
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  11. 11 III. The Bird 01:42
    Track
    11
    Title
    III. The Bird
    Duration
    01:42
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  12. 12 IV. Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair 01:14
    Track
    12
    Title
    IV. Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair
    Duration
    01:14
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  13. 13 V. Cod Liver lle 02:05
    Track
    13
    Title
    V. Cod Liver lle
    Duration
    02:05
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  14. 14 I. Occupation 02:28
    Track
    14
    Title
    I. Occupation
    Duration
    02:28
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  15. 15 II. Contemplation 04:38
    Track
    15
    Title
    II. Contemplation
    Duration
    04:38
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  16. 16 III. Recreation 03:19
    Track
    16
    Title
    III. Recreation
    Duration
    03:19
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  17. 17 Toccata for Piano 04:31
    Track
    17
    Title
    Toccata for Piano
    Duration
    04:31
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  18. 18 I. Li'l Boy Named David 03:07
    Track
    18
    Title
    I. Li'l Boy Named David
    Duration
    03:07
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  19. 19 II. When Johnny Comes Marching Home 01:53
    Track
    19
    Title
    II. When Johnny Comes Marching Home
    Duration
    01:53
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  20. 20 Variations on an American Folk Song, "True Love Don't Weep" 03:43
    Track
    20
    Title
    Variations on an American Folk Song, "True Love Don't Weep"
    Duration
    03:43
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  21. 21 Untitled Piano Piece (1926) 03:14
    Track
    21
    Title
    Untitled Piano Piece (1926)
    Duration
    03:14
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  22. 22 Piano Sonata: III. Scherzo (original version) 02:55
    Track
    22
    Title
    Piano Sonata: III. Scherzo (original version)
    Duration
    02:55
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  23. 23 A Happy Piece for Shirley 01:10
    Track
    23
    Title
    A Happy Piece for Shirley
    Duration
    01:10
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson
  24. 24 Orchestrations 01:30
    Track
    24
    Title
    Orchestrations
    Duration
    01:30
    Composer
    Roy Harris
    Performer
    Geoffrey Burleson