Naxos
Bowles: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 2 / Invencia Piano Duo
$9.99
Details
- Composer
- BOWLES, PAUL
- Artist
- Kasparov, Lutsyshyn
- Format
- CD
- Label
- Naxos
- Released
- Jun 10, 2016
- Catalog #
- 8559787
- UPC
- 636943978726
About
This CD contains Bowles' most performed score, Night Waltz, the first of the Three Pieces for Two Pianos, which opens the CD. Rhythmically, this is a complex work of polyrhythms. It's the sort of thing he may have heard in the Tangiers streets and was written in the same year as the novel. The middle Nocturne was composed fourteen years earlier but the finale with its jazzy exoticism dates from 1976.
Bowles had been an inveterate traveller even before 1947 as the Four Piano Pieces demonstrate. The first, the rather neo-classical Impasse de Tombouchtou also refers to a dingy street in Thiviers in Southern France. Café sin Nombre and Carretera de Estapona refers to Southern Spain. Estapona, now a glamorous seaside town can almost be seen from Tangiers, and is, I recall, a pleasant boat trip away. Surrounded by a dry and desert landscape it was much more basic and village-like in Bowles’ day. The opening, with its massive chords, reminds us that it is surrounded by those startlingly blue, imposing mountains. In between these pieces is an elegant and tonally ambiguous Theseus and Maldoror inspired by Greek legend.
Bowles’ travel diaries continue with the Three Latin American Pieces. It’s Mexico which is celebrated in movement 1 with its lively rhythms (El Bejuco) and Costa Rica in 3 (Sayula). Despite their brevity these pieces attract immediately. Movement 2 (Orosi) is delicate and is succeeded by a dance-like episode reminding me of Mompou’s Canço i dansa which was also composed during the mid-1940s.
In the detailed and helpful booklet notes Andrey Kasparov describes the Sonatina Fragmentaria as having “crystalline sonorities”. The tiny middle movement is somewhat Spanish in flavor while the outer ones are more thoughtful and enigmatic. All in all, this amounts to a series of attractive mosaics.
South of Morocco, in the Atlas Mountains, is Tamanar. Views from this village inspired this austere, striking and unusually dissonant mini-tone poem. Bowles went there with Aaron Copland who had just completed his equally austere Piano Variations. Bowles discovers some intriguing sonorities. It's a great shame that he did not pursue this style very often.
The Four Miniatures are practically polytonal and pointillistic but are in Bowles’ usual light-hearted manner with Reverie having a touch of Spain about it again. The Sonatina is neo-classical, almost Poulencian. There is no sense of classical development; in other words the Germanic influence Bowles so disliked is disregarded in favour of the interconnection of fragments. The middle movement is a lyrical Andante Cantabile with a long line which reaches a strong climax.
The last seven tracks are devoted to arrangements for piano duet of miscellaneous Bowles pieces. Kasparov selected four songs, apparently quite popular, originally from 1946, all in a light jazz style and called them Blue Mountain Ballades. Gold and Fizdale took three miscellaneous pieces. The first, Colloquy Sentimental is the only surviving material from a lost Bowles ballet score. The next, Caminata again betrays a Spanish influence and is part of a ballet set in Mexico. The last, Turkey Trot is a sort of wild Scott Joplin essay and brings the CD to a zany conclusion.
This disc proved more attractive and interesting than I had expected. Although Bowles may be a better writer than a composer he certainly deserves his place in the Naxos American Classics series.
– MusicWeb International (Gary Higginson)
The performances are beautifully idiomatic, capturing the brittle character, whimsicality and subtle power of the music.
– Gapplegate Classical/Modern Music Review
Bowles had been an inveterate traveller even before 1947 as the Four Piano Pieces demonstrate. The first, the rather neo-classical Impasse de Tombouchtou also refers to a dingy street in Thiviers in Southern France. Café sin Nombre and Carretera de Estapona refers to Southern Spain. Estapona, now a glamorous seaside town can almost be seen from Tangiers, and is, I recall, a pleasant boat trip away. Surrounded by a dry and desert landscape it was much more basic and village-like in Bowles’ day. The opening, with its massive chords, reminds us that it is surrounded by those startlingly blue, imposing mountains. In between these pieces is an elegant and tonally ambiguous Theseus and Maldoror inspired by Greek legend.
Bowles’ travel diaries continue with the Three Latin American Pieces. It’s Mexico which is celebrated in movement 1 with its lively rhythms (El Bejuco) and Costa Rica in 3 (Sayula). Despite their brevity these pieces attract immediately. Movement 2 (Orosi) is delicate and is succeeded by a dance-like episode reminding me of Mompou’s Canço i dansa which was also composed during the mid-1940s.
In the detailed and helpful booklet notes Andrey Kasparov describes the Sonatina Fragmentaria as having “crystalline sonorities”. The tiny middle movement is somewhat Spanish in flavor while the outer ones are more thoughtful and enigmatic. All in all, this amounts to a series of attractive mosaics.
South of Morocco, in the Atlas Mountains, is Tamanar. Views from this village inspired this austere, striking and unusually dissonant mini-tone poem. Bowles went there with Aaron Copland who had just completed his equally austere Piano Variations. Bowles discovers some intriguing sonorities. It's a great shame that he did not pursue this style very often.
The Four Miniatures are practically polytonal and pointillistic but are in Bowles’ usual light-hearted manner with Reverie having a touch of Spain about it again. The Sonatina is neo-classical, almost Poulencian. There is no sense of classical development; in other words the Germanic influence Bowles so disliked is disregarded in favour of the interconnection of fragments. The middle movement is a lyrical Andante Cantabile with a long line which reaches a strong climax.
The last seven tracks are devoted to arrangements for piano duet of miscellaneous Bowles pieces. Kasparov selected four songs, apparently quite popular, originally from 1946, all in a light jazz style and called them Blue Mountain Ballades. Gold and Fizdale took three miscellaneous pieces. The first, Colloquy Sentimental is the only surviving material from a lost Bowles ballet score. The next, Caminata again betrays a Spanish influence and is part of a ballet set in Mexico. The last, Turkey Trot is a sort of wild Scott Joplin essay and brings the CD to a zany conclusion.
This disc proved more attractive and interesting than I had expected. Although Bowles may be a better writer than a composer he certainly deserves his place in the Naxos American Classics series.
– MusicWeb International (Gary Higginson)
The performances are beautifully idiomatic, capturing the brittle character, whimsicality and subtle power of the music.
– Gapplegate Classical/Modern Music Review
Tracklist 28 tracks
-
1 Night Waltz 04:16
- Track
- 1
- Title
- Night Waltz
- Duration
- 04:16
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Ensemble
- Invencia Piano Duo
-
2 Nocturne 04:01
- Track
- 2
- Title
- Nocturne
- Duration
- 04:01
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Ensemble
- Invencia Piano Duo
-
3 Cross Country 01:07
- Track
- 3
- Title
- Cross Country
- Duration
- 01:07
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Ensemble
- Invencia Piano Duo
-
4 Impasse de Tombouctou 02:39
- Track
- 4
- Title
- Impasse de Tombouctou
- Duration
- 02:39
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Oksana Lutsyshyn
-
5 Café Sin Nombre 01:17
- Track
- 5
- Title
- Café Sin Nombre
- Duration
- 01:17
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Andrey Kasparov
-
6 Theseus and Maldoror 02:24
- Track
- 6
- Title
- Theseus and Maldoror
- Duration
- 02:24
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Oksana Lutsyshyn
-
7 Carretera de Estepona (The High Way to Estepona) 03:05
- Track
- 7
- Title
- Carretera de Estepona (The High Way to Estepona)
- Duration
- 03:05
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Andrey Kasparov
-
8 I. Adagio misterioso 01:15
- Track
- 8
- Title
- I. Adagio misterioso
- Duration
- 01:15
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Oksana Lutsyshyn
-
9 II. Allegro 01:04
- Track
- 9
- Title
- II. Allegro
- Duration
- 01:04
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Oksana Lutsyshyn
-
10 III. Adagio 01:39
- Track
- 10
- Title
- III. Adagio
- Duration
- 01:39
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Oksana Lutsyshyn
-
11 No. 1. Prélude pour Bernard Suarès 00:34
- Track
- 11
- Title
- No. 1. Prélude pour Bernard Suarès
- Duration
- 00:34
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Andrey Kasparov
-
12 No. 2. Portrait of K.M.C. 01:21
- Track
- 12
- Title
- No. 2. Portrait of K.M.C.
- Duration
- 01:21
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Andrey Kasparov
-
13 No. 3. Reverie 01:17
- Track
- 13
- Title
- No. 3. Reverie
- Duration
- 01:17
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Andrey Kasparov
-
14 No. 4. Sarabande 01:50
- Track
- 14
- Title
- No. 4. Sarabande
- Duration
- 01:50
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Andrey Kasparov
-
15 El Bejuco 01:01
- Track
- 15
- Title
- El Bejuco
- Duration
- 01:01
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Andrey Kasparov
-
16 Orosí 02:27
- Track
- 16
- Title
- Orosí
- Duration
- 02:27
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Oksana Lutsyshyn
-
17 Sayula 01:17
- Track
- 17
- Title
- Sayula
- Duration
- 01:17
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Oksana Lutsyshyn
-
18 Tamanar 05:48
- Track
- 18
- Title
- Tamanar
- Duration
- 05:48
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Andrey Kasparov
-
19 I. Allegro ritmico 02:09
- Track
- 19
- Title
- I. Allegro ritmico
- Duration
- 02:09
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Andrey Kasparov
-
20 II. Andante cantabile 03:21
- Track
- 20
- Title
- II. Andante cantabile
- Duration
- 03:21
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Andrey Kasparov
-
21 III. Allegro 02:00
- Track
- 21
- Title
- III. Allegro
- Duration
- 02:00
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Performer
- Andrey Kasparov
-
22 No. 1. Heavenly Grass 02:25
- Track
- 22
- Title
- No. 1. Heavenly Grass
- Duration
- 02:25
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Ensemble
- Invencia Piano Duo
-
23 No. 2. Lonesome Man 01:07
- Track
- 23
- Title
- No. 2. Lonesome Man
- Duration
- 01:07
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Ensemble
- Invencia Piano Duo
-
24 No. 3. Cabin 01:40
- Track
- 24
- Title
- No. 3. Cabin
- Duration
- 01:40
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Ensemble
- Invencia Piano Duo
-
25 No. 4. Sugar in the Cane 01:39
- Track
- 25
- Title
- No. 4. Sugar in the Cane
- Duration
- 01:39
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Ensemble
- Invencia Piano Duo
-
26 Colloque Sentimental (arr. A. Gold and R. Fizdale for 2 pianos) 02:41
- Track
- 26
- Title
- Colloque Sentimental (arr. A. Gold and R. Fizdale for 2 pianos)
- Duration
- 02:41
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Ensemble
- Invencia Piano Duo
-
27 Pastorela: Caminata (arr. A. Gold and R. Fizdale for 2 pianos) 02:12
- Track
- 27
- Title
- Pastorela: Caminata (arr. A. Gold and R. Fizdale for 2 pianos)
- Duration
- 02:12
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Ensemble
- Invencia Piano Duo
-
28 Turkey Trot (arr. A. Gold and R. Fizdale for 2 pianos) 01:06
- Track
- 28
- Title
- Turkey Trot (arr. A. Gold and R. Fizdale for 2 pianos)
- Duration
- 01:06
- Composer
- Paul Bowles
- Ensemble
- Invencia Piano Duo