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American Voices / Pacifica Quartet
Cedille

American Voices / Pacifica Quartet

$9.99
$19.99 Save 50%

Details

Composer
Anton Dvorak, Louis Gruenberg, James Lee III, Florence Price
Artist
Pacifica Quartet, Uniting Voices
Format
CD
Label
Cedille
Released
May 10, 2024
Catalog #
CDR 228
UPC
735131922821

About

The multiple Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet continues its highly acclaimed recording series that explores the sounds of America with an album comprising string quartets incorporating elements of American folk music and spirituals by Anton Dvořák, Florence Price, and Louis Gruenberg, plus a new work by James Lee III.

Praised by The Telegraph as "nothing short of phenomenal,” Pacifica is known for its “remarkable expressive range and tonal beauty” (New York Times). With a career spanning nearly three decades, Pacifica has established itself as the embodiment of the senior American quartet sound.

Dvořák's String Quartet in F Major, Op. 96, “American” draws influence from the colorful sonic world of his American experiences; from the American spiritual, indigenous folk songs, to sounds evocative of American songbirds and rhythms reminiscent of American trains.

Florence Price was inspired by Dvořák's focus on American folk music in his “New World” Symphony, and while her String Quartet No. 1 in G Major does not explicitly reference specific folk influences, the origins for many of her original melodies and musical colors can be traced directly to the folk songs that she heard in her native Little Rock, Arkansas.

Louis Gruenberg, influenced by his time as a student in New York City when Dvořák served as director of the National Conservatory, wrote Four Diversions for String Quartet, Op. 32 infusing the traditional string quartet with the quintessential sounds and style of Prohibition-era America.

Praised by The Washington Post for his “bright, pure music,” James Lee III’s Pitch In for quartet and children’s choir — receiving its world premiere recording — features Chicago’s Uniting Voices conducted by Josephine Lee. The work incorporates American folk motifs and pentatonic scales echoing the essence of American Spirituals and Dvořák’s "American" Quartet; Pitch In is set to Sylvia Dianne Beverly's poem of the same title that addresses global poverty and food insecurity.

REVIEW:

American Voices, Pacifica Quartet’s fourteenth recording for Cedille Records, upholds the high standard of its 2021 Grammy Award-winning Contemporary Voices. With respect to set-list, violinists Simin Ganatra and Austin Hartman, violist Mark Holloway, and cellist Brandon Vamos have made a wise choice in augmenting works by Antonín Dvorák, Florence Price, and Louis Gruenberg with a thought-provoking new one by James Lee III. Melody factors heavily when the string quartets integrate elements of American folk music and spirituals into their frameworks, the result a recording of strong and immediate appeal. Even Lee III’s Pitch In, scored for quartet and children’s choir, includes an earnestly intoned theme, “People are hungry, yet people continue to waste food,” that stays with you long after the album ends. Any group that celebrates its thirtieth anniversary by forging boldly into the future with exciting new projects and partnerships is clearly not suffering from creative exhaustion.

— Textura

Tracklist 11 tracks

  1. 1 I. Allegro ma non troppo 09:53
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegro ma non troppo
    Duration
    09:53
    Composer
    Antonín Dvořák
    Ensemble
    Pacifica Quartet
  2. 2 II. Lento 07:48
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Lento
    Duration
    07:48
    Composer
    Antonín Dvořák
    Ensemble
    Pacifica Quartet
  3. 3 III. Molto vivace 03:53
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Molto vivace
    Duration
    03:53
    Composer
    Antonín Dvořák
    Ensemble
    Pacifica Quartet
  4. 4 IV. Finale: Vivace ma non troppo 05:42
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Finale: Vivace ma non troppo
    Duration
    05:42
    Composer
    Antonín Dvořák
    Ensemble
    Pacifica Quartet
  5. 5 I. Allegro 09:31
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    09:31
    Composer
    Florence Beatrice Price
    Ensemble
    Pacifica Quartet
  6. 6 II. Andante moderato 07:08
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Andante moderato
    Duration
    07:08
    Composer
    Florence Beatrice Price
    Ensemble
    Pacifica Quartet
  7. 7 I. Allegro moderato 02:03
    Track
    7
    Title
    I. Allegro moderato
    Duration
    02:03
    Composer
    Louis Gruenberg
    Ensemble
    Pacifica Quartet
  8. 8 II. Moderato ed à capriccio 01:55
    Track
    8
    Title
    II. Moderato ed à capriccio
    Duration
    01:55
    Composer
    Louis Gruenberg
    Ensemble
    Pacifica Quartet
  9. 9 III. Andante moderato e delicato 02:56
    Track
    9
    Title
    III. Andante moderato e delicato
    Duration
    02:56
    Composer
    Louis Gruenberg
    Ensemble
    Pacifica Quartet
  10. 10 IV. Allegro burlando 01:58
    Track
    10
    Title
    IV. Allegro burlando
    Duration
    01:58
    Composer
    Louis Gruenberg
    Ensemble
    Pacifica Quartet
  11. 11 Pitch In 12:26
    Track
    11
    Title
    Pitch In
    Duration
    12:26
    Composer
    James Lee III
    Ensemble
    Uniting Voices, Pacifica Quartet
    Conductor
    Josephine Lee