Freeman: Under The Arching Heavens / Schweckendiek, Helsinki Chamber Choir
Details
- Composer
- FREEMAN, ALEX
- Artist
- Schweckendiek
- Format
- SACD
- Label
- BIS
- Released
- Jan 08, 2021
- Catalog #
- BIS-2592
- UPC
- 7318599925929
About
The Finnish-American composer Alex Freeman has been described as being ‘as comfortable in the realm of the pop ballad as in that of the concert hall’ and yet his songs ‘are imbued with the craftsmanship and care one would expect of a composer of his formidable academic training, just as his concert works carry the emotional immediacy of popular music.’ Himself a choral singer, Alex Freeman has written a number of works for choir: music that aims to be sonorous and melodic, but is carefully crafted to avoid the clichés that can burden conventional tonality. Freeman’s requiem Under the arching heavens was commissioned by Nils Schweckendiek and the Helsinki Chamber Choir to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1918 Finnish civil war. The work incorporates poems in Finnish, Swedish and English, reflecting both the specific reason for the commission and the universality of human suffering caused by war. In the non-liturgical texts chosen by Freeman, birds are a recurring image, as is that of a mother and child. The work ends with lines by Walt Whitman from a poem written in the aftermath of the American Civil War. Also included on the album is A Wilderness of Sea, another recent choral piece which draws on works by Shakespeare, and the poet’s images of the sea, and of mankind’s relationship with it.
Tracklist 12 tracks
-
1 Sydämeni laulu 07:37
- Track
- 1
- Title
- Sydämeni laulu
- Duration
- 07:37
- Composer
- Alex Freeman
- Ensemble
- Helsinki Chamber Choir
- Conductor
- Nils Schweckendiek
-
2 Requiem æternam 04:55
- Track
- 2
- Title
- Requiem æternam
- Duration
- 04:55
- Composer
- Alex Freeman
- Ensemble
- Helsinki Chamber Choir
- Conductor
- Nils Schweckendiek
-
3 Sequence: Dies iræ 06:36
- Track
- 3
- Title
- Sequence: Dies iræ
- Duration
- 06:36
- Composer
- Alex Freeman
- Ensemble
- Helsinki Chamber Choir
- Conductor
- Nils Schweckendiek
-
4 Sequence: Thrushes 07:45
- Track
- 4
- Title
- Sequence: Thrushes
- Duration
- 07:45
- Composer
- Alex Freeman
- Ensemble
- Helsinki Chamber Choir
- Conductor
- Nils Schweckendiek
-
5 Sequence: Rex tremendæ majestatis 03:51
- Track
- 5
- Title
- Sequence: Rex tremendæ majestatis
- Duration
- 03:51
- Composer
- Alex Freeman
- Ensemble
- Helsinki Chamber Choir
- Conductor
- Nils Schweckendiek
-
6 Sequence: Fientliga stjärnor 05:33
- Track
- 6
- Title
- Sequence: Fientliga stjärnor
- Duration
- 05:33
- Composer
- Alex Freeman
- Ensemble
- Helsinki Chamber Choir
- Conductor
- Nils Schweckendiek
-
7 Sequence: Inter oves locum præsta 08:45
- Track
- 7
- Title
- Sequence: Inter oves locum præsta
- Duration
- 08:45
- Composer
- Alex Freeman
- Ensemble
- Helsinki Chamber Choir
- Conductor
- Nils Schweckendiek
-
8 Sanctus 05:18
- Track
- 8
- Title
- Sanctus
- Duration
- 05:18
- Composer
- Alex Freeman
- Ensemble
- Helsinki Chamber Choir
- Conductor
- Nils Schweckendiek
-
9 Mikä lienee se lintu ollut? 04:33
- Track
- 9
- Title
- Mikä lienee se lintu ollut?
- Duration
- 04:33
- Composer
- Alex Freeman
- Ensemble
- Helsinki Chamber Choir
- Conductor
- Nils Schweckendiek
-
10 Agnus Dei 04:15
- Track
- 10
- Title
- Agnus Dei
- Duration
- 04:15
- Composer
- Alex Freeman
- Ensemble
- Helsinki Chamber Choir
- Conductor
- Nils Schweckendiek
-
11 O Years and Graves! 10:29
- Track
- 11
- Title
- O Years and Graves!
- Duration
- 10:29
- Composer
- Alex Freeman
- Ensemble
- Helsinki Chamber Choir
- Conductor
- Nils Schweckendiek
-
12 A Wilderness of Sea 14:32
- Track
- 12
- Title
- A Wilderness of Sea
- Duration
- 14:32
- Composer
- Alex Freeman
- Ensemble
- Helsinki Chamber Choir
- Conductor
- Nils Schweckendiek