Modern American Vocal Works - Premiere Recordings 1950-1953

$13.99
Label
Sony Masterworks
Release Date
May 13, 2014
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      BARBER, SAMUEL COPLAND, AARON
    • PERFORMER
      William, Aaron, Warfield, Copland
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      May 13, 2014
    • UPC
      074646089927
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      SONY60899
    • LABEL
      Sony Masterworks
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Vocal
    Works ⌄

    1. Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24

      Composer: Samuel Barber

      Ensemble: Dumbarton Oaks Chamber Orchestra

      Performer: Eleanor Steber

      Conductor: William Strickland

    2. No. 1. At Saint Patrick's Purgatory

      Composer: Samuel Barber

      Performer: Leontyne Price, Samuel Barber

    3. No. 2. Church Bells at Night

      Composer: Samuel Barber

      Performer: Leontyne Price, Samuel Barber

    4. No. 3. Saint Ita's Vision

      Composer: Samuel Barber

      Performer: Leontyne Price, Samuel Barber

    5. No. 4. The Heavenly Banquet

      Composer: Samuel Barber

      Performer: Leontyne Price, Samuel Barber

    6. No. 5. The Crucifixion

      Composer: Samuel Barber

      Performer: Leontyne Price, Samuel Barber

    7. No. 6. Sea-Snatch

      Composer: Samuel Barber

      Performer: Leontyne Price, Samuel Barber

    8. No. 7. Promiscuity

      Composer: Samuel Barber

      Performer: Leontyne Price, Samuel Barber

    9. No. 8. The Monk and his Cat

      Composer: Samuel Barber

      Performer: Leontyne Price, Samuel Barber

    10. No. 9. The Praises of God

      Composer: Samuel Barber

      Performer: Leontyne Price, Samuel Barber

    11. No. 10. The Desire for Hermitage

      Composer: Samuel Barber

      Performer: Leontyne Price, Samuel Barber

    12. No. 1. The Boatmen's Dance

      Composer: Aaron Copland

      Performer: William Warfield, Aaron Copland

    13. No. 2. The Dodger

      Composer: Aaron Copland

      Performer: William Warfield, Aaron Copland

    14. No. 3. Long Time Ago

      Composer: Aaron Copland

      Performer: William Warfield, Aaron Copland

    15. No. 4. Simple Gifts

      Composer: Aaron Copland

      Performer: William Warfield, Aaron Copland

    16. No. 5. I Bought Me a Cat

      Composer: Aaron Copland

      Performer: William Warfield, Aaron Copland

    17. No. 1. The Little Horses

      Composer: Aaron Copland

      Performer: William Warfield, Aaron Copland

    18. No. 2. Zion's Walls

      Composer: Aaron Copland

      Performer: William Warfield, Aaron Copland

    19. No. 3. The Golden Willow Tree

      Composer: Aaron Copland

      Performer: William Warfield, Aaron Copland

    20. No. 4. At the River

      Composer: Aaron Copland

      Performer: William Warfield, Aaron Copland

    21. No. 5. Ching-a-ring Chaw

      Composer: Aaron Copland

      Performer: William Warfield, Aaron Copland

    22. Stabat mater

      Composer: Virgil Thomson

      Ensemble: New Music String Quartet

      Performer: Jennie Tourel

    23. Capital Capitals

      Composer: Virgil Thomson

      Performer: Joseph Crawford, Clyde Turner, Joseph James, William Smith, Virgil Thomson


Samuel Barber and Aaron Copland remain among the most popular of 20th-century American composers, and the accessible, populist musical style that granted them much success with audiences is evident in this collection of their vocal works. Virgil Thomson, whose music also appears here, is less of a household name; his music, while equally (or more) conservative, has never entered the mainstream like that of his contemporaries has.
This disc is of great historical interest. All the works are heard in their premiere recordings, dating from 1950 to 1954. A young Leontyne Price gives the perfect rendition of Barber's 'Hermit Songs,' imperious, coy and despairing by turns. If Eleanor Steber lacks the naïve, wide-eyed wonder of more recent interpreters of 'Knoxville: Summer of 1915,' such as Dawn Upshaw, it is refreshing to hear a more dramatic performance that may indeed be closer to the composer's wishes. In Copland's folksy 'Old American Songs,' William Warfield sings with verve and complete authority. A special attraction here is that each composer is heard as a piano accompanist in his own works, and as an added bonus, the liner notes feature engaging reminiscences about the three composers by their younger colleague Ned Rorem.