Society of Composers, Inc.
"America Sings!"
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Cover Design: Gerald Warfield
& Richard Brooks
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Track
Listing & Audio Samples
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| Diane Thome | ||||
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1. |
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| University of Washington Chorale | ||||
| Joan Catoni Conlon, conductor | ||||
| Jeffrey Francis, tenor | ||||
| Wendy Wilhelmi, flute | ||||
| Jennifer Hillacker, violin | ||||
| Jonathan Graber, viola | ||||
| Brian Schuldt, cello | ||||
| Naomi Kato, harp | ||||
| Joelle Wallach | ||||
| 2. | Mourning Madrigals (13:05) | |||
| Karen Birnbaum, soprano | ||||
| Frederick Urrey, tenor | ||||
| Charla Abraham, flute | ||||
| Andre Tarantiles, harp | ||||
| Gregoria Karides Suchy | ||||
| 3. | Twelve Greek Maxims (10:14) | |||
| Lee Dougherty, soprano | ||||
| Donald St. Pierre, piano | ||||
| George Belden | ||||
| 4. | Gilgamesh (10:45) | |||
| Sandra D. Belden, contralto | ||||
| Marcia Stratman, piano | ||||
| Timothy Heavner, percussion | ||||
| Elizabeth Vercoe | ||||
| 5. | Herstory II (17:45) | |||
| The Boston Musica Viva | ||||
| Richard Pittman, conductor | ||||
| Elsa Charlston, soprano | ||||
| Randall Hodgkinson, piano |
All Recordings by the
Society of Composers, Inc.
Mélange CPS-8755 Mood Shifts CPS-8748 Soundscapes CPS-8741 Cornucopia CPS-8725 Sonic Images CPS-8712 Milestones CPS-8701 Inspirations CPS-8690 Cultivated Choruses CPS-8674 Inner Visions CPS-8670 Connections CPS-8660 Transcendencies CPS-8656 Chamber Works CPS-8651 Illuminations CPS-8643 Grand Designs CPS-8639 Intimate Thoughts CPS-8632 Evocations CPS-8631 Extended Resources CPS-8626 Songfest CPS-8618 Contra-Punctus CPS-8615 America Sings! CPS-8613 Potpourri CPS-8609 View from the Keyboard CPS-8606
Related Links
• Society of Composers, Inc.
• Jeolle Wallach
• Elizabeth Vercoe
Reviews
Fanfare - January/February, 1992 - by Peter J. Rabinowitz
"Despite the nationalist promise of its title, Amenca Sings! offers neither folksy charm nor patriotic fervor. Rather, this disc consists of live contemporary vocal works (1965-8O), apparently chosen by a peer review system, mining a variety of accessible and familiar, but not peculiarly American, idioms. There's nothing especially audacious here, and nothing that will strike you with its distinctive compositional voice; and I suspect that listeners will differ in their patience for some of it. Depending on your taste, for instance, you may find Gregoria Karides Suchy's mercurial Twelve Greek Maxims, which leap from jagged severity to broad parody, either witty or arch; and although I enjoyed the occasionally Messiaenic splash of Elizaheth Varcoes haiku settings, readers should be warned that Kyle Gann, reviewing an earlier Northeastern release of this same performance, called it "gutless expressionism"~"one of those angular, academic works whose style and content are already too, too familiar" (Fanfare 10:3). Still, whatever their reliance on well-tried techniques, the five works are all solidly crafted; and the contrasts between the from the sweet, piquantly harmonized lyricism of Diane Thome's Three Psalms, through the sparser, more inward contrapuntal musings of Joelle Wallach's often Brittenesque Mourning Madrigals, to the ostentatious declamations of George Belden's partly electronic Gilgamesh - make for an attractive air.
As is often the case with such miscellanies, the quality of both performances and recordings is uneven; and Capstone needs to pay more attention to their presentation. I'm not complaining about the timing errors on the jacket; nor is the pedestrian cover really an issue (although it's hard to imagine anyone being motivated to explore the disc simply by its visual impact). But texts are only provided for two of the works; and the ho-hum notes - in nearly unreadably small type - simply don't create a context for receptive listening. Capstone deserves praise for its commitment to contemporary music - but if this music is going to gain a hearing in an increasingly competitive world, it needs to be introduced more aggressively."
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