Songs by George Perle
Liner Notes   Cat. No. NWCRL403     Release Date: 2011-02-15
Bethany Beardslee, soprano; Morey Ritt, piano; George Perle, piano


George Perle writes:

“Though every beginner in composition tries his hand at it before anything else, it has always seemed to me that the art song is the most subtle, sophisticated, and difficult of musical genres. Out of all the possible ways of reading and interpreting a poem, the musical setting fixes just one, and it must do so in the most spontaneous and authentic way, without seeming to encroach upon the prerogatives of the poet and the listener. Not only must it seem right, and seem so at once without also seeming coercive and demanding, but it must go beyond this and enhance and elucidate the words — otherwise why bother to put music to them at all? But then, what about the music itself, which has its own logic, its own proportions, its own kind of coherence? And what about the problem of combining two such uniquely characteristic and individual means of musical expression as voice and piano in such a way that the special personality of each is realized, and even heightened by contrast and association with the other?


This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.

Bethany Beardslee

Songs by George Perle

MP3/320 $14.00
FLAC $14.00
WAV $14.00
CD-R $14.00
CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print material or jewel case included.
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
   Liner Notes



Track Listing

Thirteen Dickinson Songs: No. 1, "Perhaps You'd Like to Buy a Flower"
George Perle
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Thirteen Dickinson Songs: No. 2, "I Like to See it Lap the Miles"
George Perle
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Thirteen Dickinson Songs: No. 3, "I Know Some Lonely Houses Off the Road"
George Perle
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Thirteen Dickinson Songs: No. 4, "There Came a Wind Like a Bugle"
George Perle
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Thirteen Dickinson Songs: No. 5, "Beauty Be Not Caused - It Is"
George Perle
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Thirteen Dickinson Songs: No. 6, "The Wind - Tapped Like a Tired Man"
George Perle
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Thirteen Dickinson Songs: No. 7, "These are the Days When Birds Come Back"
George Perle
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Thirteen Dickinson Songs: No. 8, "The Heart Asks - Pleasure First"
George Perle
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Thirteen Dickinson Songs: No. 9, "What if I Shall Not Wait"
George Perle
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Thirteen Dickinson Songs: No. 10, "If I'm Lost - Now"
George Perle
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Thirteen Dickinson Songs: No. 11, "The Loneliness One Dare Not Sound"
George Perle
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Thirteen Dickinson Songs: No. 12, "Under the Light, Yet Under"
George Perle
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Thirteen Dickinson Songs: No. 13, "She Bore it till the Simple Veins"
George Perle
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Two Rilke Songs: No. 1, Du meine heilige Einsamkeit
George Perle
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Two Rilke Songs: No. 2, Der Bach hat leise Melodien
George Perle
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