Lillian Fuchs, viola; Peter Simenauer, clarinet; Fred Mills, trumpet; Paul Ingraham, horn; Edward Erwin, trombone; Virgil Thomson, Conductor
Betty Allen, mezzo-soprano; Virgil Thomson, piano; Joseph Fuchs, violin; Arthur Balsam, piano
One of the more penetrating remarks about Virgil Thomson’s music was made by a writer, the composer’s friend Gertrude Stein. “It’s not at all banal,” Miss Stein affirmed. “He frosts his music with a thin layer of banal sounds to put people off, but what’s underneath is very pure and special.”
Offhand, there might seem to be more effective ways than that of putting people off: the use of an abstruse or involved style, for example. But in practice this does not always follow. Unusual complexity can become a standard rhetorical device like any other, and the purpose of rhetoric is to lower sales resistance.
The artist who defies easy popularity by assuming a mask of simplicity is another matter. His pride of craft -- and of character -- is such that he deliberately invites sales resistance with unrelieved clarity, a thing that oddly enough often confuses listeners. In modern music, Erik Satie is the prototype of this kind of heroically fastidious artist. And to the Virgil Thomson of the twenties, a young composer in search of a hero, Satie’s music was a revelation. Satie is today, at least in America, the composer to whom Thomson is oftenest compared, and there is a special sweetness about Gertrude Stein’s accolades because it recalls the Paris prelude to a distinguished career: the problematic days when an untried American faced his music paper, made his choices, and tackled his duty with honor.
Robert Offergell - Music Editor, HiFi/Stereo Review
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.
Virgil Thomson: Chamber & Vocal Works
| MP3/320 | $13.00 | |
| FLAC | $13.00 | |
| WAV | $13.00 | |
| CD-R | $13.00 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Sonata Da Chiesa: I. Chorale
Virgil Thomson
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Sonata Da Chiesa: II. Tango
Virgil Thomson
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Sonata Da Chiesa: III. Fugue
Virgil Thomson
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Praises and Prayers: I. from The Canticle of the Sun
Virgil Thomson
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Praises and Prayers: II. My Master Hath a Garden
Virgil Thomson
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Praises and Prayers: III. Sung by the Shepherds
Virgil Thomson
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Praises and Prayers: IV. Before Sleeping
Virgil Thomson
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Praises and Prayers: V. Jerusalem, My Happy Home
Virgil Thomson
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Sonata for Violin and Piano: I. Allegro
Virgil Thomson
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Sonata for Violin and Piano: II. Andante Nobile
Virgil Thomson
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Sonata for Violin and Piano: III. Tempo de Valzer
Virgil Thomson
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Sonata for Violin and Piano: IV. Andante: Doppio Movimento
Virgil Thomson
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