Liner Notes
Cat. No. NWCRL454
Release Date: 2011-04-11
D'Anna Fortunato, mezzo-soprano; Cheryl Cobb, soprano; David Arnold, baritone; Kim Scown, tenor; Boston Musica Viva; Nancy Cirillo, violin; Katherine Murdock, viola; Joel Moerschel, cello; Fenwick Smith, flute; Laura Grundstrom, oboe; William Wrzesien, clarinet; Randall Hodgkinson, piano; Richard Pittman, Conductor;
John Harbison writes:
“The title, Full Moon In March, is less simple than it seems: in Yeats' astrological— metaphysical system, the full moon has a special place in Phase 15, a phase of complete and unexplainable beauty, where unity can be achieved and opposites united. March represents the ending of one cycle and the creation of a new one. The characters in this drama meet at a moment of mythic truth, remote from motivation or even the need to explain.
“This opera was written in a non-reflective state, well before any effort to understand the matter beyond the absorption of the images. After composing, in the effort to rationalize the urge to do it, certain themes came strongly into relief: the problem of reconciling our physical and spiritual nature . . . the image of the artists as suitor to a cruel and all-powerful Music. But these are after the fact...
Cascando is Charles Dodge's realization of Samuel Beckett's radio play of 1963. Like Beckett's Words and Music, Cascando has three characters: Opener (“Dry as dust”), Voice (“low, panting”), and Music. “Music” is not characterized by Beckett, but he indicates very precisely in the published play (with rows of dots) where it is to “speak” alone, sound together with Voice, or be overlaid with a comment from Opener. Thus, as Vivian Mercer has remarked in her Beckett/Beckett, Cascando could be described as a kind of libretto, and it and Words and Music “inaugurate a new genre—invisible opera.”
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.
John Harbison writes:
“The title, Full Moon In March, is less simple than it seems: in Yeats' astrological— metaphysical system, the full moon has a special place in Phase 15, a phase of complete and unexplainable beauty, where unity can be achieved and opposites united. March represents the ending of one cycle and the creation of a new one. The characters in this drama meet at a moment of mythic truth, remote from motivation or even the need to explain.
“This opera was written in a non-reflective state, well before any effort to understand the matter beyond the absorption of the images. After composing, in the effort to rationalize the urge to do it, certain themes came strongly into relief: the problem of reconciling our physical and spiritual nature . . . the image of the artists as suitor to a cruel and all-powerful Music. But these are after the fact...
Cascando is Charles Dodge's realization of Samuel Beckett's radio play of 1963. Like Beckett's Words and Music, Cascando has three characters: Opener (“Dry as dust”), Voice (“low, panting”), and Music. “Music” is not characterized by Beckett, but he indicates very precisely in the published play (with rows of dots) where it is to “speak” alone, sound together with Voice, or be overlaid with a comment from Opener. Thus, as Vivian Mercer has remarked in her Beckett/Beckett, Cascando could be described as a kind of libretto, and it and Words and Music “inaugurate a new genre—invisible opera.”
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.
Charles Dodge: Cascando & John Harbison: Full Moon in March
| MP3/320 | $7.99 | |
| FLAC | $7.99 | |
| WAV | $7.99 | |
| CD-R | $7.99 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Cascando
Charles Dodge
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Full Moon in March: The Attendants' First Song
John Harbison
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Full Moon in March: Recitative I
John Harbison
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Buy
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Full Moon in March: The Swineherd's Aria
John Harbison
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Buy
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Full Moon in March: Recitative II
John Harbison
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Buy
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Full Moon in March: The Queen's Aria
John Harbison
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Buy
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Full Moon in March: Arioso
John Harbison
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Buy
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Full Moon in March: Duet
John Harbison
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Buy
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Full Moon in March: The Attendants' Second Song
John Harbison
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Buy
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Full Moon in March: The First Attendant's Aria
John Harbison
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Buy
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Full Moon in March: The Queen's Dance (first part)
John Harbison
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Buy
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Full Moon in March: The Second Attendant's Aria
John Harbison
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Buy
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Full Moon in March: The Queen's Dance (second part)
John Harbison
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Buy
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Full Moon in March: The Attendants' Final Song
John Harbison
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Buy
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