Rosalind Rees, soprano; Adirondack Chamber Orchestra; Columbia University Men's Glee Club; Long Island Symphonic Choral Association; Gregg Smith Singers; Jerald Stone, piano; Paul Suits, piano; Mark Suttonsmith, piano; Edward Green, piano; Jan Opalach, narrator; Gregg Smith, Conductor
It is always fascinating to explore the vocal music of a master composer who is regarded primarily as an “instrumentalist” to the musical public. The case of Elliott Carter is particularly interesting because the composer’s output of vocal music is mostly from his earliest creative period, the 1930s and 1940s. Carter’s choral music is limited entirely to these years, the most recent work dating from as long ago 1947. After a flurry of songs in the early 1940s, he did not return to vocal literature until 1975 when he created three important works for solo voice and ensemble from the years 1975 to 1981 (A Mirror on Which to Dwell, Syringa, and In Sleep, in Thunder). But the case of Carter’s choral and vocal music is doubly interesting because the works display a deliberate accessibility, characterized by popular American themes and diatonic writing – traits in sharp contrast to Carter’s demanding later music.
The five “orchestral songs’ contained herein date from 1943 to 1945. (The three Frost songs and Voyage were orchestrated in the 1970s.) The only other solo vocal works from the period are several lost or unpublished Joyce songs from the 1920s, a Shakespeare song for alto and guitar from 1938, and an unpublished song to a text of Van Doren dating from 1944. Thus, this recording contains virtually the complete available vocal music of Elliott Carter’s early period.
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.
Elliott Carter: Orchestral Songs & Choral Works
| MP3/320 | $9.99 | |
| FLAC | $9.99 | |
| WAV | $9.99 | |
| CD-R | $9.99 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Warble for Lilac-Time
Elliott Carter
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Voyage
Elliott Carter
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Three Poems of Robert Frost: Dust of Snow
Elliott Carter
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Three Poems of Robert Frost: The Rose Family
Elliott Carter
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Three Poems of Robert Frost: The Line-Gang
Elliott Carter
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Tarantella
Elliott Carter
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Emblems
Elliott Carter
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The Harmony of Morning
Elliott Carter
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Heart Not So Heavy as Mine
Elliott Carter
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Musicians Wrestle Everywhere
Elliott Carter
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To Music
Elliott Carter
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The Defense of Corinth
Elliott Carter
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