Carl Ruggles (1876-1971) was a leading representative of two dynamic traditions: the tradition of 19th century intellectual New England that had given birth to authors from Hawthorne to James; and the tradition of rebellious American composers that exploded between the early 1900s and the middle 1930s.
Organum is brief, succinct but rich in orchestral sonority. It is not a serial work, but makes use of serial techniques such as running the main theme in retrograde during the second of its three main sections.
About In Memoriam, composer Douglas Moore (1893-1969) wrote: “It is dedicated to those who die young, and speaks of the bitterness of youth cut down in its prime and the irreconcilable loss to us. The first and last parts consist of a dirge of mounting intensity; the middle section is a soliloquy in which youth is imagined as speaking with longing for those things now lost.”
Robert Ward (1917-2013) composed his Second Symphony in 1947 while living in Nyack, N.Y. It was premiered by Hans Kindler and the National Symphony Orchestra. In the Symphony, though the melodies, harmonies, and rhythms are definitely of the past few decades, and have a strong American flavor, the structural principles employed can for the most part be found in music written before Beethoven. The first movement combines the traditional fugue and sonata forms. The slow movement is a freely developed aria which depends on variation and increasing lyric tension, rather than contrast, to build its structure. This line of tension heightens or relaxes in an ascending and expanding wave and finally subsides in a quiet coda. The Finale is a rondo with no particular complications.
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. Full liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Ruggles, Moore & Ward: Orchestral Works
| 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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Organum
Carl Ruggles
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In Memoriam
Douglas Moore
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Symphony No. 2: I. Fast and Energetic
Robert Ward
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Symphony No. 2: II. Slowly
Robert Ward
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Symphony No. 2: III. Fast
Robert Ward
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