The Federal Music Society Opera Company/John Baldon, conductor
"The present recordings of my musical and orchestral restorations of The Indian Princess (Philadelphia, 1808) and The Ethiop (Philadelphia, 1814) attempt to recapture the sounds of musical theater during this time. They complete the image of sophisticated American culture by providing the melodic expressivity, the sonorous grandeur, the beat and tempo that can bring life to static representations of our urban past. Also, they give proper balance to our conception of early American music by adding to the already well-known homespun hymn tunes, folk songs, and patriotic music the more formal sounds of professional theater music - orchestral overtures, vocal recitatives and airs, ballet music, and even the descriptive music of melodrama - that was written for trained voices and skilled instrumentalists." -- (from the liner notes by Victor Fell Yellin)
Both operas enjoyed great success on the American and British stage, due in no small part to the excellent quality of the music. Their composers' indebtedness to their renowned European contemporaries Handel, Haydn, and Mozart, is easily discernible in the musical language and style but in no way diminishes their success in establishing a foundation for the future development of American opera.
Among the highlights are the incidental music to Act Two, Scene Two of The Indian Princess (track 6); Pocahontas's florid aria, "When the Midnight of Absence" (track 9); the richly expressive overture to The Ethiop (track 13); the Handelian symphony, "While Cephania Comes on in Her Barge"(track 14) and chorus "Queen of the East"(track 15); Alexis and Zoe's dreamy duet (track 18); and Zoe's deliciously Mozartian aria, "These Keys Can a Treasure Unfold" (track 27).
Federal Music Society Opera Company
John Bray: The Indian Princess/The Ethiop
| MP3/320 | $9.99 | |
| FLAC | $9.99 | |
| WAV | $9.99 | |
| CD | $15.99 |
Track Listing
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The Indian Princess: Act 1, Chorus
John Bray
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The Indian Princess: Act 1, "Ever, Ever Cheery!"
John Bray
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The Indian Princess: Act 1, "Och! Hubbaboo! Gramachree! Hone!"
John Bray
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The Indian Princess: Act 1, Dialogue Quartetto
John Bray
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The Indian Princess: Act 1, Finale
John Bray
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The Indian Princess: Act 2, Scene 2, Incidental Music
John Bray
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The Indian Princess: Act 2, "Fair Geraldine"
John Bray
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The Indian Princess: Act 2, "Without a Penny of Money"
John Bray
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The Indian Princess: Act 2, "When the Midnight of Absence"
John Bray
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The Indian Princess: Act 2, "Careless Ned"
John Bray
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The Indian Princess: Act 2, "Captain Smith"
John Bray
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The Indian Princess: Act 2, Finale
John Bray
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The Ethiop: Overture
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: Symphony - While Cephania Comes On In Her Barge
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: "Queen of the East"
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: The Camel's Bell
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: "Mighty Man! If I Surrender"
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: "How Boon Are the Hours"
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: The Bezestein
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: Music Colloquy
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: Subterranean Chorus
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: Address of Conspirators to Orasmyn
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: Nourreddin at the Top of the Catacomb
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: Solo, Semi-Chorus, and Chorus of Conspirators
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: Pas Seul
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: Corner Houses
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: "These Keys Can a Treasure Unfold"
Raynor Taylor
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The Ethiop: Finale
Raynor Taylor
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