Declamation And Song

SKU: HL.254192

UPC: 196288020622. 9.5x12.25 inches.

The songs of Mieczyslaw Karlowicz appeared in the history of Polish song as a rather unusual phenomenon. In the output of this outstanding symphonist - as youthful works - they formed an anacrusis, albeit a significant one, to his fully mature and masterful output. Nearly all of them were written over the course of a single year. Composed on the margins of his academic course in composition, they appear to represent a document of deeply personal feelings and thoughts, seismographically recording his current states of mind. Of the twenty-nine songs known to have existed, twenty-two have come down to us; the seven unpublished works, some merely sketched, were lost during the Second World War. Overlooking a couple of them, of a separate character, they form a remarkably coherent body of work. On closer inspection, it turns out that this cohesion of a distinctive character marks the whole of Karlowicz's oeuvre. Thesymphonic poems of the composer of Eternal songs are set within the same space of ideas and meanings as the songs; they are marked by analogous categories of expression. And it is a space which the composers main biographer, Adolf Chybinski, described as teeming with tragedy and boundless woe, resignation and a longing for another world'. In terms of the style of utterance, Mieczyslaw Karlowiczs songs - although deeply rooted in late Romantic style - have often been described as output standing on the threshold of a modernist phase. Zdzislaw Jachimecki wrote in 1930:A warm lyrical note in many of them, a genuine inspiration manifested in the very natural way inwhich the melodies are drawn, unsophisticated forms of accompaniment, which are nevertheless suited to the mood of the poetry in question and organically linked to the song, and the accomplished declamation and construction of these works have earned Karlowicz's songs deserved popularity in Polish singing circles.

SKU: PR.111401600

UPC: 680160003204. Text: Kenneth Rexroth. Kenneth Rexroth. Kenneth Rexroth.

Four Songs after Rexroth is a night cycle of poems and Chinese translations by Kenneth Rexroth that were chosen so that they might present a linear, nocturnal musical experience. The first song begins in the aura of twilight, before proceeding in the next two songs into a night of innermost thoughts and remembrances. In the last song, at dawn, transfiguration and transcendence is attained. The musical settings seek to evoke the beauty, mystery, anxiety, and sadness of the texts; this leads, in the third song - the emotional crux of the cycle - to the abandonment of conventional text declamation in favor of a non-verbal expression.

SKU: BA.BA08866-90

ISBN 9790006577200. 27 x 19 cm inches. Text: Gautier de Montdorge, Antoine-César / Bersin, Louise-Angélique.

The ballet â??Les Fêtes d'Hbâ? deals with the talents that are usually the subject of the Opra and are placed at the service of love on stage: poetry and declamation (1st entre, La Posie), song and harmony (2nd entre, La Musique) and finally dance and choreography (3rd entre, La Danse); hence the alternative title of the ballet â??Les Talents lyriquesâ?. In this ballet opera, Rameau consistently gives priority to the female roles. The prologue glorifies Hb, the goddess of youth, and her alliance with love, while â??La Posieâ? praises the poetress Sappho, who sings almost throughout, and â??La Musiqueâ? concentrates on the omnipresent princess Iphise; finally, â??La Danseâ? has as its main character the shepherdess Ã?gl, who excels in dance and song.

Since the premiere, the text of the libretto has been perceived as rather unbalanced. Rameau compensates for these poetic shortcomings with musical boldness and innovations of the highest order. Be it the overture that throws Lully's model overboard, the varied choral movements such as that of the Thessalians â??Que jusqu'au fond de nos grottes profondesâ?, the virtuoso arias such as Sappho's air â??Un jour pass dans les tourmentsâ? or the magnificent monologues for Iphise and Tirte â?? the originality and beauty of the music testify to incredible ingenuity.

Audio sample on Youtube