Aaron COPLAND (1900-1990)
Appalachian Spring: Suite (1944-45) [25:26]
Symphony No 2 Short Symphony (1930-33) [15:40]
Quiet City (1939-41) [9:26]
Three Latin American Sketches (1959-72) [10:20]
Susan Palma (flute); David Singer (clarinet); Frank Morelli; Wu Han (piano)
(Appalachian Spring); Stephen Taylor (cor anglais); Raymond Mase (trumpet)
(Quiet City).
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
rec. March 1988, Performing Arts Center, State University of New York, Purchase,
New York, USA. DDD
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 9207 [60:52]
I recall this Orpheus Chamber Orchestra release on Deutsche Grammophon 427
335-2 back in 1989. It was especially well received. Now Brilliant Classics
have issued these performances at super budget price which makes this a highly
competitive release.
The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra were founded in 1972 and are based in New York
City. They employ a true collaborative approach, playing without a conductor
and gaining an enviable reputation for performance excellence.
Almost certainly Copland’s most popular and instantly recognisable work,
Appalachian Spring was composed in 1943/44 to a ballet commission from
Martha Graham. On this release we hear the 1945 suite with chamber orchestration
for 13 instruments plus extra strings. I was struck by the beauty of the playing.
Wu Han’s piano contribution was especially distinctive; glorious contributions
too from the woodwind and the glowing strings displayed impressive unison.
The music evokes a romantic view of American frontier cowboy scenes. At 18:10
the inclusion of the engaging melody Simple Gifts - the traditional
Shaker song - was a masterstroke.
The Short Symphony listed as the Symphony No. 2 was premièred
in 1934. It’s very much neo-classical Copland. In a bid to gain more
performances Copland in 1937 recast the score as a Sextet for clarinet,
piano and string quartet. The Short Symphony is played here in
a reduction for chamber orchestra arranged by Dennis Russell Davies. The opening
movement is notable for its use of spiky rhythms, both unpredictable and complex.
A rather stark yet clear landscape combines with surprisingly weighty textures
in the central movement. Copland gives additional complexity to the leaping
and dancing rhythms in the finale played here with infectious vitality and
broad dynamics.
Quiet City is an expressive and successful night-time evocation of
a great city that never sleeps. Copland based the score on incidental music
for an Irwin Shaw play. An often overlooked yet magnificent work, Quiet
City is presented here in a pared down arrangement for chamber orchestra.
The Orpheus aptly captures the stark intimacy and hauntingly reflective nature
of a nocturnal urban landscape. I enjoyed Raymond Mase’s brooding trumpet
and the cor anglais played by Stephen Taylor was noteworthy for its
rich dark-coloured timbre.
The Three Latin American Sketches were not conceived a whole. The second
and third movements started life as two Mexican pieces from 1959: Paisaje
Mexicano and Danza de Jalisco were commissioned by Gian Carlo Menotti
for the Spoleto Festival. At the request of conductor André Kostelanetz,
Copland composed an additional movement Estribillo that he based on
a melodic fragment from Venezuela.Now titled the Three Latin American
Sketches the New York Philharmonic premièred the full score in
1972. Here the Sketches are played in a slimmed down arrangement for
chamber orchestra. The opening sketch Estribillo is infused with highly
spiced and pointed Latin rhythms. To a degree the brooding woodwind melodies
in Paisaje Mexicano reminded me of the slow music from both Appalachian
Spring and Quiet City. Lively and vivacious the final sketch Danza
de Jalisco is played with high voltage and relentless intensity.
On this issue I was delighted by the clear sound quality and excellent balance.
The booklet notes contain a new essay but it says nothing about the arrangements
used. It is hard to find fault with this winning Brilliant Classics release
so superbly performed and recorded.
Michael Cookson
Hard to find fault with this winning Brilliant Classics release so superbly
performed and recorded.