Morten Lauridsen: Nocturnes
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Music CD Cover
Composer: Morten LauridsenConductor: Stephen Layton
Performer: Andrew Lumsden
Performer: Morten Lauridsen
Edition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2007-02-13
Music Label: Hyperion UK
Soundtracks:
- Lament for Pasiphae (Mid-Winter Songs- Robert Graves)
- Like Snow
- She tells her love while half asleep
- Mid-Winter Waking
- Intercession in Late October
- En une seule fleur (Les Chansons des roses - R.M. Rilke)
- Contre qui, rose
- De ton reve trop lein
- La rose complete
- Dirait-on
- I will lift up mine eyes
- O come, lut us sing unto the Lord
- Ave, dulcissima Maria
- Sa nuit d'ete (Rilke) (Nocturnes)
- Soneto de la noche (Neruda)
- Sure on this shining night (Agee)
Free Music Notes for Morten Lauridsen: Nocturnes
Free Music Review: A Well Balanced Set of Works by Morten Lauridsen
Hit: 5 Stars
The audience for fine choral music hopefully is growing beyond the seasonal and occasional mighty works of Handel, Mozart, Bach. Certainly with such performing arts groups as the Los Angeles Master Chorale and England's Polyphony recording and performing choral music from the recent past and from the present the appreciation for this inspiring genre will expand. And as long as there are recordings of the caliber of this collection of works by Morten Lauridsen the possibilities are evident.
Best known for his 'instant classic' LUX AETERNA, the gift of Morten Lauridsen is well in evidence with this recording. And while there are other recordings of some of the works here included, this CD is the premiere recording of six pieces that merit the music lover's interest. Lauridsen's 'sound' is that of the widely spread chord that acts as the matrix for the internal development of melodies and ideas. Nowhere is this more in evidence than in the completely ethereal 'Ave, dulcissima Maria' written for male voices alone with finger cymbal accompaniment. The sweep of adoration and emotion that pulsates from this beautifully crafted work places it among the great choral compositions of any era.
The NOCTURNES from which the CD takes its title consist of three mixed chorus pieces with piano accompaniment. Set to poems of Rilke ('Sa nuit d'?t?), Neruda ('Soneto de la noche'), and Agee ('Sure on this shining night'), these three related works bask in the glory not only of Lauridsen's choral writing but also in the variation of three languages. The performances of these works and performed with fine ensemble sound and diction by Polyphony and the direction of Stephen Layton and one the Britten Sinfonia provides the orchestral portion on the well-known 'Mid-Winter Songs'. This is one recording that belongs in every lover of fine choral music and as a superb introduction to those for whom the choral repertoire is a new discovery. Grady Harp, September 07
Morten Lauridsen: Nocturnes Poster
Morten Lauridsen's choral music is well-rooted in both early music and Renaissance polyphony, but he is not one of the so-called "holy minimalists" whose very sounds are reminiscent of centuries-old music. He is American and approaches the past as a building block; he may use old techniques but his voice is original, lyrical, and easy to take, without ever seeming simple-minded. He writes so the texts can be understood - here he uses words by Robert Graves, Rainer Maria Rilke, Pablo Neruda and James Agee and throws in some non-secular psalms and a Latin motet, "Ave, dulcissima Maria." This last is a piece of great tranquility scored for male chorus, with a set of finger cymbals played by Lauridsen himself (he plays piano elsewhere on the CD). The group Polyphony, under Stephen Layton, performs all these works with impeccable pitch and diction; the fives poems by Rilke about roses are particularly handsome. He uses vast variations in dynamics almost ochestrally and the effect is marvelous - large crescendos excite and sustained soft singing soothes. There's nothing here that will jar the listener - Lauridsen's dissonances are at the service of the text and are normally quickly resolved. Fans of choral music should know what this composer (born in 1958) is up to - his music is both interesting and sheerly pleasurable. --Robert LevineMorten Lauridsen's choral music performed by Polyphony with Stephen Layton, conductor. Works on this disc include Mid-Winter Songs, Les chansons des roses, I will lift up mine eyes, O come, let us sing unto the Lord, Ave, culcissima Maria, and Nocturnes. Texts are from various poets, including Robert Graves, Rainer Maria Rilke, Pablo Neruda and James Agee.
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