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This EMI reissue an album of pieces by British composer Thomas Adès, written while he was still in his 20s and 30s, features primarily vocal and choral music. The largest and most ambitious work, America: A Prophecy (1999), was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic. A cantata for soprano, chorus, and orchestra, it depicts the Spanish destruction of the Mayan culture, and its title and some of its text make it eerily prescient of the devastation of 9/11/2001. The texts are taken from Mayan prophecy and a song by Spanish composer Mateo Flecha that was written around the time of the Mayan conquest. It's a powerful and disturbing work that's bound to chill anyone with a memory of 9/11. Soprano Susan Bickley and the composer leading the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus deliver a gripping performance. The remaining works are considerably less grim, and some are among the composer's most immediately engaging. Stephen Layton leads the ensemble Polyphony in four quirkily appealing choral works. The remarkable soprano Claron McFadden performs Life Story, a jazzy setting of Tennessee Williams. There are imaginative arrangements, witty and elegant, respectively, of the band Madness' 1982 ska song Cardiac Arrest, and of Couperin's harpsichord solo Les Baricades mistérieuses. Brahms is a setting of a poem by pianist Alfred Brendel sung by baritone Christopher Maltman. Counter tenor Robin Blaze and pianist Huw Watkins performs the cycle The Lover in Winter, one of Adès' earliest pieces, in which the influence of Britten is evident, but in which the composer's distinctive voice is already emerging. The eclectic sampling of pieces would make a good introduction to Adès for listeners interested in exploring his work.
© TiVo
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Stephen Johns, Producer - City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, Lead Vocals - Thomas Ades, Composer, Lead Vocals - City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, Lead Vocals, Chorus - Susan Bickley, Lead Vocals - Thomas Adès/Susan Bickley/City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, MainArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. 2002 ℗ 2004 Warner Classics, Warner Music UK Ltd
Stephen Johns, Producer - City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra - Thomas Ades, Composer, Conductor, MainArtist - City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, Chorus, FeaturedArtist - Susan Bickley, Mezzo-soprano Vocals, FeaturedArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Stephen Johns, Producer - Teddy Layton, Lead Vocals - Thomas Ades, Composer - Polyphony, Lead Vocals - Stephen Layton/Polyphony, MainArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. 2003 ℗ 2004 Warner Classics, Warner Music UK Ltd
Stephen Johns, Producer - Thomas Ades, Composer - Richard Benjafield, Percussion - Hugh Webb, Harp, FeaturedArtist - Tom Poster, Piano, MainArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Stephen Johns, Producer - Thomas Ades, Composer - Richard Benjafield, Percussion - Hugh Webb, Harp, FeaturedArtist - Tom Poster, Piano, MainArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Stephen Johns, Producer - Teddy Layton, Lead Vocals - Thomas Ades, Composer - Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, Lead Vocals - Polyphony, Lead Vocals - Stephen Layton/Polyphony/Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, MainArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. 2003 ℗ 2004 Warner Classics, Warner Music UK Ltd
Stephen Johns, Producer - Teddy Layton, Lead Vocals - Thomas Ades, Composer - Polyphony, Lead Vocals - Stephen Layton/Polyphony, MainArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. 2003 ℗ 2004 Warner Classics, Warner Music UK Ltd
Stephen Johns, Producer - Thomas Ades, Composer - Robin Blaze, Lead Vocals - Huw Watkins, Lead Vocals - Robin Blaze/Huw Watkins, MainArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. 2003 ℗ 2004 Warner Classics, Warner Music UK Ltd
Stephen Johns, Producer - Thomas Ades, Composer - Robin Blaze, Lead Vocals - Huw Watkins, Lead Vocals - Robin Blaze/Huw Watkins, MainArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. 2003 ℗ 2004 Warner Classics, Warner Music UK Ltd
Stephen Johns, Producer - Thomas Ades, Composer - Robin Blaze, Lead Vocals - Huw Watkins, Lead Vocals - Robin Blaze/Huw Watkins, MainArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. 2003 ℗ 2004 Warner Classics, Warner Music UK Ltd
Stephen Johns, Producer - Thomas Ades, Composer - Robin Blaze, Lead Vocals - Huw Watkins, Lead Vocals - Robin Blaze/Huw Watkins, MainArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. 2003 ℗ 2004 Warner Classics, Warner Music UK Ltd
Stephen Johns, Producer - Thomas Ades, Composer, Conductor, MainArtist - Claron McFadden, Soprano Vocals, FeaturedArtist - Composers Ensemble, Ensemble, FeaturedArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. 2003 ℗ 2004 Warner Classics, Warner Music UK Ltd
Stephen Johns, Producer - Thomas Ades, Conductor, Arranger, Vocals, Lead Vocals - Christopher Foreman, Composer - Cathal Smyth, Composer - Composers Ensemble, Lead Vocals - Thomas Adès/Composers Ensemble, MainArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. 2003 ℗ 2004 Warner Classics, Warner Music UK Ltd
Stephen Johns, Producer - Thomas Ades, Composer, Conductor, MainArtist - Composers Ensemble, Ensemble, FeaturedArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. A Warner Classics release, ℗ 2004 Parlophone Records Limited
Stephen Johns, Producer - City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, Lead Vocals - Thomas Ades, Composer, Conductor, Vocals, Lead Vocals - Christopher Maltman, Lead Vocals, Bass-Baritone, Bass-Baritone Vocals - Thomas Adès/Christopher Maltman/City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, MainArtist
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. 2002 ℗ 2004 Warner Classics, Warner Music UK Ltd
Album review
This EMI reissue an album of pieces by British composer Thomas Adès, written while he was still in his 20s and 30s, features primarily vocal and choral music. The largest and most ambitious work, America: A Prophecy (1999), was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic. A cantata for soprano, chorus, and orchestra, it depicts the Spanish destruction of the Mayan culture, and its title and some of its text make it eerily prescient of the devastation of 9/11/2001. The texts are taken from Mayan prophecy and a song by Spanish composer Mateo Flecha that was written around the time of the Mayan conquest. It's a powerful and disturbing work that's bound to chill anyone with a memory of 9/11. Soprano Susan Bickley and the composer leading the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus deliver a gripping performance. The remaining works are considerably less grim, and some are among the composer's most immediately engaging. Stephen Layton leads the ensemble Polyphony in four quirkily appealing choral works. The remarkable soprano Claron McFadden performs Life Story, a jazzy setting of Tennessee Williams. There are imaginative arrangements, witty and elegant, respectively, of the band Madness' 1982 ska song Cardiac Arrest, and of Couperin's harpsichord solo Les Baricades mistérieuses. Brahms is a setting of a poem by pianist Alfred Brendel sung by baritone Christopher Maltman. Counter tenor Robin Blaze and pianist Huw Watkins performs the cycle The Lover in Winter, one of Adès' earliest pieces, in which the influence of Britten is evident, but in which the composer's distinctive voice is already emerging. The eclectic sampling of pieces would make a good introduction to Adès for listeners interested in exploring his work.
© TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 00:59:32
- Main artists: Thomas Adès
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Warner Classics
- Genre: Classical
© 2011 EMI Records Ltd. ℗ 2011 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by EMI Records Ltd.
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