Robert Lepley: Visions Within - Spiritual Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke

Albumbeschreibung

Composer and jazz pianist Robert Benford Lepley has created an inventive tribute to Rainer Maria Rilke and found an intriguing solution to the problem facing all composers of vocal and choral music. Even in the most expert settings, it can be difficult to hear and understand texts when they are sung, particularly when the texts themselves are dense and packed with meaning. The poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke doesn't yield its profound meanings to cursory or casual reading -- it demands careful, thoughtful attention, and time for reflection and multiple readings. Lepley's Visions Within: Spiritual Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke takes six of Rilke's works and presents them first in a spoken version, lightly accompanied by a few instruments, so that the text is clearly audible and comprehensible. He follows each reading with a choral version of the same poem, sometimes a cappella, and sometimes accompanied by a small ensemble. Lepley's choral settings frequently begin with a simple, chant-like melody that allows for maximum comprehension. The settings then become increasingly involved, often using dense jazz-inspired harmonies and intensely contrapuntal layering. By the time he arrives at the most complex presentation of the texts, they have been heard often enough that the attentive listener can keep track of the words and focus on the ways the music illuminates the poetry and casts light on its deep meanings. Lepley is exceptionally fortunate to have at his disposal the New York Voices, a vocal quartet, plus alto Kim Nazarian, and on one track, Caprice Fox, who can negotiate his outrageous vocal demands, which press extremes of range, harmonic density, and contrapuntal complexity. In spite of the music's daunting technical requirements, it has an immediately communicative and expressive appeal; this is not "difficult" music. It's more closely related to jazz and the richest late twentieth century choral writing than to the rigors of modernism. The extraordinarily pure, radiant, and emotionally charged vocal performances are beautifully supported by pianist Lepley and an instrumental ensemble of clarinets, soprano saxophone, and percussion. Meryl Streep reads the poetry with disarming simplicity. The sound is good -- clean and warm -- but the difference between the acoustical environment of the readings and the choral tracks is sometimes jarring.

© TiVo