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The centenary of George Walker's birth in 2022 brought a spate of recordings of his music, which is something of a change from the norm over the past few decades. Walker is invariably called the dean of African American composers, but his career encompassed the heyday of hardcore modernism, and he has sometimes been more venerated than played. This Seattle Symphony release avoids the difficulties, and it provides a template for how other groups might program this immensely important composer's music. African American musical materials are always present in Walker's music to one degree or another, but here, they emerge with particular clarity. The program opens with Walker's Lyric for Strings, an adaptation of a string quartet movement that is perfect for orchestras that have played Barber's Adagio for strings one too many times. The Folksongs for Orchestra land right in the middle of the spectrum in Walker's output between modernism and vernacular influences, and they are ingenious little piece that devise new ways of keeping in touch with the roots. Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning Lilacs, a setting of Walt Whitman's When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, receives a regal performance here from soprano Nicole Cabell. Also valuable is the Negro Folk Symphony, an underappreciated work by Wiliam Levi Dawson that must have influenced Walker mightily. With two different conductors, Asher Fisch in the Walker works and Roderick Cox in the Dawson, the Seattleites emerge with a real feel for the connections among these works. Fine engineering from the Seattle Symphony's own label in the orchestra's home hall contributes to an edge for this album over other recent Walker releases.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Lyric for Strings (Live) (George Walker)
Asher Fisch, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - Seattle Symphony, Orchestra, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media (P) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media
Folksongs for Orchestra (George Walker)
Asher Fisch, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - Seattle Symphony, Orchestra, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media (P) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media
Asher Fisch, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - Seattle Symphony, Orchestra, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media (P) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media
Asher Fisch, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - Seattle Symphony, Orchestra, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media (P) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media
Asher Fisch, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - Seattle Symphony, Orchestra, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media (P) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media
Lilacs for Voice & Orchestra (George Walker)
Asher Fisch, Conductor, MainArtist - Walt Whitman, Lyricist - Nicole Cabell, Artist, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - Seattle Symphony, Orchestra, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media (P) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media
Asher Fisch, Conductor, MainArtist - Walt Whitman, Lyricist - Nicole Cabell, Artist, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - Seattle Symphony, Orchestra, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media (P) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media
Asher Fisch, Conductor, MainArtist - Walt Whitman, Lyricist - Nicole Cabell, Artist, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - Seattle Symphony, Orchestra, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media (P) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media
Asher Fisch, Conductor, MainArtist - Walt Whitman, Lyricist - Nicole Cabell, Artist, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - Seattle Symphony, Orchestra, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media (P) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media
Negro Folk Symphony (William Levi Dawson)
Seattle Symphony, Orchestra, MainArtist - William Levi Dawson, Composer - Roderick Cox, Conductor, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media (P) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media
Seattle Symphony, Orchestra, MainArtist - William Levi Dawson, Composer - Roderick Cox, Conductor, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media (P) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media
Seattle Symphony, Orchestra, MainArtist - William Levi Dawson, Composer - Roderick Cox, Conductor, MainArtist
(C) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media (P) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media
Album review
The centenary of George Walker's birth in 2022 brought a spate of recordings of his music, which is something of a change from the norm over the past few decades. Walker is invariably called the dean of African American composers, but his career encompassed the heyday of hardcore modernism, and he has sometimes been more venerated than played. This Seattle Symphony release avoids the difficulties, and it provides a template for how other groups might program this immensely important composer's music. African American musical materials are always present in Walker's music to one degree or another, but here, they emerge with particular clarity. The program opens with Walker's Lyric for Strings, an adaptation of a string quartet movement that is perfect for orchestras that have played Barber's Adagio for strings one too many times. The Folksongs for Orchestra land right in the middle of the spectrum in Walker's output between modernism and vernacular influences, and they are ingenious little piece that devise new ways of keeping in touch with the roots. Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning Lilacs, a setting of Walt Whitman's When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, receives a regal performance here from soprano Nicole Cabell. Also valuable is the Negro Folk Symphony, an underappreciated work by Wiliam Levi Dawson that must have influenced Walker mightily. With two different conductors, Asher Fisch in the Walker works and Roderick Cox in the Dawson, the Seattleites emerge with a real feel for the connections among these works. Fine engineering from the Seattle Symphony's own label in the orchestra's home hall contributes to an edge for this album over other recent Walker releases.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:59:21
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Seattle Symphony Nicole Cabell Asher Fisch Roderick Cox
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Seattle Symphony Media
- Genre: Classical
(C) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media (P) 2023 Seattle Symphony Media
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