Carlos Simon: Tales – A Folklore Symphony

Approfondimenti

Carlos Simon is a rising African American composer; several albums of his works have appeared on the major Decca label, and this live National Symphony Orchestra recording is the first in a series of four to be issued in 2024. Simon was a student of Michael Daugherty at the University of Michigan, and one can hear the connection in Simon's use of propulsive rhythms that are inflected into programmatic content. Yet Simon's voice here is his own. Tales -- A Folklore Symphony draws on diverse sources for its folklore, from Afrofuturist comics in the opening movement, "Motherboxx Connection," to the traditional tale of John Henry in the finale, but these are neatly wrapped up into traditional four-movement symphonic form. Quotations from African American spirituals appear boldly at the beginning of the "Go Down, Moses" movement, as well as more subtly. The National Symphony under Gianandrea Noseda has cultivated a specialty in bright, brassy American music, and the group sounds terrific here. Sample the second movement, "Flying Africans," with its clear presence of high violins demonstrating just how far this orchestra has come under Noseda's leadership. Those interested in American orchestral programming should know that Simon's music, attractive and timely, is soon going to be featured a lot more often, and will find a good sample here.

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