Liner Notes
Cat. No. NWCRL209
Release Date: 2010-07-01
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra; Arthur Bennett Lipkin, Conductor
While the dominant stylistic traits of Nicolai Berezowsky's larger works might be called between-the- wars Franco-Russian, with Prokofiev as a point of departure, he had a great gift for composing sparkling lighter pieces, and achieved a major popular success just a few months before his death with an operatic treatment for children of Jean de Brunhoff's famous Babar the Elephant.
Berezowsky's Christmas Festival Overture is another charming example of his writing in the lighter vein, being built on Ukrainian children's Christmas carols. Howard Barlow commissioned the music and premiered it with the New York Philharmonic-Symphony on December 23, 1943. Notes Berezowsky of his work, “The most famous of all Russian Christmas carols are the koliadki almost all of which come from the Ukraine. For this Overture I have used some of the koliadki that children sing as they go from house to house on Christmas Eve, singing and dancing.”
Ulysses Kay's Fantasy Variations were commissioned by Arthur Bennett Lipkin and premiered by the Portland, Maine, Symphony Orchestra under his direction on November 19, 1963. Writes Mr. Kay of the music and its genesis:
“Over the years musical ideas or materials occur to a composer as he works along from day to day. Most often these ideas are fragmentary motives, distinctive rhythms, or merely relationships between notes. In themselves the import of these ideas is negligible, but they are important for the composer, for they are the raw material out of which a composition grows.
“Just such an experience happened to me, beginning in 1958, with the materials used in my Fantasy Variations. The opening horn motive was jotted down then in my sketchbook, and other related ideas came to me from time to time. Though I had no idea what kind of piece these ideas might make, they stayed on my mind until Mr. Lipkin commissioned an orchestral piece from me. Then their purpose became clear, and I wrote the work between March and July of 1963.
“The piece consists of an introduction and thirteen variations, followed by the theme. Motivic ideas are stated in the introduction and fused for development in the succeeding variations. Then specific elements from this material are unified to form the theme, which, I feel, provides a noble and fitting conclusion to the work. The interplay of these musical materials is what led me to call the piece Fantasy Variations.”
Gregorian Chant furnishes the basic thematic substance for Norman Dello Joio's New York Profiles. The opening movement—The Cloisters, evocative of the transplanted medieval monastery overlooking the Hudson River from the heights of Fort Tryon— makes use of the Mass Orbis factor melody employed for the Kyrie and Ite missa est. Bits of the chant combined with recollections of children's play songs are built into the sprightly caprice entitled The Park. The chorale-fantasy is a hymnic meditation on The Tomb—whose identity we discover by way of the moving quotation from The Battle Hymn of the Republic that closes the movement. Festal Dance—Little Italy makes for a brilliant finale, evocative of the San Gennaro festival on lower Manhattan's Mulberry Street. Here the Gregorian melody is used with great skill both as the basis for accompaniment figuration and as basic, thematic material,
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Full liner notes are accessible via the link above.
While the dominant stylistic traits of Nicolai Berezowsky's larger works might be called between-the- wars Franco-Russian, with Prokofiev as a point of departure, he had a great gift for composing sparkling lighter pieces, and achieved a major popular success just a few months before his death with an operatic treatment for children of Jean de Brunhoff's famous Babar the Elephant.
Berezowsky's Christmas Festival Overture is another charming example of his writing in the lighter vein, being built on Ukrainian children's Christmas carols. Howard Barlow commissioned the music and premiered it with the New York Philharmonic-Symphony on December 23, 1943. Notes Berezowsky of his work, “The most famous of all Russian Christmas carols are the koliadki almost all of which come from the Ukraine. For this Overture I have used some of the koliadki that children sing as they go from house to house on Christmas Eve, singing and dancing.”
Ulysses Kay's Fantasy Variations were commissioned by Arthur Bennett Lipkin and premiered by the Portland, Maine, Symphony Orchestra under his direction on November 19, 1963. Writes Mr. Kay of the music and its genesis:
“Over the years musical ideas or materials occur to a composer as he works along from day to day. Most often these ideas are fragmentary motives, distinctive rhythms, or merely relationships between notes. In themselves the import of these ideas is negligible, but they are important for the composer, for they are the raw material out of which a composition grows.
“Just such an experience happened to me, beginning in 1958, with the materials used in my Fantasy Variations. The opening horn motive was jotted down then in my sketchbook, and other related ideas came to me from time to time. Though I had no idea what kind of piece these ideas might make, they stayed on my mind until Mr. Lipkin commissioned an orchestral piece from me. Then their purpose became clear, and I wrote the work between March and July of 1963.
“The piece consists of an introduction and thirteen variations, followed by the theme. Motivic ideas are stated in the introduction and fused for development in the succeeding variations. Then specific elements from this material are unified to form the theme, which, I feel, provides a noble and fitting conclusion to the work. The interplay of these musical materials is what led me to call the piece Fantasy Variations.”
Gregorian Chant furnishes the basic thematic substance for Norman Dello Joio's New York Profiles. The opening movement—The Cloisters, evocative of the transplanted medieval monastery overlooking the Hudson River from the heights of Fort Tryon— makes use of the Mass Orbis factor melody employed for the Kyrie and Ite missa est. Bits of the chant combined with recollections of children's play songs are built into the sprightly caprice entitled The Park. The chorale-fantasy is a hymnic meditation on The Tomb—whose identity we discover by way of the moving quotation from The Battle Hymn of the Republic that closes the movement. Festal Dance—Little Italy makes for a brilliant finale, evocative of the San Gennaro festival on lower Manhattan's Mulberry Street. Here the Gregorian melody is used with great skill both as the basis for accompaniment figuration and as basic, thematic material,
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Full liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Berezowsky, Kay & Dello Joio: Orchestral Works
| MP3/320 | $7.99 | |
| FLAC | $7.99 | |
| WAV | $7.99 | |
| CD-R | $7.99 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Christmas Festival Overture, Op. 30 No. 2
Nicolai Berezowsky
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Fantasy Variations
Ulysses Kay
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Buy
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New York Profiles: I. Prelude - The Cloisters
Norman Dello Joio
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Buy
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New York Profiles: II. Caprice - The Park
Norman Dello Joio
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Buy
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New York Profiles: III. Chorale Fantasy - The Tomb
Norman Dello Joio
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Buy
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New York Profiles: IV. Festal Dance - Little Italy
Norman Dello Joio
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Buy
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