Liner Notes
Cat. No. NWCRL361
Release Date: 2011-01-15
David Starobin, guitar and mandolin; Gordon Gottlieb, percussion; Alexandria lvanoff, soprano; Patrick Mason, baritone; Robert Phillips, piano; Franco Renzulli, piano; Brooklyn College Percussion Ensemble, Barbara Kolb, conductor; John Sampen, saxophone; Wichita State Faculty Chamber Ensemble; Walter Mays, conductor; St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Dennis Russell Davies, conductor
Barbara Kolb's Looking For Claudio is scored for solo guitar and prerecorded tape. The tape part does not contain electronic sounds but the sounds of mandolin, six guitars, vibraphone, chimes and three human voices. It is dedicated to David Starobin. As the title suggests, the emotional tone is a searching one, unfolding itself for the most part along subdued meditative lines, which exude a rather romantic Italian flavor. After a more extended and probing solo guitar passage, the live guitar, vibes and then the second guitar build a gradual crescendo, leading to the entrance of three humming voices instructed to sound “as if preoccupied with thought; walking aimlessly; unaware of external things.” The piece concludes with a distant chiming identical to that heard in the opening passage.
Spring River Flowers Moon Night combines two pianos in realtime with a pre-recorded tape containing mandolin, guitar, chimes, vibraphone, marimba and certain percussive instruments invented by Carl OM. It was commissioned by the New York State Council on the Arts for Robert Phillips and Franco Renzulli, and is dedicated to the late Leo Bronstein. The work is inspired by a poem written by Chang, Jo-Hsü in the first half of the eighth century
Walter Mays' Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Chamber Ensemble is a three movement work, each movement focusing on a different character trait of the saxophone: I — strength, breadth of line; II — lyricism, expressivity; Ill — aggressiveness — bravura. The first movement contrasts solo and ensemble in the traditional manner and makes use of standard performance techniques for the saxophone. The second movement makes prominent melodic use of quarter-tones in an introspective vein. Towards the close of this movement a special saxophone mute is employed. An invention of the composer, the mute consists of a sheepskin bag totally enclosing the saxophone. The third movement begins with driving, brutal aggressiveness which is sustained throughout, incorporating slap-tonguing and flutter-tonguing. It includes a solo cadenza which contrasts the introspective quality of the second movement with the driving elements of the third movement, culminating in a barbarous progression of multiphonics...
Phillip Rhodes writes:
“The Divertimento was commissioned by the Kentucky Chamber Orchestra and was written between January and April, 1971. The material from which the entire composition is drawn (actually, a three-note theme) is laid out in the first twenty or so measures of the March. Though re-worked in 1971, the musical ideas which form the basis of the March date back to 1960 and originally appeared as a march for woodwind quintet...
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. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Barbara Kolb's Looking For Claudio is scored for solo guitar and prerecorded tape. The tape part does not contain electronic sounds but the sounds of mandolin, six guitars, vibraphone, chimes and three human voices. It is dedicated to David Starobin. As the title suggests, the emotional tone is a searching one, unfolding itself for the most part along subdued meditative lines, which exude a rather romantic Italian flavor. After a more extended and probing solo guitar passage, the live guitar, vibes and then the second guitar build a gradual crescendo, leading to the entrance of three humming voices instructed to sound “as if preoccupied with thought; walking aimlessly; unaware of external things.” The piece concludes with a distant chiming identical to that heard in the opening passage.
Spring River Flowers Moon Night combines two pianos in realtime with a pre-recorded tape containing mandolin, guitar, chimes, vibraphone, marimba and certain percussive instruments invented by Carl OM. It was commissioned by the New York State Council on the Arts for Robert Phillips and Franco Renzulli, and is dedicated to the late Leo Bronstein. The work is inspired by a poem written by Chang, Jo-Hsü in the first half of the eighth century
Walter Mays' Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Chamber Ensemble is a three movement work, each movement focusing on a different character trait of the saxophone: I — strength, breadth of line; II — lyricism, expressivity; Ill — aggressiveness — bravura. The first movement contrasts solo and ensemble in the traditional manner and makes use of standard performance techniques for the saxophone. The second movement makes prominent melodic use of quarter-tones in an introspective vein. Towards the close of this movement a special saxophone mute is employed. An invention of the composer, the mute consists of a sheepskin bag totally enclosing the saxophone. The third movement begins with driving, brutal aggressiveness which is sustained throughout, incorporating slap-tonguing and flutter-tonguing. It includes a solo cadenza which contrasts the introspective quality of the second movement with the driving elements of the third movement, culminating in a barbarous progression of multiphonics...
Phillip Rhodes writes:
“The Divertimento was commissioned by the Kentucky Chamber Orchestra and was written between January and April, 1971. The material from which the entire composition is drawn (actually, a three-note theme) is laid out in the first twenty or so measures of the March. Though re-worked in 1971, the musical ideas which form the basis of the March date back to 1960 and originally appeared as a march for woodwind quintet...
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. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Kolb / Mays / Rhodes
| MP3/320 | $13.00 | |
| FLAC | $13.00 | |
| WAV | $13.00 | |
| CD-R | $13.00 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Looking for Claudio
Barbara Kolb
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Spring River Flowers Moon Night
Barbara Kolb
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Buy
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Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Chamber Ensemble: I. -
Walter Mays
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Buy
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Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Chamber Ensemble: II. -
Walter Mays
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Buy
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Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Chamber Ensemble: III. -
Walter Mays
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Buy
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Divertimento for Small Orchestra: I. March
Phillip Rhodes
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Buy
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Divertimento for Small Orchestra: II. Solemn Air
Phillip Rhodes
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Buy
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Divertimento for Small Orchestra: III. ...and Afterthoughts
Phillip Rhodes
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Buy
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