Lamoureux Orchestra; Robert Cornman, conductor; Gísli Magnússon, piano; Iceland Symphony Orchestra; William Strickland, conductor
The three scores presented on this disc display three facets of Samuel Barlow’s colorful and highly accessible musical language. Of the Overture to Mon Ami Pierrot, Mr. Barlow says, “In 1934, Sacha Guitry asked me for music to a libretto concerning Lully (who probably wrote the celebrated tune to Au Clair de la lune sometime in the late seventeenth century). Guitry asked that ‘no note should offend Lully’, which eliminated all modern harmony of course - somewhat like commissioning a new canto for The Canterbury Tales. The problem was to write a ‘classical piece’ with freshness and verve. The result was the first (and only) opera by an American given at the Opéra-comique.”
“Between 1940 and 1950,” says Barlow of his Ballo Sardo, “I worked on a ballet based on a Sardinian legend. The story is frankly romantic, and so is the music. Cortège is the finale: a grotesque funeral march for Baron Orso, villain of the piece, who had been changed into a fly (you must believe this). The crowd gets out of hand, is recalled to order by the Bishop (oboe solo), and all ends happily.”
The Circus Overture (1960), Mr. Barlow describes as “a festival overture, where if you must, you can picture sad clowns, the lovely tight-rope lady, the parade, perhaps the elephants. But the three or four musical themes are tightly woven into the general texture. If the Overture to Mon Ami Pierrot may be called classical and Cortège romantic, Circus is as modern as this composer is likely to go.”
Apropos his own inclination to write readily communicative music while being involved in the promotion of much contemporary composition of a far different stripe, Avery Claflin observes:
“It can be said that a nation’s arts are a reflection of its society. But an outsider, listening to a program of our contemporary music, could easily jump to the conclusion that we were a brooding, critical, tragic, rebellious race with a high I.Q. Despite our fair share of ulcers and neuroses, those adjectives do not really characterize us aptly or fairly. We are also friendly, cheerful, fun loving - if sometimes superficial in many areas.
“These are aspects that came to mind in the course of composing this Concerto. Thus the music is readily accessible, requiring neither elaborate program notes nor intense intellectual concentration.
“And why shouldn’t our serious music be merry once in awhile? Precedents for it in other lands are legion.”
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.
Samuel Barlow & Avery Claflin: 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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Mon Ami Pierrot: Overture
Samuel L. M. Barlow
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Cortège from Ballo Sardo
Samuel L. M. Barlow
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Circus Overture
Samuel L. M. Barlow
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Concerto for Piano and Orchestra: I. Allegro con brio
Avery Claflin
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Concerto for Piano and Orchestra: II. Andantino
Avery Claflin
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Concerto for Piano and Orchestra: III. Largo - allegro
Avery Claflin
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