Meyer Kupferman
Liner Notes   Cat. No. NWCRL476     Release Date: 2011-04-15
Gilbert Kalish, piano; Max Pollikoff, violin; Meyer Kupferman, clarinet

Meyer Kupferman writes:

"When I composed The Celestial City in 1974 for my dear friend, Gilbert Kalish, I conceived of the work as a concerto for piano and orchestra even though the piece has no orchestra. The tape accompaniment is scored for two tracks of prerecorded piano, which provide a background that is as imposing and as colorful as an orchestra and that is more flexible. The combined sound of these tightly coordinated pianos creates a contemporary 'superpiano!' which can dazzle us with its endless displays of astonishing keyboard sonorities and which apparently requires an indefatigable 'six-handed' virtuoso (like Kalish) to operate...

"[The Garden of My Father's House] is a musical ritual, based on a C-sharp drone, or pedal note, that is heard without interruption, across several ranges, throughout the piece. The violin's drone tremolos, often combined with perfect fifths and quarter-tone tunings, imply the key of C- sharp minor. The violin part is always rubato — lyrical, expressive and frequently very passionate. But, most importantly, the violin is always tonal.

"The clarinet, on the other hand, is atonal, its pitches drawn from the twelve-tone row that I used to write my Cycles of Infinities. The style of the clarinet is contemporary, using wide-range intervals, biting accents and unusual instrumental effects, including fluttertonguing and quarter-tone trills...

Written for violin, [Angel Footprints] is a 'treble' piece by nature. While composing it, I discovered that my melodies always seemed to ascend, creating additional emphasis on the music's treble character (I soon realized that it was best not to fight this tendency, so I just let it happen.) A considerable range of coloristic, melodic, harmonic and rhythmic devices were therefore required to compensate for the absence of low notes, but no electronic tape manipulations were necessary...

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.

Various Artists

Meyer Kupferman

MP3/320 $7.99
FLAC $7.99
WAV $7.99
CD-R $7.99
CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print material or jewel case included.
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
   Liner Notes



Track Listing

The Celestial City
Meyer Kupferman
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The Garden of My Father's House
Meyer Kupferman
Buy
Angel Footprints
Meyer Kupferman
Buy