Valarie Lamoree, soprano; Jack D. Litten, tenor
The Group for Contemporary Music: Jeanne Benjamin, violin; Sophie Sollberger, flute; Fred Sherry, cello; Donald MacCourt, bassoon, Charles Wuorinen, harpsichord & piano; Raymond DesRoches, percussion; Harvey Sollberger, flute, conductor); Maria Tegzes, soprano
Composers' Ensemble at Princeton: Jayn Rosenfeld, flute & piccolo; Maria Butler, oboe; Alien Blustine, clarinet & bass clarinet; Chris Gekker, trumpet; John Arrucci, percussion; Elizabeth DiFelice, celesta & piano; Joyce Flammen-Feibel, Theophanis Dymiotis, violins; Louise Schulman, viola; André Emelianoff, cello; Michael Pratt, Conductor
My second opera, Mr. & Mrs. Discobbolos, a chamber opera after Edward Lear (1965), was started while I was on a Guggenheim grant in 1964–1965 and was finished just in time for the first rehearsal in 1966. It was first performed by the Group for Contemporary Music on March 21, 1966, in Macmillan Theater at Columbia University. The score bears the dedication "to my wife and children."
The manuscript of the Divertimento on Discobbolic Fragments quotes these lines from Mr. & Mrs. Discobbolos:
My starting point on the composition of the Divertimento was in the various bits and pieces of music that I had left over after the completion of the opera, and many of the compositional procedures I used were ones I had explored in the pro- cess of composing the opera but had put aside as the single- minded qualities of the opera began to take shape in my mind. (The original title had been Divertimento on Discobbolic Remains, which—despite its accuracy—seemed a little too gruesome in view of what happened to the whole of the clan Discobbolos.) The piece is in six movements and was dedicated to my friends and, at the time, colleagues at Columbia University, Harvey Sollberger and Charles Wuorinen, who first performed it in 1967.
Ariel Music (1987) consists of five excerpts from my third opera, The Tempest (1990), recast for high soprano and ten instrumentalists. Together they form a portrait of the spirit Ariel as he interacts with various mortals. Ariel Music received its premiere in 1987 with Michael Pratt conducting Karen Smith Emerson and the Composers' Ensemble at Princeton. The present recording was made two years later. The Tempest itself was first performed in July 1994 at the Opera Festival of New Jersey, Michael Pratt conducting. -Peter Westergaard
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.
Music of Peter Westergaard
| MP3/320 | $9.99 | |
| FLAC | $9.99 | |
| WAV | $9.99 | |
| CD-R | $9.99 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Mr. & Mrs. Discobbolos: I. First Pastoral
Peter Westergaard
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Mr. & Mrs. Discobbolos: II. First Recitative
Peter Westergaard
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Mr. & Mrs. Discobbolos: III. First Response
Peter Westergaard
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Mr. & Mrs. Discobbolos: IV. Grand Duet
Peter Westergaard
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Mr. & Mrs. Discobbolos: V. Second Pastoral
Peter Westergaard
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Mr. & Mrs. Discobbolos: VI. Second Recitative
Peter Westergaard
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Mr. & Mrs. Discobbolos: VII. Grand Finale
Peter Westergaard
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Divertimento on Discobbolic Fragments: I. -
Peter Westergaard
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Divertimento on Discobbolic Fragments: II. -
Peter Westergaard
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Divertimento on Discobbolic Fragments: III. -
Peter Westergaard
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Divertimento on Discobbolic Fragments: IV. -
Peter Westergaard
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Divertimento on Discobbolic Fragments: V. -
Peter Westergaard
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Divertimento on Discobbolic Fragments: VI. -
Peter Westergaard
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Ariel Music: I. Ariel to Prospero
Peter Westergaard
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Ariel Music: II. Ariel to Ferdinand
Peter Westergaard
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Ariel Music: III. Ariel to Ferdinand
Peter Westergaard
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Ariel Music: IV. Ariel to Gonzalo
Peter Westergaard
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Ariel Music: V. Ariel to Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian
Peter Westergaard
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