Laitman / Armstrong / Pelto - Scarlet Letter - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Two CDs. Lori Laitman is one of America's leading vocal composers. These 49 songs were composed between 1997 and 2017 to texts by Elizabeth Bishop, Paul Celan, Dana Gioia, David Mason, Sylvia Plath, and Joyce Sutphen, on topics that range from the profound emotional impact of the Holocaust, to humorous truths of everyday life, and the comedy and tenderness of childhood. The recording also includes two instrumental pieces for saxophone and piano. This stunning program of world premiere recordings is performed by an all-star cast that includes the composer herself.

This includes the world première recording of the full orchestral score written by Armas Järnefelt (1869-1958) for Mauritz Stiller's silent film Song of the Crimson Flower (1919) performed by Gävle Symphony Orchestra under Jaakko Kuusisto. Armas Järnefelt - today largely known in music literature only as Sibelius' brother-in-law - became one of the most remarkable Finnish orchestral composers during the 1890s. The composer wrote several symphonic poems and orchestral suites in his young age which were highly successful and widely performed by various orchestras in his home country. However, for reasons unknown, Järnefelt decided to devote himself to conducting. In the years to follow, Järnefelt moved to Sweden and become a highly-esteemed conductor. Some of Järnefelt's miniatures became hits for salon orchestras in Europe, such as his Berceuse, but this recording makes more justice to a largely forgotten Nordic composer. In 1919, Finnish-born film director Mauritz Stiller approached Armas Järnefelt and commissioned him to write an orchestral score for his silent film 'Song of the Scarlet Flower' (Sången om den eldröda blomman), based on a novel by Finnish author Johannes Linnankoski. Järnefelt made great efforts for the project and as a result, wrote a large 100-minute orchestral score. The work can be considered as his final orchestral masterpiece and a pioneer work in film music. The film was a huge hit and went on to be screened in more than 40 countries in addition to Sweden. It was also the first ever Nordic feature-length film to have a full-length original score written for it. Järnefelt's score was lost for a long time, although he did conduct a recording of extracts from the score in 1931. In the 1980s the original score was rediscovered among the possessions of Järnefelt's relatives. Järnefelt's score was augmented and restored by Jani Kyllönen and Jaakko

The Scarlet Letter is one of the great classics of American literature. One of the first, and most popular stories from 19th-century American literature, the book has been the subject of numerous film, television, and stage adaptations and is commonly found on school and university syllabi across the world. Set in the harsh Puritan environment of 17th-century Boston, it describes the plight of Hester Prynne, an independent-minded woman who stands alone against society. Having given birth to a child after an illicit affair, she refuses to name the father and is forced to wear the letter 'A' for Adulteress, embroidered on her dress. Adam Sims, experienced in radio, television and theatre performances, captures the elegance of Hawthorne's rich and lyrical language.