Various Artists - Prisma 4 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Various Artists - Sunrays Deon Nielsen Price / Various [COMPACT DISCS] date 10/24/2006

Opus 2 & 4 Chamber Sonatas is the third in The Avison Ensemble's celebration of Corelli's chamber music and the fifth album in their critically acclaimed series of recordings with Linn. Released to mark the 300th anniversary of the death of the composer, the ensemble's greatly anticipated series explores the six opera of the eminent Italian's chamber music the concerti grossi, violin sonatas, chamber sonatas and church sonatas. Popular since their publication, Corelli's two sets of chamber sonatas are a pinnacle of Baroque Italian instrumental music. They demonstrate a superior level of craftsmanship; they are of the highest quality, exquisitely refined and a good example of perfection in music. Corelli's contribution to the history of violin performance was immense all six of his published collections of instrumental music demonstrate his exceptional skill as a violinist and composer, but it was in his chamber sonatas that he first used what was to be known as the 'Corelli clash'.

Navona Records' exhilarating PRISMA VOL. 3-the latest in the PRISMA series-unveils the diverse faces of contemporary orchestral music. Featuring the works of seven composers, PRISMA VOL. 3 follows up the success of the first two PRISMA installments with symphonic music that is both innovative and deeply alluring. The album opens with Ascension for Solo Clarinet and String Orchestra by Ahmed Alabaca, which pairs tender yet excitable clarinet lines with the cinematic grandeur of a string orchestra. Next comes Dark Glass Sinfonia by Sarah Wallin Huff, in which crumpled dissonances flower into exuberant tonality, capitalizing on the full dynamic range of the orchestra. The Defiant Poet by Noam Faingold follows, which lovingly commemorates the outspoken Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Then, Raisa Orshansky's Spring Fantasy explores themes of birth and renewal in nature, as inspired by another Russian poet- Alexander Blok. Next, Songs of the Seasons by Craig Morris utilizes chromaticism to evoke colorful images from nature, with all it's hope and uncertainty. The second-to-last piece on the album is Restoration by Scott Brickman, which he describes as a Inchsymphony in one movementInch; the music, with it's flirting allusions to Eastern European folk songs, celebrates Brickman's Latvian and Polish heritage. Lastly, in Prelude & Fugue for Orchestra, Audun G. Vassdal takes liberties with classical forms to create music that is at once playful and intensely evocative. The symphony orchestra is a powerful instrument; writing orchestral music presents significant obstacles and tantalizing opportunities for even the most skilled composer. In PRISMA VOL. 3, seven masters of this challenging artform rethink what a symphony orchestra is capable of, and in so doing, present their audience with a unique and gratifying musical experience.