Various - Chamber Music - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

A selection of the best chamber music composed by Andrea Centazzo and performed by Brake Drum Percussion, Gerbi Clarinet Quartet, Bolzon Duo, Posnam Strings and others. Album Tracks 1. Double String Quartet 2. Not Alone, for Percussion Trio 3. Movement 1 4. Movement 2 5. Movement 3 6. First String Quartet 7. Movement 1 8. Movement 2 9. Movement 3 10. Second String Quartet 11. Allarmi! 12. Tagelied

Painters sometimes talk about the intensity of the light they encounter in Australia. Peter DART, born in Sydney in 1953, brings something of that brightness to his compositions, which are further animated by buoyant rhythms and a lively sense of humor, even mischief. They are, at the same time, anchored in a secure command of counterpoint, and given a timeless quality by his fondness for modal harmony. Most important of all, the technical mastery that gives these works their surefooted appeal is suffused with straightforward human warmth. Album Tracks 1. Triptych for two pianos~I. Sirens 2. Triptych for two pianos~II. Circles 3. Triptych for two pianos~III. Poseidon (Passacaglia) 4. Four Short Songs for mezzo-soprano and piano~No. 1. This is just to say 5. Four Short Songs for mezzo-soprano and piano~No. 2. Poem (As the cat) 6. Four Short Songs for mezzo-soprano and piano~No. 3. The Locust Tree in Flower 7. Four Short Songs for mezzo-soprano and piano~No. 4. To 8. Traceries for cello and piano~I. Prelude (Cantilena and Arabesque) 9. Traceries for cello and piano~II. Fugue 10. Traceries for cello and piano~III. Tarantella 11. Traceries for cello and piano~IV. Samba 12. Traceries for cello and piano~V. Lullaby 13. BirdTalk for two marimbas and pre-recorded sounds 14. Of heaven and earth for mezzo-soprano, flute, percussion and piano~I. Here's a little mouse 15. Of heaven and earth for mezzo-soprano, flute, percussion and piano~II. From spiraling ecstatically 16. Of heaven and earth for mezzo-soprano, flute, percussion and piano~III. I am a Little Church (Aeterna Christi munera) 17. Of heaven and earth for mezzo-soprano, flute, percussion and piano~IV. Nobody loses all the time (Uncle Sol)

New from Navona Records and Craig Morris comes CHAMBER MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES, a stirring album of original chamber works. MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES is the work of a master craftsman with an ear for poignant lyricism. The album features four pieces, each of which exhaustively explores the colors and timbres available to the chamber ensembles. Critics have called Morris's music Inchextremely intelligent, complex and powerful,Inch and CHAMBER MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES is further evidence of that. It opens with Romance, for Violin and Piano, which finds the violin and piano in one of the most deeply-intimate musical settings imaginable. The delicate interplay between these two instruments suggests both the tenderness and the passion of a budding courtship as it develops from one moment to the next. This is followed by Colors, a piece for string quartet that delves into the rich timbral contrasts that define this centuries-old musical form. The second portion of CHAMBER MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES's program consists of a pair of piano quartets. Johnny and Tony, in particular, is a masterful homage to the chamber music of Brahms and Dvorak, and further reveals Morris's skill for counterpoint and melody. Moods, the second piano quartet and concluding piece on the album, offers an upbeat and lighthearted finale to the collection. CHAMBER MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES is the result of Morris's lifetime of study and practice of the art of composition. His work reveals his profound love and commitment to 19th-century Romantic music; and yet, this background serves merely as a launchpad for his own compositions. Far from derivative, Morris uses his deep understanding of the idiom to create novel and captivating works-works that lovers of tonal chamber music are sure to find at once familiar and refreshing.