African Heritage Symphonic Series, Vol. 2 [Import]

Ulysses Kay (Artist), George Walker (Artist), Roque Cordero (Conductor), Adolphus Hailstork (Orchestra), Hale Smith (Artist), Paul Freeman (Artist), Chicago Sinfonietta (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Adolphus Hailstork
• Conductor: Roque Cordero
• Audio CD (January 29, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Cedille
• ASIN: B00005YD68
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #844,861 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Theater Set, orchestral suite: Overture

2. Lyric for strings

3. Miniatures (8) for Small Orchestra: I. Marcha Grotesca

4. Miniatures (8) for Small Orchestra: II. Meditación

5. Miniatures (8) for Small Orchestra: III. Pasillo

6. Miniatures (8) for Small Orchestra: IV. Danzonete

7. Miniatures (8) for Small Orchestra: V. Nocturno

8. Miniatures (8) for Small Orchestra: VI. Mejorana

9. Miniatures (8) for Small Orchestra: VII. Plegaria

10. Miniatures (8) for Small Orchestra: VIII. Allegro Final

11. An American Port of Call

12. Ritual and Incantations, for orchestra

13. Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed: In memoriam: Martin Luther King, Jr., for orchestra

Editorial Reviews

ClassicsToday.com

Paul Freeman and the Chicago Sinfonietta's idiomatic and highly polished performances bring each work vividly to life.

Product Description

Not since the LP era of the 1970s has there been anything like Cedille Records' African Heritage Symphonic Series.

Volume II features compositions by exceptional Black composers from the 1940s to the 1980s, performed by the Chicago Sinfonietta led by its founder and music director, Dr. Paul Freeman,"one of the finest conductors our nation has produced." (Fanfare)

Ulysses Kay's ebullient Overture to Theater Set (1968) exudes a broad and good-natured energy. George Walker's intensely romantic Lyric for Strings (1941) is one of the great gems of the string orchestra repertoire. With his acclaimed Eight Miniatures for Small Orchestra (1948), Panama's Roque Cordero succeeded in synthesizing the avant-garde techniques he learned in the U.S. with the Latin and Afro-Caribbean music of his homeland. Accented with archetypal African drumming patterns, Hale Smith's Ritual and Incantations (1974), radiates an aura of mystery and suspense. Adolphus Hailstork's An American Port of Call (1985) takes the listener on a lush, fanciful, and jazzy excursion. Ten years in the making, Hailstork's Epitaph for a Man who Dreamed (1979) pays tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King with passages of exquisite tenderness and noble power.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Twentieth Century Composers get their due, June 7, 2011

By 

AfroAmericanHeritage (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: African Heritage Symphonic Series, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

Devoted to twentieth-century composers of African descent. Ulysses Kay's (1917-1995) orchestral suite"Theater Set" incorporates march-like rhythms and starts things off with a bang. "Lyric for Strings" by George Walker (b. 1922) is a tender work, a fitting memorial to his grandmother. With "Eight Miniatures for Small Orchestra" Roque Cordero (b. 1917) synthesizes the 12-tone technique with the folk music of his native Panama. Hale Smith's (b. 1925) symphonic poem "Ritual and Incantations" uses idealized African drumming to create a stunning piece full of mystery and sinister undercurrents. Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941) contributes two pieces: the exhuberant, jazz influenced "An American Port of Call " and the moving, transcendent "Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed," a memorial for Martin Luther King Jr. The program notes, written in an engaging style by Dominique-Rene de Lerma, provide a thorough introduction to the work of all five composers.