Barber: Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Nocturne, Sure On This Shining Night, Adagio for Strings / Copland: Eight Poems of Emily Dickinson; Quiet City

Samuel Barber (Composer), Aaron Copland (Composer), Michael Tilson Thomas (Conductor), London Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Barbara Hendricks (Performer), Christine Pendrill (Performer), Maurice Murphy (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Barbara Hendricks, Christine Pendrill, Maurice Murphy
• Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas
• Composer: Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland
• Audio CD (June 13, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B000002RUU
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,452 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Quiet City for tpt, E hn and strs - Maurice Murphy/Christine Pendrill

2. Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: I. Nature, the gentlest mother ('To David Diamond')

3. Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: II. There came a wind like a bugle ('To Elliott Cater')

4. Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: III. The world feels dusty ('To Alexei Haieff')

5. Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: IV. Heart, we will forget him ('To Marcelle De Manziarly')

6. Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: V. Dear March, come in! ('To Juan Orrego Salas')

7. Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: VI. Sleep is supposed to be ('To Irving Fine')

8. Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: VII. Going to Heaven ('To Lukas Foss')

9. Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: VIII. The Chariot ('To Arthur Berger')

10. Adagio For Strs, Op.11 - London SO/Thomas

11. From Four Songs, Op.13: I. Nocturne

12. From Four Songs, Op.13: III. Sure on this shining night

13. Knoxville: Summer Of 1915 ('In Memory Of My Father')

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sleeper, September 25, 2003

By 

Frank C. Adams (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Barber: Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Nocturne, Sure On This Shining Night, Adagio for Strings / Copland: Eight Poems of Emily Dickinson; Quiet City (Audio CD)

This CD offers a creative approach in programming: a major orchestral and vocal work by each of two American major composers - Copland and Barber. While they were contemporaries whose music was deemed accessible, they were vastly different: Copland virtually invented an American sound, while Barber's was firmly rooted in European tradition. So this is an album of contrast and diversity. What is consistent is the excellence of the interpretaion and performance. While the orchestral works are very satisfying (but who can compete with Schippers 'Adagio'?), the real distinction is in the vocal contributions of Barbara Hendricks. The Dickenson poems are full of vitality as they should be. The Barber 'Nocturne'is particularly haunting. But the masterpiece is the 'Knoxville'; Leontyne Price is considered to 'own' this piece, and there are other hightly regarded performances, but this one gives them real competition. Much depends on voice preferences, but I don't think you can go wrong with this CD and I recommend it highly.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Works of Two American Giants, January 15, 2006

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Barber: Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Nocturne, Sure On This Shining Night, Adagio for Strings / Copland: Eight Poems of Emily Dickinson; Quiet City (Audio CD)

This very fine recording is one that has strangely disappeared from the available list of CDs and for those fortunate to find it will wonder, as I do, why it is no longer in ready circulation. The recital honors the parallel lives of Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990) and Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981) and with the selections included demonstrates that despite their stylistic differences, each of these composers cared deeply about communication.

And the communication could be in few finer hands than those of Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the London Symphony Orchestra and of Barbara Hendricks, whose voice in the song cycles was at its prime in 1995 when the recording was made. The recital opens with Copland's 'Quiet City' in as moody and atmospheric performance as any on record. Tilson Thomas does not rush this work but allows it to breathe. The first chair solo work by Trumpet Maurice Murphy and English Horn Christine Pendrill are particularly fine. Following a period of grateful silence thanks to the engineers, the next 'set' is Copland's setting of 'Eight Poems by Emily Dickinson'. Hendricks' voice is rich and pliant and the moods of the poems come across well. She often sacrifices enunciation for open vowel production, but it matters little: the poems are lovely.

Samuel Barber's often performed and used 'Adagio for Strings' follows in an oddly restrained reading by Tilson Thomas. The angst is still present but the spectacular power of the final ascending climax doesn't tear at the heart. But in many ways this straightforward reading makes the familiar piece more clearly a classic than an emotional button. Hendricks then collaborates with two of Barber's 'Four Songs', and her 'Sure on this shining night' is so focused and delicate that she surpasses most of her fellow colleague's versions. Likewise the final masterful 'Knoxville: Summer of 1915' is lyrical and finds all aspects of Agee's poetic story equally important. Tilson Thomas' support is some of the finest on this record.

Recommendation: look for this recording and buy when you find it. It is a treasure trove that desperately deserves re-mastering. Grady Harp, January 06