Customer Reviews

Brian Asawa - more than a day ~ music of Ned Rorem

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a collection of wonderful repetoire by Ned Rorem. It consists of 2 song cycles done with chamber orchestra and an orchestral work. Very fresh sounding music with perhaps my favorite countertenor in the world singing. His technique is clean and consistent, his tone is bright and vibrant, and his musicianship is wonderful. Brian certainly has done a wonderful job with this difficult and beautiful music.

I will admit that I did not buy this album because of Brian Asawa. I do have most of his recordings, and am very familiar with his voice, but I was more interested in hearing the ever charming and inventive Ned Rorem in his latest foibles. He does not dissapoint in a crashing melodious melange of 20th century and post romantic textures and timbres. The writing on the several of the pieces is much more coloratura and technical than the Rorem that many people are accustomed to. As a composer, I appreciated the change in scenery without leaving the sonic country that is definately Rorem. The juxtapositioning of the orchestral suite in the middle of a vocal album was a little odd, but the music IS very nice, and does flow with the album order. All in all, and intriguing album. Probably not destined to become a classic for either performer or composer, but worth the price to experience Asawa's technical navigation of weighty and ponderous writing as well as the sheer candor of Rorems writing.

I am a huge fan of Brian Asawa. This is a very early effort and highly specific. It is unfortunately, just awful.

This CD shows how a promising young singer can hurt his career with poor music selection. While it is true that "all music was new once" it is also true that not all new music is good. Once it has been given a fair hearing, a listener can justly conclude that it might not be worth playing or downloading. For a singer, the burden of selection is greater. Not only must the performer decide if the music is good but also if the music is suitable for his or her voice.

Ned Rorem is an eminently forgettable composer with no apparent understanding of the human voice. Brian Asawa makes the best of this poor material but the results are mostly dismal, sometimes dipping to painful. The only reason to get this recording is that there is some traditional folk songs added as filler. These show what a fine singer Asawa is.