Works By Charles Tomlinson Griffes

Sherrill Milnes (Performer), Charles Tomlinson Griffes (Composer), Seiji Ozawa (Conductor), New World Chamber Ensemble (Performer), Olivia Stapp (Performer), Boston Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Jon Spong (Performer), Diane Richardson (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Sherrill Milnes, New World Chamber Ensemble, Olivia Stapp, Jon Spong, Diane Richardson
• Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Seiji Ozawa
• Composer: Charles Tomlinson Griffes
• Audio CD (December 8, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: New World Records
• ASIN: B0000030CY
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,219 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Griffes recording., April 21, 2004

By 

Gene Bivins "Androphiles" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Works By Charles Tomlinson Griffes (Audio CD)

This is arguably the most important recording of Charles Griffes's music yet made, for the breadth of selections it offers, and the commitment of the artists to the project. "The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan," probably his most-recorded work, is splendidly played by the Boston Symphony under their music-director, Seiji Ozawa. The same forces support Phyllis Bryn-Julson in the unjustly neglected "Three Poems of Fiona MacLeod." As another reviewer has noted, this is the jewel of the disc. These are lovely, mysterious songs, in a tonal language somewhere between Debussy and Scriabin, but Bryn-Julson's gift of absolute pitch, her obvious affection for the pieces and her sensitivity to the lyrics, coupled with Ozawa's sympathetic accompaniment, make it unlikely there will ever be a finer recording. For the rest, Sherrill Milnes is captured at something near his prime in four early songs to German texts as well as the swaggering "Song of the Dagger;" Olivia Stapp delivers worthy performances of "Four Impressions," on French texts; and the CD concludes with intimate transcriptions of the piano-original "Three Tone Pictures," beautifully played by the New World Chamber Ensemble. The program notes have an excellent biography of Griffes. For anyone wanting a single-disc introduction to this important American composer, there's simply no better choice.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Griffes: Voluptuous Vocal Music, July 24, 2000

By 

Christopher Ryan (Madison, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Works By Charles Tomlinson Griffes (Audio CD)

This CD is a treasure - - the recording of the *Three Poems of Fiona MacLeod* is a desert-island piece if ever there was one. Phyllis Bryn-Julson sings these songs with the desired mixture of vulnerability and voluptuousness, and Ozawa gets the perfect transparent sound from the orchestra. The other pieces on the CD are not as thrilling (to me), but are good examples of Griffes's impressionist-inspired music.