Feldman: Coptic Light

Morton Feldman (Composer), Michael Tilson Thomas (Conductor), New World Symphony (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: New World Symphony
• Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas
• Composer: Morton Feldman
• Audio CD (July 20, 1999)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca / Argo
• ASIN: B00000JNPF
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #289,004 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply beautiful, and an exquisite refinement of sound, July 26, 1999

By 

Rachel Abbinanti ([e-mail]) (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Feldman: Coptic Light (Audio CD)

I doubt if Feldman heard much of his orchestral music during his lifetime, although he was a fine consummate craftsman,honing each chord, each sonority as if sculpted,drawn to the nuance,the emotive feel of a linear brushstroke. In fact it is ultimately all that is in the line, the line is like a signature, and can identify you for life. And Feldman thought of his music as a seemless flow, sound where its emanation cannot be detected;Simply there in space. "Piano and Orchestra" is not a concerto, that is furthest from the conceptual beauty of this piece, at least we should think so given Feldman's lifelong penchant for searching for new relations, new dimensions,new cross breeding of sonorities within the orchestral canvas. The piano here is like you've never heard it before,simple bell-like mildly dissonant,and preserving itself when it embarks onto its extreme register:when it has an entrance it is as a finely purified moment,surrounded by the precision of bare, thin,exposed and balanced orchestral sonorities. Feldman begins to give himself away around the center of the piece, with snarling expressionistic brass,and muted trumpets,around a menacing half step from Stravinsky's "Rite". But the piano always reaffirms the ongoing argument here, as well as the lower isolated tones in the harp. The odd tremoli or rolls from the barely perceptible bass drum was a stroke of genius. You may recall Webern's "Six Pieces"."Cello and Orchestra" is the same conceptual drawing from all registers of the versatile accomplice of the violoncello. And "Coptic Light" gleans itself from Feldman's lifelong study of textiles and rugs from the Middle East. He saw the colours as portraying the place where the rugs emanated from, as capturing with utmost fidelity their origin. Tilson Thomas has a committed bunch here in tackling Feldman's tireless beautiful music. His music is not much fun to play,counting numerous rests, and entering as if you are not even there,dovetailing always, a balancing act of orchestral discipline. I don't ever see this music entering standard repertoire,despite its profound musical scope. Thanks again.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars extremely quiet, September 4, 2000

By 

catherine guelph "catrina_g" (milano, italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Feldman: Coptic Light (Audio CD)

The music of Morton Feldman (1926-1987) can be frustrating to those who expect movement in time. I have found that this frame of mind opens the way to anxiety and tension. On the other hand, by listening to the sound as it is presented at the moment in time without expectation or anticipation, the music tends to release a transcendent quality. PIANO & ORCHESTRA and CELLO & ORCHESTRA are examples of this characteristic of Mr Feldman's music. Sounds are introduced which have a weak relationship to past and future. With the sound itself as its own goal, it surpasses knowledge and experience. I find this extremely unique and fascinating. COPTIC LIGHT accepts this approach, applying it to a more complex arrangement.

The word Copt is derived from the Greek word Aigyptos, which was, in turn, derived from "Hikaptah", one of the names for Memphis, the first capital of Ancient Egypt. The modern use of the term "Coptic" describes Egyptian Christians, as well as the last stage of the ancient Egyptian language script. Also, it describes the distinctive art and architecture that developed as an early expression of the new faith.

The Coptic Church is based on the teachings of Saint Mark who brought Christianity to Egypt during the reign of the Roman emperor Nero in the first century, a dozen of years after the Lord's ascension. He was one of the four evangelists and the one who wrote the oldest canonical gospel. Christianity spread throughout Egypt within half a century of Saint Mark's arrival in Alexandria as is clear from the New Testament writings found in Bahnasa, in Middle Egypt, which date around the year 200 A.D., and a fragment of the Gospel of Saint John, written using the Coptic language, which was found in Upper Egypt and can be dated to the first half of the second century.(www.coptic.net/EncyclopediaCoptica/)

Regardless of your interest in spiritual matters, I find that thinking about these types of eternal questions fits well with the endless nature of this piece. If you are interested in American Composers of the late 20th Century, or in music which is contemplative, this CD will be interesting to you.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction to Feldman, December 7, 1999

By 

"s_molman" (CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Feldman: Coptic Light (Audio CD)

This is a great introduction CD to Feldman's art. The performances are superb, slightly edging out the cpo recordings and in better sound. Give it a chance and you will discover one of the finest composers of the late 20th century.