Canciones de Lorca, Prometheus

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Bolcom / Barbera / Pacific Symphony / St. Clair 
Release Date: 11/13/2015 
Label:  Naxos   Catalog #: 8559788   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  William Bolcom 
Performer:  René Barbera,  Jeffrey Biegel 
Conductor:  Carl St. Clair 
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Pacific Symphony Orchestra,  Pacific Chorale 
Number of Discs: 1 
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Written for tenor Plácido Domingo, Canciones de Lorca explores the full variety of that Spanish poet’s surrealistic humour, passion and mystery, as well as invoking the Andalusian flamenco and popular song-lyric atmosphere the composer feels is latent in each poem. Bolcom interprets the legend of Prometheus as a metaphor for our turbulent times, starkly examining how we are chained to a rock of technological dependency but dedicating his work to hope and a peace derived from greater universal understanding. 

Works on This Recording 

1. 
Canciones de Lorca by William Bolcom 
Performer:  René Barbera (Tenor) 
Conductor:  Carl St. Clair 
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Pacific Symphony Orchestra 
Written: 2006 

2. 
Prometheus by William Bolcom 
Performer:  Jeffrey Biegel (Piano) 
Conductor:  Carl St. Clair 
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Pacific Symphony Orchestra,  Pacific Chorale 
Written: 2009
 

CD Review: Canciones de Lorca, Prometheus 

On www.voix-des-arts.com, critic Joseph Newsome names new Bolcom CD the Best New Music Recording of 2015. 

Excerpt: "Canciones de Lorca and Prometheus, both recorded by NAXOS in performance in Costa Mesa, California ... [are paired] on a most welcome release in the label’s American Classics series. Created under very different circumstances, these works share an ethos anchored by the assertion that, in many aspects of humanity, the impulse to create is far stronger than the will to destroy. Bolcom’s gift for writing for voices, whether individual voices in Lieder or groups of voices in works for the stage, is a vital component of the composer’s own voice, and NAXOS’s recording of poignant, persuasive performances of Canciones de Lorca andPrometheus is a gift to listeners who appreciate Bolcom’s musical ingenuity and the lessons it offers in the art of binding of wounds and healing of scars with song." 

Read the complete review: http://www.voix-des-arts.com/2015/12/best-new-music-recording-of-2015.html