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 |  |  | | | | Track Listings | | | 1 Sinfonia Borealis (Olmstead-1995) | 11:23 | | 2 Terra Incognita (Lomon-1993) | 10:23 | | 3 Double Helix (Kowalski-1980) | 12:11 | | 4 Pentacle (Womack-1995) | 15:41 | | 5 Elegy (Caldwell-1993) | 7:15 | | Four Preludes for Orchestra (Strandberg-1961) | | | 6 I. Fast with spirit | 1:49 | | 7 II. Slow, with grace and simplicity | 2:49 | | 8 III. Broad, majestic | 1:23 | | 9 IV. Fast and energetic | 2:26 | | Total time: | 66:00 |
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| | | | | | MMC New Century: Volume XI | | | Our Price: $9.95  | | | | Item Number: MMC2069 | | Audio Format: DDD | | Genre: Orchestral | | | | Description | | Excerpts from the Liner Notes (by Alexander Carpenter)
Sinfonia Borealis
Composed in 1995 for the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Borealis is a work inspired by the grandeur of the Aurora Borealis, the natural phenomenon otherwise known as the “Northern Lights.” As the composer notes, the work, though not directly programmatic, is strongly influenced by “the grand scale image” of the Northern Lights, and is presented much like a nineteenth-century tone poem, as typified by its highly chromatic, though fundamentally tonal harmony, its use of color, and its grand gestures.
Terra Incognita
Terra Incognita for orchestra dates from 1993. Characterized by forceful and abrupt gestures, the work is extremely rhythmic and employs most of the orchestra equivocally. Though often seeming fragmented, the piece is connected by a tacit sense of menace that persists even through the adagio sections. A work of considerable density, Terra Incognita weaves polyphonic strands in and out of unison passages, constructing a rich tapestry of sound that features quarter tones and registral extremes. Lomon also uses sudden silence to punctuate her gestures and to preface textural shifts.
Double Helix
Double Helix was composed in Boston in 1980, premiered in 1982 by the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, and extensively revised in 1992. The title of the work, as Kowalski indicates, alludes to concerns of a personal nature and also puns on compositional structures used in the work; however, Kowalski insists that Double Helix’s subtitle, “Dissolutions II,” supplies more meaningful insight into the work, which deals with “the dissolving of one musical personality into another and the subsequent emergence of ever-new personalities.”
Pentacle
The title of Womack’s orchestral work is, as he indicates, descriptive but not programmatic. The idea of “fiveness” is at the center of this piece, which explores the mystical, symbolic nature of the number five and “the magical origins of the pentacle.” Composed in 1995, the piece is divided into five large sections, each of which is in turn divided into five smaller subsections. The fundamental thematic material of the piece is built around a semitone and a minor third, supported by harmony constructed from a tonally ambiguous scale and a chromatic descending five-note group. The work is also structured by a five-note recurring rhythmic motive, and both individual notes and note groups frequently appear in clusters of five.
Elegy
James Caldwell’s Elegy for orchestra was composed in 1993 in memory of his brother, Don Caldwell. It was conceived as a companion to a tape piece entitled "and gives to airy nothing," which explores some of the same musical ideas as Elegy but otherwise bears no resemblance to its orchestral counterpart. Caldwell notes that Elegy consists of a small, “concentrated” amount of relatively simple musical material that is transformed, layered, and “stretched” throughout the work. This stretching and layering is typical of Caldwell’s style, which hints at the influence of Impressionism.
Four Preludes for Orchestra
Newton Strandberg has insisted that his compositional style is highly personal and not really affected by trends, though he admits to the influence of Stravinsky, Bartók, Messiaen, and Copland. Strandberg’s Four Preludes for Orchestra, composed in 1961, certainly bears traces of these influences, but also reflects the composers eclecticism. These four short preludes are contrasting in character, but are unified through similar rhythmic motives‹a dotted figure in particular‹and a prevailing simplicity and balance. |
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