Post by Fugue May 4, 2014 (1 of 5)
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OK, I really don't get Chandos. Here's a composer whom I doubt many people have heard of on SACD, while plenty of well-known composers are relegated to RBCD. Puzzling, to say the least.
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Post by Lute May 5, 2014 (2 of 5)
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Fugue said:
OK, I really don't get Chandos. Here's a composer whom I doubt many people have heard of on SACD, while plenty of well-known composers are relegated to RBCD. Puzzling, to say the least.
Chandos's choices for SACD releases seem to be all over the place, don't they!? But, at least it's not another Beethoven, Bruckner or Mahler symphony cycle. As much as I love their symphonies, I feel other works need to be better represented on SACD.
I believe this is the premiere recording of the work. Here is the official line:
"Jorge Grundman uses his unique compositional voice to create music which, above all, communicates with remarkable directness. The simplicity and strength of his artistic vision, intended to reach the widest audience possible, is clear in A Mortuis Resurgere, a work here receiving its premiere recording. Scored for soprano and string quartet, A Mortuis Resurgere sets passages from chapters XIX and XX of St John’s Gospel telling the story of the resurrection of Christ.
Throughout its extended single movement the soprano soloist is required to use a wide range of expressive vocal techniques to communicate the meaning of the Latin text. Supporting the soprano voice is the string quartet, its slowly changing harmonies animated by a surface of rapid rhythmic figurations, all of which combine to produce shifting textures. The contemplative modal-based harmonies are typical of Grundman’s style and form a part of his artistic vision to bridge the gap between pop and classical music.
Joining the Brodsky Quartet is the Spanish soprano Susana Cordón, for whom the challenging vocal part was written. Renowned for its diverse and pioneering collaborations, the Brodsky Quartet has been vital in the development of Grundman’s style, having worked closely with the composer on a number of his earlier works."
I found this video of Susana Cordón performing it with the Habemus Quartet.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0eKO4yvo4cE ...gorgeous music IMO.
Click on the tab next to the number of views (not the comments' tab) to read a few words written by the composer.
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Post by Castor May 7, 2014 (3 of 5)
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Fugue said:
OK, I really don't get Chandos. Here's a composer whom I doubt many people have heard of on SACD, while plenty of well-known composers are relegated to RBCD. Puzzling, to say the least.
Take a look at
God's Sketches - Brodsky Quartet
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This is a wonderful work from a visionary composer, IMO. But Chandos has done Grundmann no favors with the MCH engineering, which sounds to my ears rather harsh and (almost) overmodulated with the soprano soloist -- and she sings throughout the work. Her frequent excursions into her upper range, singing forte or louder, are painful to hear. A shame, as I feel this to be a major work from a composer deserving of a wide hearing.
By all means check out a number of his other works on Non-Profit Music, most of which are superbly engineered MCH SACD.
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Fugue said:
OK, I really don't get Chandos. Here's a composer whom I doubt many people have heard of on SACD, while plenty of well-known composers are relegated to RBCD. Puzzling, to say the least.
If you haven't heard (of) him, then this release is needed. I have heard his music on a number of Non-Profit SACDs and he deserves the attention.
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