Marked by extraordinary research and enhanced by hundreds of musical illustrations, this monumental study follows the development of Verdi's oeuvre from his earliest opera Oberto to his final work, Falstaff. In writing the first edition of this classic work--which appeared to great acclaim in 1973--Julian Budden mined the vast resources of European archives to provide a groundbreaking interpretation of Verdi's work, and along the way discovered much new material, including an unpublished additional aria for I Due Foscari. Now available in a revised edition, The Operas of Verdi is now brought up to date in light of the most recent scholarship, making it more useful and entertaining than ever. Volume 1 traces the organic growth and development of the composer's style from 1839 to 1851--from Oberto to Rigoletto--and examines each opera in detail, offering a full account of its dramatic and historical origins as well as a brief critical evaluation....
Prom 9: Hallé Orchestra/ Elder, Royal Albert Hall
Homecomings, real and imagined, marked out this season’s Hall Prom. For Sibelius, brazen horn fanfares and myriad string ostinati carried us at the gallop to the heart of the Finnish heartlands/
Everything in his rarely performed Scnes historiques – Suite No.2 is seen, or rather heard, with absolute clarity. We are a long way from the soul searching and harmonic equivocations of the 7th Symphony which Mark Elder so shrewdly programmed alongside it.
Elder’s reading of the earlier work was subtly shaded in colours which tended towards the pastel but still shone brightly. Violas rather than violins introduced the second movement “Love Song” (a kind of Finnish troubadour song with harp suggestive of an accompanying lute) while the shadow falling across the final movement (“At the Drawbridge”) came like an ominous portent of his 7th and last Symphony.
Drango (1957)/Bernstein « Film Music: The Neglected Art
, The picture attracted little attention but the soundtrack was another matter. As we’ve discovered over the years there hasn’t been a style that Elmer couldn’t write for and not produce something of high quality. It is nice to see Kritzerland releasing a series of his 50’s material.
“Prelude” begins with snare drum and timpani followed by brass offering a military motif and then the orchestra grabs you with the main title theme you’ll hear on several tracks. While not the big powerful melody of The Magnificent Seven (what is?) it is an attention grabber that you’ll recognize. “The Hanging” offers a similar snare drum and timpani with mourning cello offering a sad dirge like theme. “The Search” begins with a return to the main title with full orchestra. The 4+ minute track also offers a pretty Irish melody played in a dance style. “Katy” offers a melancholy theme on first the flute, oboe, harp and then the cello. “The Gathering Storm” is a track filled with yearning tension which makes reference to the prelude as well as quieter moments from the oboe, flute, and string quartet. “The Plotters Fail” is a flute driven track offering the prelude again before there is a dissonant brass moment of glory with the track shifting back and forth. “The Children’s Gift” offers a wonderful playful exchange between a flute, bassoon and oboe ably backed with harp. “Ransom House Waltzes” is a series of three melodies two of which are pleasant waltzes with small orchestra and the last being with full string section. “Drango and Katy” is a yearning love melody mixed in with a military theme that provides a good track very Bernstein in sound. “Drango’s Chance” starts with beginning tension with tremolo strings and leads the listener into all sorts of styles and orchestration. I like how he uses the brass, timpani, and harp. “Love and Justice” begins with a snare drum in sync with the horns. A dissonant brass section leads the listener to a yearning section classical in nature from the strings before the prelude theme is the concluding statement....
Prom 9: Hallé Orchestra, Elder, Royal Albert Hall | Edward Seckerson
– Suite No.2 is seen, or rather heard, with absolute clarity. We are a long way from the soul searching and harmonic equivocations of the 7th Symphony which Mark Elder so shrewdly programmed alongside it.
Elder’s reading of the earlier work was subtly shaded in colours which tended towards the pastel but still shone brightly. Violas rather than violins introduced the second movement “Love Song” (a kind of Finnish troubadour song with harp suggestive of an accompanying lute) while the shadow falling across the final movement (“At the Drawbridge”) came like an ominous portent of his 7th and last Symphony.
Elder’s reading of that was softer grained, less assertively elemental, less craggy, than we have come to expect but suffused with a mysterious light lending it a translucent beauty. It was the half-shades we remembered, the way the harmonies kept shifting against each other like tectonic plates. The final nudge into C major was balanced to perfection and glimmered only momentarily before Elder (taking Sibelius at his word) abruptly cut it short.
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