D. Stoll Reflections on Vedic Scriptures
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: David Stoll
Label: Meridian
Magazine Review Date: 10/1994
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 68
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CDE84245
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Piano Quartet |
David Stoll, Composer
David Stoll, Composer Noel Skinner, Piano Pro Arte Trio |
Sonata for Piano |
David Stoll, Composer
David Stoll, Composer David Ward, Piano |
Sonata for Two Pianos |
David Stoll, Composer
David Stoll, Composer David Ward, Piano Noel Skinner, Piano |
Trio for Strings |
David Stoll, Composer
David Stoll, Composer Pro Arte Trio |
Composer or Director: David Stoll
Label: Meridian
Magazine Review Date: 10/1994
Media Format: Cassette
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: KE77245
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Piano Quartet |
David Stoll, Composer
David Stoll, Composer Noel Skinner, Piano Pro Arte Trio |
Sonata for Piano |
David Stoll, Composer
David Stoll, Composer David Ward, Piano |
Sonata for Two Pianos |
David Stoll, Composer
David Stoll, Composer David Ward, Piano Noel Skinner, Piano |
Trio for Strings |
David Stoll, Composer
David Stoll, Composer Pro Arte Trio |
Author: Michael Stewart
First I should mention that every composition on this disc relates to (I am reluctant to use the phrase 'is inspired by') ancient Vedic tradition and Sanskrit texts. We are told, for instance, that the three movements of the Piano Quartet in A refer to three invocations from the Upanishads, and that the sub-text of the Piano Sonata is a story taken from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. We are also informed that the trio from the second movement of the Piano Quartet uses traditional chant. So why on earth does all the music presented here sound like a refugee from eighteenth- or nineteenth-century Germany? You could be forgiven, for instance, for thinking that the third movement of the Piano Sonata is a variation on Ride a Cockhorse to Banbury Cross in the style of Beethoven's Les adieux Sonata, but on reading the booklet-notes we discover that the music actually reflects Yajnavalkya's description of the Purusha and the cycle of rebirth.
Further to that, I can best describe the music contained on this disc as being like a magical mystery tour where even the driver doesn't know where he is going. If you are looking for spiritual, Vedic enlightenment your time will be better spent strolling down Oxford Street in the hope of meeting the Krishna followers—at least their music and chanting stem from real Vedic traditions. If this is new music give me Fitkin and Glass any day!'
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