Goehr Orchestral and Vocal Works
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: (Peter) Alexander Goehr
Label: Unicorn-Kanchana
Magazine Review Date: 11/1991
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 72
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: DKPCD9102
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| ... a musical offering (J.S.B. 1985) ... |
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer London Sinfonietta Oliver Knussen, Conductor |
| Lyric Pieces |
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer London Sinfonietta Oliver Knussen, Conductor |
| Sinfonia |
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer London Sinfonietta Oliver Knussen, Conductor |
| Behold the Sun |
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer James Holland, Vibraphone Jeanine Thames, Soprano London Sinfonietta Oliver Knussen, Conductor |
Composer or Director: (Peter) Alexander Goehr
Label: Unicorn-Kanchana
Magazine Review Date: 11/1991
Media Format: Cassette
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: DKPC9102
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| ... a musical offering (J.S.B. 1985) ... |
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer London Sinfonietta Oliver Knussen, Conductor |
| Lyric Pieces |
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer London Sinfonietta Oliver Knussen, Conductor |
| Sinfonia |
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer London Sinfonietta Oliver Knussen, Conductor |
| Behold the Sun |
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer
(Peter) Alexander Goehr, Composer James Holland, Vibraphone Jeanine Thames, Soprano London Sinfonietta Oliver Knussen, Conductor |
Author: Michael Stewart
In July I had the pleasure of welcoming back to the catalogue Unicorn-Kanchana's recordings of Goehr's Metamorphosis/Dance and Romanza for cello and orchestra, which I praised for their approachability, colour and inventiveness and their value in filling the void in the catalogue where Goehr's name should rightfully be. This new disc is to be welcomed also; though I'm not sure that it falls into the approachability bracket in quite the same way as the first disc. The works presented here emphasize more strongly the paradox of Goehr's music—heavily eclectic on the one hand, and yet also imbued with a highly individual voice. Here the eclecticism seems to be centred around the expressionism of Schoenberg and Webern (stressing the academic side of Goehr's nature) as opposed to the more romantic and lyrical strains of Romanza and Metamorphosis.
... a musical offering (J. S. B. 1985)... was, as the title suggests, a response to a commission for Bach's tercentenary year by the Edinburgh International Festival. The material, however, stems not from Bach but from the medieval plainsong Alleluia, which is filtered through various formal conventions associated with Bach's output—a Prelude, Ancient Dance Steps (loure, gavotte, gigue, minuet, etc.) and a Ricercar. The effect is not unlike the mediaeval parody pieces of Maxwell Davies (though far less tongue-in-cheek). Repeated hearings help lessen the work's rather formidable first impression.
No amount of repeated hearings, however, brought me any closer to an appreciation of Behold the Sun—a concert aria for soprano, chamber orchestra with vibraphone obbligato. It's not a particularly difficult piece to comprehend, even on first hearing, though personally I find its busy (wild and angular) vocal writing hard to digest. It later became part of an opera (with the same title) set during the Anabaptist uprising in Munster in 1534, and is sung by a crazed boy inspired by the dazzling reflection of sunlight on a weathercock and a vision of the Day of Judgement. The performance by Jeanine Thames is an equally dazzling display of virtuosity.
With the Lyric Pieces, Op. 35 (the earliest of the works presented on this disc) we find Goehr at his most academic. These fascinating pieces provide a perfect example of the conflict that often exists between Goehr's chosen genre and the academic attitudes that lie behind the tradition. The composer himself admits to the ''slightly ironic'' use of the word lyric, in a set of pieces in which lyricism in itself rarely emerges; though in the brief passages where it does the effect is all the more startling.
After the terse, brittle sound-world of the Lyric Pieces the almost sensuous chords that open the Sinfonia (1980) come as something of a shock; though sensuality quickly gives way to a compelling and vigourously argued Allegro. The remaining movements are a paragon of concision and economy (the ''Centrum'' movement is particularly striking) and the work as a whole is highly communicative. This is Goehr at his finest. Performances and recording are very fine.'
No amount of repeated hearings, however, brought me any closer to an appreciation of Behold the Sun—a concert aria for soprano, chamber orchestra with vibraphone obbligato. It's not a particularly difficult piece to comprehend, even on first hearing, though personally I find its busy (wild and angular) vocal writing hard to digest. It later became part of an opera (with the same title) set during the Anabaptist uprising in Munster in 1534, and is sung by a crazed boy inspired by the dazzling reflection of sunlight on a weathercock and a vision of the Day of Judgement. The performance by Jeanine Thames is an equally dazzling display of virtuosity.
With the Lyric Pieces, Op. 35 (the earliest of the works presented on this disc) we find Goehr at his most academic. These fascinating pieces provide a perfect example of the conflict that often exists between Goehr's chosen genre and the academic attitudes that lie behind the tradition. The composer himself admits to the ''slightly ironic'' use of the word lyric, in a set of pieces in which lyricism in itself rarely emerges; though in the brief passages where it does the effect is all the more startling.
After the terse, brittle sound-world of the Lyric Pieces the almost sensuous chords that open the Sinfonia (1980) come as something of a shock; though sensuality quickly gives way to a compelling and vigourously argued Allegro. The remaining movements are a paragon of concision and economy (the ''Centrum'' movement is particularly striking) and the work as a whole is highly communicative. This is Goehr at his finest. Performances and recording are very fine.'
Goehr Orchestral and Vocal Works
Goehr Orchestral and Vocal Works
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