Between 1975 and 1981, Elliot Carter produced his remarkable vocal trilogy: A Mirror on Which to Dwell, Syringa, and In Sleep, in Thunder. Bridge's CD marks the first integral recording of the three works, and also includes the premiere recording of Carter's 1980 orchestration, Three Poems of Robert Frost. These recordings were made under the composer's supervision, and feature Speculum Musicae, with whom Carter worked closely for over twenty years.
Reviews:
“Here at last, is a disc which brings a good number of Elliott Carter’s vocal works together in one program. Recorded sound quality is outstanding, with clarity of detail always present.” - The NATS Journal
“The performances, done under the composer’s watchful eye, are persuasive and technically solid.” - The San Francisco Chronicle
“Difficult poetry set to exceptional music that dramatizes modern love and madness in vivid and musical performances.” - The New York Times
“If the United States government took music seriously, it would be sending this Speculum concert the length and breadth of the country, and would long since have insured that Speculum performances of Elliott Carter’s A Mirror on Which to Dwell, In Sleep, in Thunder, and much else had been widely heard.” - New Yorker (Andrew Porter)
Elliott Carter
A Mirror on Which to Dwell for Soprano and Ensemble (1975)
In Sleep, in Thunder for Tenor and Ensemble (1981)
Syringa for Mezzo-Soprano, Bass-Baritone, Guitar and Ensemble (1978)
Three Poems of Robert Frost for Baritone and Ensemble (1942, orchestrated 1980)
Speculum Musicae
Patrick Mason, baritone
Jon Garrison, tenor
Jan Opalach, bass-baritone
Katherine Ciesinski, mezzo-soprano
Christine Schadeberg, soprano
BRIDGE 9014
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