Cheap Song Books: The Music of David Maslanka and Daron Hagen (Music) (John Koch, Daron Hagen, David Maslanka, Stephen K. Steele, Illinois State University Wind Symphony Chamber Winds, Kimberly McCoul Risinger) Price
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| ARTIST: | John Koch, Daron Hagen, David Maslanka, Stephen K. Steele, Illinois State University Wind Symphony Chamber Winds, Kimberly McCoul Risinger |
| CATEGORY: | Music |
| MANUFACTURER: | Albany Records |
| TYPE: | Chamber Music & Recitals, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Concerto, Song Collection for Solo Voice and Piano, Vocal |
| MEDIA: | Audio CD |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| UPC: | 034061060024 |
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Customer Reviews of Song Books: The Music of David Maslanka and Daron Hagen
Hagen's Humble eloquence Baritone John Koch makes a strong case for Daron Hagen's elegant settings of a variety of poets, as well as two of the composer's own translations of Verlaine and Baudelaire. What is particularly striking about Hagen's piece is that it conceals its craftsmanship so well: never does the voice have to fight to be heard over the large assemblage of winds, brass, and percussion. And the seeming casual effortlessness of his text setting is already well-known to singers. The best thing about both the Maslanka and the Hagen is the true songfulness of the melodies. Hagen, especially, writes some of the loveliest art songs in print -- and there are so many of them!
The Maslanka Will Beguile You
This CD is performed by musicians--students and faculty alike--from Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois. Listening to releases featuring university musicians can be a chancy business, but recently I've heard a number of CDs that convince me that instrumental playing in American universities is in a golden age. And that certainly seems to be the case here.
I am fond of the music of David Maslanka (b. 1943), having heard mostly wind music written by him. Indeed, I think his music has become quite popular among brass and wind players. The main attraction here, the instrumental collection called 'Song Book' (2001), is for solo flute and wind band. The flutist, ISU professor Kimberly McCoul Risinger, is superb. Her playing is gorgeous-toned, subtle and moving as is that of the Illinois State University Wind Symphony Chamber Winds. The 50-minute suite consists of five similarly orchestrated pieces that weave reminiscences of three of Maslanka's favorite Bach chorales throughout. The overall tone is gentle, personal, meditative, private. And although there are some reminiscences at times of the chugging arpeggiated style of Philip Glass, on the whole the main features here are expert orchestration, ravishing melodies, and formal coherence. When the last piece ends with a spare reorchestration of Bach's 'O Gott, du frommer Gott,' the listener experiences a sudden exhilarating sense that this was where it was all heading. I wouldn't be surprised if this collection becomes very popular among flutists and wind band conductors. It must be rewarding to play and it is extraordinarily beautiful to hear.
The second of the 'Song Books,' (as this CD is titled), is 'The Heart of the Stranger,' a 16-minute collection of ten very brief 'real', i.e. vocal, songs for baritone and orchestral winds by Daron Hagen set to texts by such disparate poets as Andrei Codrescu, Baudelaire, Verlaine, William Blake, Keats, Whitman, Housman, Theodore Roethke, Kim Roberts and Gwen Hagen. The accompanimental group of instruments varies from song to song. Baritone John Koch does a good job of projecting the words and has a striking voice. This said, this group of songs did not particularly move me. The settings are expert but the melodies are undistinguished.
I have noticed recently that the proofreading in Albany Records's booklets often leave something to be desired. Most glaring here is the misspelling, in a large-type heading, no less, of Daron Hagen's name. There was also a glaring mis-capitalization of the title of one of the Bach chorales. Heads up, Albany!
I strongly recommend this release for the lovely music contained in Maslanka's 'Song Book' and for the expert musicianship of all concerned, under Director of ISU Bands, Stephen K. Steele.
TT=67:03
Scott Morrison