Notes and Editorial Reviews
From Daniel Felsenfeld's liner notes:
Burleigh's output is fairly extensive, though little of it is has been recorded on disc. He is the author of countless moment pieces (small works, much like preludes), a large portion of which are for violin and piano. He wrote many musical settings, for voice and piano, on the poetry of Tennyson, as well as three violin concertos, three symphonies, a number of string quartets and several tone poems for orchestra, these last bearing austere titles such as Leaders of Men and From the Muses. Until 1940 he composed mostly small pieces, the bulk of which were scored for piano and violin.
Compositions by Burleigh remain largely unknown today, with a few exceptions. It is
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very telling that one available recording, which contains a few of his pieces, is entitled "Sherry Kloss plays Forgotten Gems." Forgotten, indeed. Perhaps the present release, as part of Naxos’ continuing effort to bring American music to the fore, will further the cause of this genteel and thoughtful musician.
The pieces here included are short, compact miniatures, single-focused and elegantly composed. They owe much to Edward MacDowell, one of the first major American composers. MacDowell wrote small "character" pieces, the most famous of which is To a Wild Rose. The origin of these pieces can be traced further back, to Schumann, Chopin, Liszt and Brahms, all of whom wrote their own versions of these "moments musicaux," usually for solo piano. Yet it is not just as a composer of moment pieces that Burleigh basks in the spirit of MacDowell, it is also in the subject matter. Both men were fascinated with Indians, both wrote music that has a quintessentially "American" sound, both were academics in music schools and both took a European training back to their own land.
These are little gems, the longest of which lasts a little over three minutes, to be absorbed pell-mell, each evocative of a single idea. In Winding Stream we hear a dark, brooding melody over the flowing piano, while the faux-Indianist From a Wigwam or Indian Snake Dance, the lusty Bolero or colourful Tints, are charming little frozen moments scored for violin and piano. This is sincere, careful and often quite beautiful music.
Daniel Felsenfeld
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Works on This Recording
1.
Concert Studies (4) for Violin and Piano, Op. 19: no 4, Impromptu by Cecil Burleigh
Performer:
Zina Schiff (Violin),
Cherina Carmel (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: by 1921; USA
Date of Recording: 03/1998
Venue: Warren Studio, Univ. of CA, San Diego
Length: 3 Minutes 17 Secs.
2.
Nature's Voices, Op. 44 by Cecil Burleigh
Performer:
Zina Schiff (Violin),
Mary Barranger (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: by 1922; USA
Date of Recording: 03/1998
Venue: Warren Studio, Univ. of CA, San Diego
Length: 6 Minutes 0 Secs.
3.
Indian Sketches (5) for Violin and Piano, Op. 40 by Cecil Burleigh
Performer:
Mary Barranger (Piano),
Zina Schiff (Violin)
Period: 20th Century
Written: by 1913; USA
Date of Recording: 03/1998
Venue: Warren Studio, Univ. of CA, San Diego
Length: 8 Minutes 25 Secs.
4.
Plantation Sketches for Violin and Piano, Op. 36 by Cecil Burleigh
Performer:
Mary Barranger (Piano),
Zina Schiff (Violin)
Period: 20th Century
Written: by 1916; USA
Date of Recording: 03/1998
Venue: Warren Studio, Univ. of CA, San Diego
Length: 7 Minutes 45 Secs.
5.
Characteristic Pieces (5) for Violin and Piano, Op. 24 by Cecil Burleigh
Performer:
Mary Barranger (Piano),
Zina Schiff (Violin)
Period: 20th Century
Written: by 1911; USA
Date of Recording: 03/1998
Venue: Warren Studio, Univ. of CA, San Diego
Length: 14 Minutes 29 Secs.
6.
Fancies (6) for Violin and Piano, Op. 31 by Cecil Burleigh
Performer:
Zina Schiff (Violin),
Mary Barranger (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: by 1917; USA
Date of Recording: 03/1998
Venue: Warren Studio, Univ. of CA, San Diego
Length: 9 Minutes 57 Secs.
7.
Concert Pieces (4) for Violin and Piano, Op. 38 by Cecil Burleigh
Performer:
Mary Barranger (Piano),
Zina Schiff (Violin)
Period: 20th Century
Written: by 1920; USA
Date of Recording: 03/1998
Venue: Warren Studio, Univ. of CA, San Diego
Length: 6 Minutes 32 Secs.
8.
Boyhood Recollections, Op. 28 by Cecil Burleigh
Performer:
Zina Schiff (Violin),
Mary Barranger (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: by 1925; USA
Date of Recording: 03/1998
Venue: Warren Studio, Univ. of CA, San Diego
Length: 7 Minutes 19 Secs.
9.
Spanish Dance by Cecil Burleigh
Performer:
Zina Schiff (Violin),
Mary Barranger (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: by 1909; USA
Date of Recording: 03/1998
Venue: Warren Studio, Univ. of CA, San Diego
Length: 2 Minutes 12 Secs.
10.
Cradle Song for Violin and Piano by Cecil Burleigh
Performer:
Cherina Carmel (Piano),
Zina Schiff (Violin)
Period: 20th Century
Written: USA
Date of Recording: 03/1998
Venue: Warren Studio, Univ. of CA, San Diego
Length: 2 Minutes 50 Secs.
Sound Samples
Nature's Voices: Winding Stream
Nature's Voices: Giant Hills
Nature's Voices: O'er the Meadow
5 Indian Sketches: Legend
5 Indian Sketches: Over Laughing Waters
5 Indian Sketches: To the Warriors
5 Indian Sketches: From a Wigwam
5 Indian Sketches: Sun Dance
Plantation Sketches: In Cotton Fields
Plantation Sketches: Pickaninnies
Plantation Sketches: A Log Cabin
Plantation Sketches: Uncle Rastus
Plantation Sketches: Mammy's Lullaby
Plantation Sketches: Minstrel
Characteristic Pieces: Idyle
Characteristic Pieces: The Lament of a Rose
Characteristic Pieces: Indian Snake Dance
Characteristic Pieces: Spanish Serenade
Characteristic Pieces: Lullaby
Characteristic Pieces: Bolero
4 Concert Pieces: By the Wayside
4 Concert Pieces: Fairies Dancing
Boyhood Recollections: Hushed Woods
Boyhood Recollections: Pirating
Boyhood Recollections: Sweet Romance
Boyhood Recollections: In Haunted Shadows
Boyhood Recollections: Jim
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