WGBH Radio WGBH Radio theclassicalstation.org

Danielpour: Darkness in the Ancient Valley / Guerrero, Nashville Symphony


Release Date: 09/24/2013 
Label:  Naxos   Catalog #: 8559707   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  Richard Danielpour
Performer:  Hila Plitmann,  Angela Brown
Conductor:  Giancarlo Guerrero
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Number of Discs: 1 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 1 Hours 10 Mins. 

In Stock: Usually ships in 24 hours.  

Notes and Editorial Reviews

Musicians ranging from Leonard Bernstein to the Emerson String Quartet have championed award-winning composer Richard Danielpour. Lacrimae Beati owes its origin to Mozart’s Requiem and was conceived after a perilous flight in 2002. Darkness in the Ancient Valley, a symphony in five movements inspired by recent events in Iran, utilizes a wide range of Persian folk-melodies and Sufi rhythms. A Woman’s Life, a cycle of poems by Maya Angelou, charts a moving trajectory from childhood to old age.

-----

REVIEW:

The program closes with A Woman’s Life (2007), based on a cycle of poems on that topic by Maya Angelou, who read the cycle, apparently unforgettably, to Danielpour and his wife in 2006. These songs Read more are pitch perfect and memorably touching. I was enthralled from the start—a childhood poem of devastating innocence cloaked with an aura usually reserved for the likes of Barber—and if you love his music and American song repertoire in general you must hear this cycle. The finale is unspeakably beautiful. Ms Brown sings with loving understanding. The Nashville players sound great, as is usual these days.

–American Record Guide Read less

Works on This Recording

1.
Darkness in the Ancient Valley by Richard Danielpour
Performer:  Hila Plitmann (Soprano)
Conductor:  Giancarlo Guerrero
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Period: Contemporary 
Written: 2011 
2.
Lacrimae Beati by Richard Danielpour
Conductor:  Giancarlo Guerrero
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Written: 2009 
3.
A Woman's Life by Richard Danielpour
Performer:  Angela Brown (Soprano)
Conductor:  Giancarlo Guerrero
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Written: 2007 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 2 Customer Reviews )
 A Return to Roots December 10, 2013 By Ralph Graves (Hood, VA) See All My Reviews "Darkness in the Ancient Valley is Richard Danielpour's attempt to return to his Persian heritage. The basis for this five-movement symphony is a 16th century Iranian poem. To my ears, the opening movement sounds like film music trying to evoke a Middle Eastern setting. But as the work progresses, pastiche gives way to passion, and the music develops its own blended and original voice. The final movement for orchestra and soprano (Hila Plitmann, for whom the part was written) brings the work home with an emotional and transcendent finale. A Woman's Life, a setting of eight poems by Maya Angelou, has a distinctively American feel to it. But it's not Copland Americana. While the harmonies may sound similar, the rhythm of the words and the melodic seem to recall African-American gospel traditions. The work was composed for soprano Angela Brown, and her performance here infuses the words with understated drama and urgency. A beautiful orchestral song cycle that deserves a place in the repertoire." Report Abuse
 Danielpour: Darkness In The Ancient Valley / Guer December 4, 2013 By Due Fuss See All My Reviews "While I gave him another chance with this disc, I must conclude that Danielpour's music is not necessarily to my liking, though of course this is not through any fault of his or of the quality playing and singing on this disc. He is clearly an adept composer, with a strong voice and skills, but since my tastes fall more on the side of continental dissonant abstraction, his musical language just isn't to my liking. That said, I can easily recommend this recording to his fans as it is well recorded and performed with solid singing and playing all around." Report Abuse
Review This Title
Review This Title Share on Facebook