Notes and Editorial Reviews
LONG ISLAND SONGS
•
Monica Harte (sop); Tom Cipullo
1
, Noby Ishida
2
, Anne Dinsmore Phillips
3
, Christian McCleer
4
, (pn)
•
MSR MS 1310 (48:00)
1
CIPULLO
Long Island Songs.
2
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class="COMPOSER12">BRUNNER
3 Japanese Songs.
3
PHILLIPS
See the Lilies of the Field. In Remembrance of Me. Why Faith Abides. No Bird Soars Too High.
4
McCLEER
3 Light Pieces. Longing, Eternal Bliss
Long Island Songs
is a collection of vocal music by Tom Cipullo, George Brunner, Anne Dinsmore Phillips, and Christian McCleer. The title is taken from Cipullo’s cycle of the same title. Texts are from poet and essayist Willian Heyen’s 1979 book,
Long Island Light: Poems and a Memoir.
Having composed and performed the songs in 1992, Cipullo revised them extensively in 2005. Thus the version that Monica Harte sings is quite fresh. Her invocations of the rural eastern end of the island bring back fond memories for people who have spent summers enjoying the area’s unique nature. Many summer vacationers have wondered about the stories of the creatures that live there or used to do so.
George Brunner celebrates the smaller aspects of nature in his short but meaningful
Three Japanese Songs.
He has set texts by two different poets: Ono No Komachi wrote “Flowers” and Izumi Shikibu wrote “Crickets and No Color,” the only song that praises human love instead of the natural world.
Anne Dinsmore Phillips has written both poetry and music for
See the Lilies of the Field, In Remembrance of Me
, and
No Bird Soars Too High.
The text for
Why Faith Abides
is by Phoebe Newman and only the music is by Phillips. Phillips also accompanies Monica Harte in her enthralling renditions of these songs with spiritual implications.
Those thoughtful songs are followed by the pure fun that McCleer’s
Three Light Pieces
generate. Two of them deal with light or heat. The third speaks of the best in high-fat cuisine and is urged on by a chorus of made-up words. The final group is McCleer’s
Longing, Eternal Bliss
which also has a syllable-driven vocalise preceding two more serious songs.
Vocalist Monica Harte sings with exemplary diction and a secure dramatic line. Unfortunately, when she sings
fortissimo
, her performance is marred by an excess of vibrato. The pianists are all excellent. I am particularly fascinated with Phillips’s playing. Her accompaniment to
No Bird Soars Too High
bears a slight relationship to the Habanera in Bizet’s
Carmen,
which speaks of love as a rebellious bird.
The record has clear and present sound that hides nothing in giving us the full content of the recital. The material is excellent and the singer communicates effectively. Hers is not the most beautiful of sounds, but she gets her messages across to the listener.
FANFARE: Maria Nockin
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Works on This Recording
1.
Long Island Songs by Tom Cipullo
Performer:
Monica Harte (Soprano),
Tom Cipullo (Piano)
Notes: Long Island Songs:
1. Invocation
2. The Odor Of Pear
3. The Nesconset Crickets
4. The Crane At Gibb s Pond
2.
Long Island Songs by Tom Cipullo
Performer:
Monica Harte (Soprano),
Tom Cipullo (Piano)
Notes: Long Island Songs:
1. Invocation
2. The Odor Of Pear
3. The Nesconset Crickets
4. The Crane At Gibb s Pond
3.
Three Japanese Songs by George Brunner
Performer:
Monica Harte (Soprano),
George Brunner (Piano)
Notes: Three Japanese Songs:
1. Flowers
2. Crickets
3. No Color
8.
Light Pieces (3) by Christian McLeer
Performer:
Christian McLeer (Piano),
Monica Harte (Soprano)
9.
Longing Eternal Bliss by Christian McLeer
Performer:
Monica Harte (Soprano)
Notes: Longing Eternal Bliss:
1. Wordless
2. Lvieaeohn
3. Would...
4. Comes And Goes
10.
Long Island Songs by Tom Cipullo
Performer:
Monica Harte (Soprano),
Tom Cipullo (Piano)
Notes: Long Island Songs:
1. Invocation
2. The Odor Of Pear
3. The Nesconset Crickets
4. The Crane At Gibb s Pond
11.
Long Island Songs by Tom Cipullo
Performer:
Monica Harte (Soprano),
Tom Cipullo (Piano)
Notes: Long Island Songs:
1. Invocation
2. The Odor Of Pear
3. The Nesconset Crickets
4. The Crane At Gibb s Pond
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