Naxos

American Classics - Bernstein: Chichester Psalms, Etc

$19.99 Only 1 left

In stock - typically processed within 24-48 hours

Spend $60 or more and shipping's on us!

Details

Composer
BERNSTEIN
Artist
P, Jeremy, Charrier, Marin, Budd, Alsop
Format
CD
Discs
1
Label
Naxos
Released
Sep 01, 2003
Catalog #
8559177
UPC
636943917725

About

"Marin Alsop follows up her excellent Samuel Barber series for Naxos with works by her one-time mentor, Leonard Bernstein. For the most part, she and the Bournemouth Symphony deliver the goods. The suite Bernstein fashioned from his lone film score, On the Waterfront, contains some of this composer's most vibrant and involving music, where no section of the orchestra goes under-utilized. Everything in the score clearly stands out under Alsop's eagle eyes and ears, with syncopated rhythms and canonic passages securely aligned and the Bournemouth brass at their assertive best (especially in the final Allegro non troppo section)...The Bournemouth strings come into their own in Chichester Psalms, notably in the third-movement prelude. Alsop's brisk tempos serve the first movement's insouciant asymmetry well, and she makes the third movement's lyrical points through strict dynamic gradations and steady tempos (it's so tempting to milk this music to death!). The chorus is expertly prepared, and the small solo parts are handled as well as they can be. Boy soprano Thomas Kelly's centered pitch and clear diction deserves more than honorable mention. My only complaint about Naxos' wide-ranging sonics is that you can barely understand the words at loud moments--but listeners will find texts and translations are provided. Yes, no one conducts Bernstein like Lenny, but Marin Alsop manages to make this music her own. And that's no small feat."

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

-----

Bernstein the composer has a champion in Marin Alsop, who decided to become a conductor after hearing him lead the New York Philharmonic when she was 9. On a Naxos disc, she conducts an uplifting performance of his colorful "Chichester Psalms" with the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Orchestra (of which she was principal conductor from 2002 to 2008). Bernstein described the "Psalms," for which he set Hebrew texts, as the "most B flat majorish tonal piece I’ve ever written." The recording also includes lively renditions of his Three Dance Episodes from "On the Town" (a musical theater piece) and the Symphonic Suite from "On the Waterfront," which uses material (including some that was cut) from his 1954 film score.

--Vivien Schweitzer, New York Times

Tracklist 7 tracks

  1. 1 On the Waterfront - Symphonic Suite from the Film 19:25
    Track
    1
    Title
    On the Waterfront - Symphonic Suite from the Film
    Duration
    19:25
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  2. 2 I. Psalm 108 vs. 2, Psalm 100 03:31
    Track
    2
    Title
    I. Psalm 108 vs. 2, Psalm 100
    Duration
    03:31
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Elizabeth Franklin-Kitchen, Victoria Nayler, Jeremy Budd, Paul Charrier
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  3. 3 II. Psalm 23, Psalm 2 vs. 1-4 05:59
    Track
    3
    Title
    II. Psalm 23, Psalm 2 vs. 1-4
    Duration
    05:59
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Thomas Kelly, Elizabeth Franklin-Kitchen, Victoria Nayler, Jeremy Budd, Paul Charrier
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  4. 4 III. Psalm 131, Psalm 133 vs. 1 08:23
    Track
    4
    Title
    III. Psalm 131, Psalm 133 vs. 1
    Duration
    08:23
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Elizabeth Franklin-Kitchen, Victoria Nayler, Jeremy Budd, Paul Charrier
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  5. 5 I. The Great Lover 01:56
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. The Great Lover
    Duration
    01:56
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  6. 6 II. Lonely Town: Pas de Deux 03:26
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Lonely Town: Pas de Deux
    Duration
    03:26
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  7. 7 III. Times Square: 1944 05:10
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Times Square: 1944
    Duration
    05:10
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop