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Walton: The Complete Façades / Falletta, Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Orchestra
Naxos

Walton: The Complete Façades / Falletta, Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Orchestra

$9.99
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Details

Composer
William Walton
Artist
Hila Plitman, Fred Child, Kevin Deas, Joann Falletta
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Sep 09, 2022
Catalog #
8574378
UPC
747313437870

About

Edith Sitwell’s invitation to William Walton to collaborate on an innovative, revolutionary new work came at a critical moment in the young composer’s career, and Façade proved to be his first great success. The peerless combination of a peculiarly English dry wit, genuine pathos and superlative technical skill remains an extraordinary achievement. Sitwell’s verses conjure a satirical and poignant world of bourgeois late-Victorian England, while Walton’s settings unfailingly enhance and enrich the texts in a work in which words and music are unquestionably of equal importance. This release includes the first recording of Small Talk (1922) and three numbers first performed in 1977 but subsequently rejected by the composer.

REVIEW:

JoAnn Falletta is to be congratulated for bringing us Walton’s revisit of the piece in 1978 when he was 76, featuring eight more poems (the work’s original subtitle, “An Entertainment,” became “A Further Entertainment:). Falletta also includes some additional material, beginning with “Small Talk” from 1922 and three numbers from 1977, “Daphne,” “The White Owl,” and “The Last Galop”—the late ones have never been recorded before.

The special charm of this release is to be found in the acting skills of the narrators, now expanded from two to three. Falletta realized that Sitwell’s poems contain actual characters who could be brought vividly to life, and she has chosen her cast well. Hila Plitman is extremely versatile, sounding at times Russian or German in her delivery (she is actually Israeli). Fred Child is a vocally nimble PBS narrator, and well-regarded bass-baritone Kevin Deas comes across richly with an arch demeanor suggestive of the childlike nature of some of the poems. The result is extremely satisfying. Of course, the performance necessarily emerges sounding less British, less reserved and less formal, but we Americans have our own silly Ogden Nash tradition, and Façade is none the worse for a more extroverted American approach. Jo Ann Falletta and her Virginians play with sass and spark.

-- Fanfare

Tracklist 34 tracks

  1. 1 Fanfare 00:37
    Track
    1
    Title
    Fanfare
    Duration
    00:37
    Composer
    William Walton
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  2. 2 I. Hornpipe 01:15
    Track
    2
    Title
    I. Hornpipe
    Duration
    01:15
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Fred Child
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  3. 3 II. En Famille 02:50
    Track
    3
    Title
    II. En Famille
    Duration
    02:50
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann, Kevin Deas
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  4. 4 III. Mariner Man 00:38
    Track
    4
    Title
    III. Mariner Man
    Duration
    00:38
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann, Kevin Deas
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  5. 5 IV. Long Steel Grass 02:07
    Track
    5
    Title
    IV. Long Steel Grass
    Duration
    02:07
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Fred Child
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  6. 6 V. Through Gilded Trellises 02:07
    Track
    6
    Title
    V. Through Gilded Trellises
    Duration
    02:07
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  7. 7 VI. Tango-Pasodoblé 01:53
    Track
    7
    Title
    VI. Tango-Pasodoblé
    Duration
    01:53
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Fred Child
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  8. 8 VII. Lullaby for Jumbo 01:21
    Track
    8
    Title
    VII. Lullaby for Jumbo
    Duration
    01:21
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Kevin Deas
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  9. 9 VIII. Black Mrs. Behemoth 00:52
    Track
    9
    Title
    VIII. Black Mrs. Behemoth
    Duration
    00:52
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Fred Child
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  10. 10 IX. Tarantella 01:19
    Track
    10
    Title
    IX. Tarantella
    Duration
    01:19
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  11. 11 X. The Man from a Far Countree 01:32
    Track
    11
    Title
    X. The Man from a Far Countree
    Duration
    01:32
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Kevin Deas
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  12. 12 XI. By the Lake 01:38
    Track
    12
    Title
    XI. By the Lake
    Duration
    01:38
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann, Fred Child, Kevin Deas
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  13. 13 XII. Country Dance 01:54
    Track
    13
    Title
    XII. Country Dance
    Duration
    01:54
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  14. 14 XIII. Polka 01:17
    Track
    14
    Title
    XIII. Polka
    Duration
    01:17
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Kevin Deas
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  15. 15 XIV. Four in the Morning 01:59
    Track
    15
    Title
    XIV. Four in the Morning
    Duration
    01:59
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  16. 16 XV. Something Lies Beyond the Scene 00:58
    Track
    16
    Title
    XV. Something Lies Beyond the Scene
    Duration
    00:58
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Fred Child
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  17. 17 XVI. Valse 03:07
    Track
    17
    Title
    XVI. Valse
    Duration
    03:07
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  18. 18 XVII. Jodelling Song 02:11
    Track
    18
    Title
    XVII. Jodelling Song
    Duration
    02:11
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Kevin Deas
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  19. 19 XVIII. Scotch Rhapsody 01:23
    Track
    19
    Title
    XVIII. Scotch Rhapsody
    Duration
    01:23
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Fred Child
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  20. 20 XIX. Popular Song 01:56
    Track
    20
    Title
    XIX. Popular Song
    Duration
    01:56
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  21. 21 XX. Fox-Trot, "Old Sir Faulk" 02:09
    Track
    21
    Title
    XX. Fox-Trot, "Old Sir Faulk"
    Duration
    02:09
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Fred Child
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  22. 22 XXI. Sir Beelzebub 01:00
    Track
    22
    Title
    XXI. Sir Beelzebub
    Duration
    01:00
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann, Fred Child, Kevin Deas
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  23. 23 I. Flourish - Came the Great Popinjay 01:14
    Track
    23
    Title
    I. Flourish - Came the Great Popinjay
    Duration
    01:14
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Kevin Deas
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  24. 24 II. Aubade 03:20
    Track
    24
    Title
    II. Aubade
    Duration
    03:20
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  25. 25 III. March 00:55
    Track
    25
    Title
    III. March
    Duration
    00:55
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Fred Child
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  26. 26 IV. Madame Mouse Trots 00:40
    Track
    26
    Title
    IV. Madame Mouse Trots
    Duration
    00:40
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  27. 27 V. The Octogenarian 01:14
    Track
    27
    Title
    V. The Octogenarian
    Duration
    01:14
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Kevin Deas
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  28. 28 VI. Gardener Janus Catches a Naiad 00:55
    Track
    28
    Title
    VI. Gardener Janus Catches a Naiad
    Duration
    00:55
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Fred Child
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  29. 29 VII. Water Party 01:05
    Track
    29
    Title
    VII. Water Party
    Duration
    01:05
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  30. 30 VIII. Said King Pompey 00:43
    Track
    30
    Title
    VIII. Said King Pompey
    Duration
    00:43
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Kevin Deas
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  31. 31 I. Small Talk 01:35
    Track
    31
    Title
    I. Small Talk
    Duration
    01:35
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Fred Child
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  32. 32 II. Daphne 01:42
    Track
    32
    Title
    II. Daphne
    Duration
    01:42
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Hila Plitmann
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  33. 33 III. The White Owl 01:05
    Track
    33
    Title
    III. The White Owl
    Duration
    01:05
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Kevin Deas
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta
  34. 34 IV. The Last Galop 01:44
    Track
    34
    Title
    IV. The Last Galop
    Duration
    01:44
    Composer
    William Walton
    Performer
    Fred Child
    Ensemble
    Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players
    Conductor
    JoAnn Falletta