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EM Records is proud to announce a collaboration with the distinguished American composer Morten Lauridsen in a newly released disc of solo songs and duets, performed by the acclaimed soprano Caryl Hughes and the celebrated baritone Jeremy Huw Williams together with the remarkable and versatile pianist Paula Fan — who died suddenly last year whilst on a recital tour with Williams, the clarinetist John Reynolds and the cellist Peter Esswood.
Lauridsen is acclaimed worldwide for his many choral works which have been widely recorded and performed and his songs, although less well-known, beautifully complement his more extensively surveyed repertoire. The disc contains all three of Lauridsen’s vocal cycles: “A Backyard Universe” (three songs on poems by Harold Witt), “A Winter Come” (six songs on poems by Howard Moss) and “Cuatro Canciones” (poetry by Federico Garcia Lorca); the solo-voice versions of “O Magnum Mysterium” and the caberet song “Where Have the Actors Gone?” and the mixed-duet versions of “Ya Eras Mia” (“Now You Are Mine” — Pablo Neruda), “Dirait-on” (“So They Say” — Rainer Maria Rilke) and “Sure On This Shining Night” (James Agee), as well as the setting that lends its name to the disc’s title: “Prayer” (Dana Gioia). Lauridsen has a special fondness for composing for mixed duet and piano, being drawn as he is to the intimacy and expressiveness of the genre.
The disc was recorded in Wales, the artists being joined by Lauridsen for the entire sessions, and is a gorgeously performed recital of intensely heartfelt music by a remarkable composer.
| Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943) | |||
| 1. | O MAGNUM MYSTERIUM | ||
| A WINTER COME | |||
| 2. | I. When Frost Moves Fast | ||
| 3. | II. As Birds Come Nearer | ||
| 4. | III. The Racing Waterfall | ||
| 5. | IV. A Child Lay Down | ||
| 6. | V. Who Reads by Starlight | ||
| 7. | VI. And What of Love | ||
| 8. | YA ERES MIA (NOW YOU ARE MINE) | ||
| CUATRO CANCIONES | |||
| 9. | I. Claro de Reloj (Pause of the Clock) | ||
| 10. | II. Noche (Night) | ||
| 11. | III. La Luna Asoma (The Moon Rising) | ||
| 12. | IV. Despedida (Farewell) | ||
| 13. | DIRAIT-ON (SO THEY SAY) | ||
| A BACKYARD UNIVERSE | |||
| 14. | I. Girl | ||
| 15. | II. Three | ||
| 16. | III. Boy | ||
| 17. | WHERE HAVE THE ACTORS GONE? | ||
| TWO SONGS ON AMERICAN POEMS | |||
| 18. | I. Prayer | ||
| 19. | II. Sure on This Shining Night | ||
EMR CD028 | INTERNATIONAL
RECORD REVIEW