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Recordings |
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Bernard Rands' Tre Canzoni senza Parole (Three Songs without Words) rounds out this recording featuring the works of William Walton, performed by the Oregon Symphony conducted by James DePreist. The Canzoni are adapted from Rands' Canti d'Amor, settings of fifteen poems from James Joyce's Chamber Music; the recording is available from Delos International (DE 3342).
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"The Vision of Francis Goelet" is a tribute to the vision of Francis Goelet (1926-1998), perhaps America's single most important individual supporter of composers as well as musical institutions and organizations. The works on this CD represent a part of the extraordinary legacy of his commissions.
The unusual title of Bernard Rands' "...where the murmurs die..." (1993) is a fragment from an early poem of Samuel Beckett, a writer to whom the composer has more than once turned for inspiration. Rands identifies three musical correlates of Beckett's use of language modules — a folk-like melody, a dottted rhythm, and a pitch decorated by its lower and upper neighboring tones. Heard at the very opening in the muted cellos, these are, he writes, "gradually embellished and transformed until they create a complex network of relationships and references within an elaborate texture." An impressive line given strongly in the upper register of the trumpets is the convincing culmination of this procedure. The world premiere of "...where the murmurs die..." took place on December 11, 1993, at Avery Fisher Hall by the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Slatkin conducting. This recording is available from New World Records (New World 80631-2).
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Bernard Rands' Canti Trilogy takes the stage in this new, two-disk release from Arsis, which Time Out New York noted as one of their ten best classical CDs of 2004. With performances by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project with Gil Rose conducting, and Douglas Ahlstedt, Lucy Shelton, and Thomas Paul as vocal soloists, the set includes notes by Roger Marsh and Kathleen Cecilia Ginter, and complete texts and translations. The Canti Trilogy encompasses Rands' Canti del Sole, Canti Lunatici, and Canti dell'Eclisse (ARSIS CD 156).
To read what the press is saying about this recording, see the Press page.
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"A roaring flame," the new recording by double bassist Corrado Canonici (with soprano Sarah Leonard and cellist Anton Lukoszevieze) on NMC Records, features Benard Rands' Memo 1 (for amplified double bass). Composed in 1972 for English double bassist Barry Guy, Memo 1 is the first in a series of Memos (now nine in number) for solo instruments, each of which explores contemporary virtuosity.
The bass is amplified by means of a contact microphone, controlled by a foot-pedal. This amplification is not solely to make the instrument louder, but also to exploit subtle juxtapositions of its natural sound and many timbral shades revealed by varying degrees of amplification. This results in a complex counterpoint between hands (bow and pizzicato) and foot-pedal, all of which is precisely notated — while also encouraging a flexibility characteristic of the double bass's role in jazz. The CD, which seminal progressive rock composer Rick Wakeman called "a supreme labor of love," is available from NMC Records (NMC D079).
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Rands' Memo 6 is featured on saxophonist Demetrius Spaneas's CD, "When Wind Comes to Sparse Bamboo.". Memo 6, for alto saxophone, was composed in 1999. The CD also features works by J. S. Bach, Britten, Persichetti, Debussy, and others, and is available from Capstone Records (CPS-8717).
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"Harvard Composers," the new recording by the Mendelssohn String Quartet on BIS Records, offers compositions by five Harvard-based composers, including Bernard Rands. Rands' String Quartet No. 2, written in 1994, is included here.
Other composers included on the recording are Walter Piston (String Quartet No. 1), Leon Kirchner (String Quartet No. 2), Earl Kim (Three Poems in French, with soprano Lucy Shelton), and Mario Davidovsky (String Quartet No. 5). The CD is available from BIS Records (BIS-SACD-1264).
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The Woodley Ensemble feature Bernard Rands' Canti d'amor and "...among the voices..." on their CD, "Songs of Love for Chorus," as well as works by Augusta Read Thomas and William Hawley. Canti d'amor is a collection of fifteen brief love madrigals for a cappella chorus using poems from James Joyce's Chamber Music, and "...among the voices..." is a setting for mixed chamber chorus and solo harp of the early Four Poems in English (Dieppe) by Samuel Beckett. The CD is available from ARSIS Audio (ARSIS CD 138).
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"Visions in Metaphor," the CD featuring John Sampen on saxophone and Marilyn Shrude on piano, includes Rands' Memo 6 for alto saxophone. The work was commissioned by Sampen and twenty-six current and former students from Bowling Green State University. The CD is available from Albany Records (TROY 442).
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Bernard Rands' "...body and shadow..." is featured on the CD "The Composer's Voice: New Music from Bowling Green, Vol. 2," released in 2002 by Albany Records. "...body and shadow..." takes its title from an early poem of Samuel Beckett from the group of four poems, Dieppe, and was composed in 1988 in response to a commission from the Boston Symphoniy Orchestra. The CD is available from Albany Records (TROY 490).
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"Eclipse: The Music of Bernard Rands," features the Kiev Camerata and bass Thomas Paul, conducted by Virko Bailey, performing three works by Rands.
London Serenade, composed in 1988 as a gift to musician Edwin London, is an 18-minute work for chamber orchestra that "explores alternate juxtapositions of musical materials suggested by the terms calmo and agitato." All the materials used in Madrigali (after Monteverdi/Berio) are derived from, or based upon, the musical characteristics found in Monteverdi's Eighth Book of Madrigals; the work also refers to Luciano Berio's transcription of Monteverdi's Il Combattimento at the same time as it relates many aspects of his own original music to that of his Italian predecessor. Canti dell'Eclisse, the "eclipse" section of Rands' Canti trilogy, comprises a more abstract progression than the other two offerings. Commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Canti dell'Eclisse was premiered in January 1993 by Thomas Paul (for whom it was writen) and the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Gerard Schwarz. "Eclipse: The Music of Bernard Rands" is available from TNC Recordings (CD-1423). |
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| Listen to an excerpt from London Serenade |
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Listen to an excerpt from Madrigali |
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Listen to an excerpt from Canti dell'Eclisse |
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Buy "Eclipse: The Music of Bernard Rands" |
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"Fanfares and Passages," the CD from the Atlantic Brass Quintet, offers Bernard Rands' 1997 Fanfare. Fanfare was written for the Atlantic Brass Quintet to celebrate a one million dollar donation to the Harvard University Medical School. The CD is available from Mark Custom Recording Service (4247-MCD).
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"Dream Journal," the CD featuring the Network for New Music with guests artits Richard Woodhams (oboe) and Scott Kluksdahl (cello), includes Bernard Rands' chamber work, Concertino. Concertino, for solo oboe and ensemble, was composed in 1998 and commissioned by the Network for New Music in Philadelphia, with generous support from Anni Baker. The CD is available from Albany Records (TROY 488).
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Bernard Rands' Concertino for solo oboe, the result of a commission for the Network for New Music, is featured on the University of Iowa Center for New Music's "Twentieth-Century American Music." The piece begns with a protracted cadenza for oboe, and the cadenza in many ways sets the tone for what is to follow. Mark Weiger is the oboist. The CD is available from Capstone Records (CPS-8762).
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Grammy Award-winning recording!COLORS OF LOVE, the album by Chanticleer, won a Grammy Award at the February 2000 ceremony in Los Angeles for "Best Recording by a Small Ensemble, with or without conductor."This recording of all contemporary music features excerpts from Canti d'Amor by Bernard Rands. Canti d'Amor is "a set of fifteen poems selected from James Joyce's Chamber Music, a volume of verse published in 1907. The seven selections presented [on this CD] are, at times, sharply dissonant, but the thick, complex harmonies are warm and senuous." The album also features works by Augusta Read Thomas, Steven Stucky, John Tavener, Zhou Long, Chen Yi, and Steven Sametz. The CD is available from Teldec (3984-24570-2). |
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| Listen to an excerpt from Canti d'Amor |
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Buy "Colors of Love," containing excerpts from Canti d'Amor |
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"The Music of Bernard Rands" is a 1999 recording by the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, which includes performances of Madrigali, Metalepsis II, and Triple Concerto.
The five short movements of Madrigali, which was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra in 1977, are all derived from or based upon the musical characteristics found in Monterverdi's Eighth Book of Madrigals. Metalepsis II, described by the composer as "a non-denominational Requiem Mass for all who suffer at the hands of tyrants -- political, religious and commercial," was commissioned in 1971 by the English Bach Festival and first performed by the London Sinfonietta with Cathy Berberian as soloist. Triple Concerto, for cello, piano, percussion and chamber ensemble, was commissioned by the Core Ensemble of the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and is dedicated to Luciano Berio. The CD is available from Albany Records (TROY355). |
| Listen to excerpts from "The Music of Bernard Rands" |
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Buy "The Music of Bernard Rands" |
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This 1993 recording features live performances by the Philadelphia Orchestra of Rands' Le Tambourin, Suites 1 & 2; Canti dell'Eclisse; and Ceremonial 3.
Le Tambourin, subtitled "Vincent," was inspired by specific visual characteristics found in certain paintings and drawings by Van Gogh, and won first prize at the Kennedy Center's Friedheim Awards in 1986. The Philadelphia Orchestra and Meet The Composer jointly commissioned Canti dell'Eclisse, the third work in Rands' Canti Trilogy, in which "literary texts (poetic virtuosity) interact with vocal and instrumental capacities (musical virtuosity) to create not a setting of words to music, but a labyrinth of relationships and connections -- sometimes simple and clear, sometimes complex and mysterious." Ceremonial 3 was the first work Rands wrote expressly for The Philadelphia Orchestra in his capacity as its Composer in Residence, and was commissioned by Carnegie Hall in honor of its centennial. The CD is available from New World Records (80392-2). |
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| Listen to excerpts from this recording |
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Buy this recording |
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Paul Sperry and Carol Plantamura join with the SONOR Ensemble of UC San Diego to present the first two offerings of Rands' Canti Trilogy: Canti Lunatici and Canti del Sole. The album is rounded out by a performance of Obbligato by Miles Anderson, the trombonist who commissioned the work in 1980.
Canti Lunatici contains excerpts from fifteen texts about the moon, from its rising through dawn, while Canti del Sole honors the sun through its texts. Obbligato (subtitled Memo 2c) is part of the Memo series of original solo works. The CD is available from Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI 591).
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The album "...in the receding mist..." is titled after the Rands composition that opens it. Also featured on the album are works by de la Vega, Cordero, and Saylor. The North/South Consonance Ensemble performs.
"...in the receding mist..." derives its title from an early poem by Samuel Beckett, and is scored for flute, harp and string trio. The piece is based upon three musical characters - a simple, folk-like melody; a dotted rhythmic motive and a mordent/turn figure. These three elements are gradually embellished and transformed until they create a complex network of relationship and references within an elaborate texture, from which a long, cantinela flute line emerges. The CD is available from North/South Recordings (N/S R 1003).
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London Serenade, featured on the Cleveland Chamber Symphony's album, "Sound Encounters," is "a musical offering to a dear friend and colleague" of the composer's, Edwin London (Music Director of the Cleveland Chamber Symphony).
The work juxtaposes two distinct ideas which characterize the moods of the Serenade's various sections. The first, fanfare-like in gesture (without, however, losing a certain serenade-like character), is contrasted with episodes of elegiac quality such as, according to Rands, can be found in popular ballads. As the fanfares and elegies interact, they "transform, seduce and serenade each other." The CD is available from GM Recordings (GM 2039).
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Although not available commercially, "Dance at Arles" from Le Tambourin, Suite No. 2 is featured on the Philadelphia Orchestra's Radiothon 1991 recording. Bernard Rands was Composer in Residence at the Phildelphia Orchestra from 1989 to 1996; Le Tambourin was commissioned jointly by the Orchestra and Meet The Composer in 1993.
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The New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble, conducted by Frank L. Battisti, performs Ceremonial for Symphonic Wind Band on this 1991 recording.
Ceremonial is a monothematic composition in which a single, extended melody is repeated ten times during the course of the work, first stated by a solo bassoon, and then subsequently played by various combinations of instruments, always increasing in density and in complexity of timbre. The CD is available from Albany Records (TROY340).
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The Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony, conducted by Eugene Corporon, performs Ceremonial for Symphonic Wind Band on this 1994 recording. The composer writes, "At the outset, both harmonic and melodic ideas float free of any discernible meter or pulse. As specific rhythmic ides are introduced and accrue in the percussion section, the music gradually takes on a regular beat which propels it to its concluding climax. The mood and pace of the music is comparable to a ceremony which gradually, deliberately , and inevitably moves through its rituals."
The CD is available from Klavier Music Productions (KCD-11059).
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Boston Musica Viva, conducted by Richard Pittman, performs "...in the receding mist..." on this album, made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Also featured are works by Olly Wilson, Peter Lieberson, and John Thow.
"...in the receding mist..." is dedicated to composer Jacob Druckman, and was written as a gift for his sixtieth birthday. It was commissioned by ONDINE Ensemble (London), and the Arts Council of Great Britain. The CD is available from NEUMA Records (450-79).
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"The American Collection," a recording by Max Lifchitz, pianist, contains Bernard Rands' Tre Espressioni, as well as a number of works by other American composers.
Tre Espressioni was completed early in 1960. At that time, Rands' musical aesthetic was concerned with retaining the expressive potential of the twelve-tone experience while freeing his compositional technique from some of the strictures imposed by an orthodox application of that method. As a result, two of the three brief pieces exhibit a slight aleatory quality most noticeable in their rhythmic dimension. The CD is available from North/South Recordings (N/S R 1014).
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"50 Jahre Konservatorium Luzern" is a compilation album, performed by the Junge Philharmonie Zentralschweiz, on the 50th anniversary of the Lucerne Conservatory.
Although not commercially available, you may listen to an excerpt here from the orchestra's performance of Madrigali.
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"Requiem of Reconciliation" premiered in Stuttgart, Germany, on April 16, 1995. Bernard Rands' Interludium is the seventh movement of this 100-minute work, written by fourteen of the greatest composers of our time. The ensembles that performed in the premiere are also featured on the recording: the Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart, the Krakauer Kammerchor, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, with Helmuth Rilling conducting, and soloists. The piece was commissioned by the Bachakademie in Stuttgart, and the dedication reads, "In memory of the victims of the Second World War."
Interludium stands in the middle of the work, dividing the entire text into two groups. It is scored for large orchestra, with chorus "boca chiusa" (humming with closed mouth). In the words of the composer, "With the exception of the outburst Deus, the chorus should be integrated into the sound of the orchestra rather than being chorus with orchestral accompaniment." The CD is available from Hänssler Classics (CD 98.931).
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