Madrigals/Makrokosmos III

George Crumb - Madrigals/Makrokosmos III

Madrigals

performers:

Anne-Marie Mühle - soprano

Ulf Bergström - flute

Seppo Asikainen - percussion

Ǻsa Lännerholm - harp

Robert Röjder - double-bass

From the liner notes:

The Four Books of Madrigals were composed in the latter part of the 1960s. The texts are selcted fragments from the poems of Federico Garcia Lorca, as in some of Crumb's earlier works such as Night Music I and Ancient Voices.

It may seem peculiar to compose music to disconnected, sometimes seemingly meaningless sentences. However, Crumb has chosen these texts for two different reasons. On the one hand each fragment is about something one might call an archetype of our existence: life, death, love, child, woman (but not man!), angel, stars, phenomena closely related to the astrological conceptions - earth, air, water and fire - the four elements. On the other hand there is also a musical reason for Crumb to choose these sentences, namely the inherent rhythm and structure of the text sounds. The solo voice presents this text in a most varied way, from whispers to shouts, from speech to song with a broad vibrato or "straight" intonation. The instruments are often used to create nuances of sounds, thus creating an atmosphere for the voice to "live" in.

Makrokosmos III


performers:

Barbro Dahlman and Ingrid Lindgren - pianos
Seppo Asikainen and Rainer Kuisma - percussion

From the liner notes:

In "Makrokosmos III", completed in February 1974, George Crumb has expanded his scoring from the single piano used in "Makrokosmos I & II" to two pianos and percussion.

The battery of percussion instruments used in "Makrokosmos III" is large, containing for example vibraphone, xylophone, glockenspiel, crotales, maracas, sleighbells, wood blocks, triangles and a great variety of drums, tam-tams and cymbals. The unconventional piano effects are produced in several ways, one of them being playing with the strings covered by paper sheets, and in addition to the usual percussion instruments mentioned above, a metal-thunder-sheet, Tibetan prayer stones, an African thumb piano, a variety of whistles and many other things are employed.

Much more information about George Crumb here.

Tracklisting:

1. Madrigal Book I: a) Verte desnuda es recordar la tierra {2:00}

2. Madrigal Book I: b) No piensan en la lluvia, y se han dormido {3:04}

3. Madrigal Book I: c) Los muertos llevan alas de musgo {4:04}

4. Madrigal Book II: a) Bebe el agua tranquila de la canción aneja {1:45}

5. Madrigal Book III: a) La noche canta desnuda sobre los puentes de marzo {2:53}

6. Madrigal Book II: c) Caballito negro ? Dónde llevas tu jinete muerto? {1:37}

7. Madrigal Book III: a) La noche canta desnuda sobre los puentes de marzo {1:41}

8. Madrigal Book III: b) Quiero dormir el sueño de las manzanas {2:12}

9. Madrigal Book III: c) Nana, nino, nana del caballo grande que no quiso el agua {3:41}

10. Madrigal Book IV: a) Por qué naci entre espejos? {2:20}

11. Madrigal Book IV: b) Tu cuerpo, con la sombra violeta de mis manos, era un arcángel de frio {2:12}

12. Madrigal Book IV: c) La muerte me está mirando desde las torres de Córdoba! {3:40}

13. Makrokosmos III: Nocturnal Sounds (The Awakening) {5:56}

14. Makrokosmos III: Wanderer-Fantasie {5:49}

15. Makrokosmos III: The Advent {10:13}

16. Makrokosmos III: Myth {4:45}

17. Makrokosmos III: Music of the Starry Night {12:26}

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