Online Merker (Vienna) Review: “Impressive”
Wondrous annual rings of a tree
By Dr. Ingobert Waltenberger, November 25, 2021
CD "TRANSATLANTIC" - music by Copland, Dorman, Stravinsky, Takemitsu and Urquhart; onyx
TRANSLATION:
In the beginning was Craig Urquhart's "Lamentation" for flute and string orchestra. More specifically, the version for flute and piano that was premiered at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in the summer of 2020 by the young Greek flutist Stathis Karapanos and Christoph Eschenbach. Then the composer, the mercurial flutist, and the conductor of this album, Garrett Keast, got together to mull over an orchestrated version. As is not uncommon, with growing enthusiasm, the pretty baby turned into a full-blown project. With the flute at the center, it was joined by the soprano voice of Chen Reiss for Avner Dorman's song cycle "Nofim" as well as the scene of Anne Trulove from Act I of Igor Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress."
Craig Urquhart is an American who lives in Berlin and looks after the Leonard Bernstein office in the German capital. Garrett Keast, an American conductor who also lives in Berlin, set out to find works with flute by Americans, American immigrants, or music dedicated to American stories. What is probably unique about the album is that a separate orchestra was formed precisely for this program, the Berlin Academy of American Music. The CD was recorded with the just 6 months young orchestra with instrumentalists from five continents in Berlin, at Teldex Studios in January and February 2021.
The result is impressive, both in terms of the convincingly original program, the energetic music-making and the fabulous sound quality. Kicking things off is Stravinsky's Concerto in E-flat Major, "Dumberton Oaks," commissioned by a wealthy American couple to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. The world premiere at the estate was conducted by none other than Nadja Boulanger.
Craig himself was an assistant to Bernstein, who was invited to stay with Jutta Gräfin zu Reventlow during his Schleswig-Holstein appearances at Wulfshagen. Craig had written the Lamento as a sign of his mourning, but also of his respect for a life lived to the full after the Countess's death in January 2020.
The album also features a premiere recording: the beautiful song cycle "Nofim" for soprano, violin, flute, percussion and piano by the Israeli-American composer Avner Dorman, written on a Hebrew text by Yuval Rapaport, is about autobiographical scenes from the "Nofim" neighborhood in Tel Aviv, programmatically set to music.
Toru Takemitsu, on the other hand, named the three parts of his impressionistic cycle "Toward the Sea II" "The Night," "Moby Dick" and "Cape Cod. The alto flute artfully imitates the movement of the water, joined by harpist Marie-Pierre Langlamet with undulating glissando effects.
Chen Reiss, full of charm and touching grace, finally sings the famous scene of Anne Trulove "No word from Tom", in which she brings the changing feelings of a beginning love closer by means of recitative, aria and virtuoso cabaletta.
For the effective conclusion of the CD, there is a reunion with the American classic "Appalachian Spring Suite" by Aaron Copland. Like the most glorious film music, where the camera glides over vast American landscapes in quiet and long shots, this new version for 13 instruments of the ballet originally commissioned by Martha Graham resounds. Sounds of longing!
They exist, these CDs, which immediately inspire in their freshness, their spontaneity, their tonal mutability and colorfulness. The fact that "Transatlantic" has become one of those CDs that you want to listen to over and over again is probably due to the palpable enthusiasm of all involved. Stathis Karapanaos (flute), Chen Reiss (soprano), the magnificent Berlin Academy of American Music and its spiritus rector Garrett Keast before the well-deserved curtain please. Bravo!
Review originally published in Online Merker (click here to read in the original German)