Shulamit Ran

Track Listings

1. Fantasy Variations

2. Soliloquy

3. Verticals

4. Excursions

Editorial Reviews
William Mayer
I have never attended a performance of Sahan Arzruni's without sensing an electrical current through his playing.

George Perle
I am grateful to him for his rediscovery of this piece and for bringing his marvelous pianism to its revival.

Album Description
That Shulamit Ran (b. 1949) has mastered clarity and the vital essence of composition, the art of communication, is clearly evinced by the four pieces on this disc, two solo works—Fantasy Variations (1979/rev.1984) for cello and Verticals (1982) for piano—and two works for trio, Excursions (1980) and Soliloquy (1997). Ran’s fierce musical individuality can be placed in a tradition with the Expressionists of the second Viennese school—Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg. The works from the 1970s and late 1980s in particular reveal a rich chromaticism that cycles quickly through all twelve pitches. Angular and sometimes pointillistic melodies with large intervals dramatically shift from one emotional gesture to another. However, to date, Ran has never written a piece that has remained strictly within serialist parameters. Rather, in describing her style she coined the phrase "freely atonal," with an emphasis on the word "freely." To make parallels with the second Viennese school, however, we might look more aptly to Alban Berg’s lush, romantic, and dramatic compositional style. It is this sense of the dramatic that is often mentioned by reviewers, and Ran’s own expression marks in scores often read more like stage directions than like musical terms. Ultimately, a composition by Shulamit Ran tends to feels like a journey or an adventure—there is always a sense of motion and progression, through many emotions and dramatic outbursts, through moments of calm and ethereal lucidity, always moving toward centers of harmonic gravity.

Shulamit Ran

Tracks:

Da pacem Dominae
Deus, Deus meus, respice in me -- Andrea Gabrieli
Da pacem Domine -- Carlo Gesualdo
Kyrie -- Douglas J. Cuomo
Gloria (Everywhere) -- Kamran Ince
vos omnes -- Carlo Gesualdo
Aestimatus sum cum descendentibus -- Carlo Gesualdo
Credo/Ani Ma'amin -- Shulamit Ran
Peccantem me quotidian -- Carlo Gesualdo
Ravenna Sanctus -- Ivan Moody
salutaris hostia -- Andrea Gabrieli
Agnus Dei -- Michael McGlynn
Da pacem Domine
Da pacem Domine -- Giles Binchois
Da pacem Domine -- Arvo Part

Amazon.com

This mass, commissioned and performed by the superb 12-man American group Chanticleer, begins and ends with Plainsong, and is comprised of five movements by five different composers interspersed with shorter pieces by Carlo and Andrea Gabrieli and Carlo Gesualdo. Douglas J. Cuomo's Kyrie features the extreme ends of the men's vocal ranges and plays plainsong against tonal clusters; the Turkish composer Kamran Ince's Gloria is sung to a Sufi text and radiates peace; Shulamit Ran's Credo, in her native Hebrew and English, begins in a stunning martial outburst about the belief in one God and uses texts that relate to the Holocaust (occasionally spoken) to make her dramatic points; London-born Ivan Moody contributes a ravishing, medieval-tinged Sanctus, as ethereally lovely - and at points as stunningly wild - as his compositions for Trio Mediaeval; and the Irish composer Michael McGlynn's Agnus Dei begins as a solo in Gaelic, which is then underpinned with a drone in the darker voices and it ends, with grace, at a whisper. Perhaps the boldest music here is the Gesualdo, whose bizarre harmonies and discordances still can shock and awe, but the Chanticleer Mass, while not an overwhelming new work, is nonetheless, fascinating, and, as one might imagine, beautifully performed. --Robert Levine

Album Description

With its seamless blend of twelve male voices, ranging from countertenor to bass, the San Francisco-based ensemble Chanticleer, celebrates the life of their foudner Louis I. Botto on the 10th anniversary of his death. Five composers create a mass that evolves organically, as if written by one hand and the ensemble brings it to life.

Customer Reviews:

Sound Invention.......2007-07-03

As always, Chanticleer are the best mens chorus around today. They seem to be spending much of their time on experimenting with sound and doing it very well. This recording is more of that experimentation, so if you are looking for the usual gregorian chant, this is not what you want, but it is Chanticleer at their experimental best.

Powerful, ecumenical, moving........2007-06-02

After reading a positive article in the Wall Street Journal in May 2007 I was particularly interested in hearing this Mass, and didn't know Chanticleer had recorded it until a friend offered to lend me her brand-new copy after a three-for-two spending spree at the local brick&mortar bookstore.

This is an awesome recording, and I use this adjective without hesitation even though it's over-used and teen-speak. I'm surprised at the number of used copies available - perhaps buyers think that this is a warm & meditative piece and reject it when they discover it's not. It is most definitely not meditative - but it is instead a powerful discourse with God from Christian, Jewish and Muslim traditions. The liturgical setting unites it with traditional Mass settings and the music and text raise 21st-century - but also eternal - questions of faith, doubts - and hope. Five stars - no hesitation.

Women of Note ~ Beach, Boulanger, Clarke, Gubaidulina, Larsen, Mendelssohn, Monk, Musgrave, Ran, Zwilich

Average customer rating:

Great collection of 19th/20th Century music
It's about Time!

Women of Note ~ Beach, Boulanger, Clarke, Gubaidulina, Larsen, Mendelssohn, Monk, Musgrave, Ran, Zwilich
Libby Larsen , Sofia Gubaidulina , Nadia Boulanger , Germaine Tailleferre , Amy Beach , Lili Boulanger , Ellen Taaffe Zwilich , Rebecca Clarke , Clara Wieck Schumann , Sofiya Asgatovna Gubaydulina , Meredith Monk , Shulamit Ran , Thea Musgrave , Galina Ustvolskaya , Royal Philharmonic Chorus , Minnesota Orchestra , Women's Philharmonic , Louisville Orchestra , English Chamber Orchestra , New Zealand Chamber Orchestra , Joann Falletta , Joel Revzen , James Sedares , Nicholas Braithwaite , Arleen Auger , Nina Flyer , and Chi Fun Lee
Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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The Women Composers
Women's Voices: Five Centuries of Song
The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers
Amy Beach: "Gaelic" Symphony; Piano Concerto

ASIN: B000001SKH
Release Date: 1997-08-19

Tracks:

Concertino For Harp (Allegretto)
Three Pieces For Cello And Piano (Vite et nerveusement rythme)
Sonnets Fro The Portuguese (How Do I Love Thee?)
Das Jahr (Mai)
Du'un Matin de Priintemps
Ballad In Db
Symphony No. 3 (Largo)
Missa Gaia (Introit)
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Sonata (Adagio
Ten Preludes For Cello (Preludes 1 - 4): Staccato - Legato
Ten Preludes For Cello (Preludes 1 - 4): Legato - Staccato
Ten Preludes For Cello (Preludes 1 - 4): Con Sordino - Senza Sordino
Ten Preludes For Cello (Preludes 1 - 4): Ricochet
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Three Fantasy Movements (Slow)
Orfeo II (Orpheo Laments)
Sonata No. 6

Customer Reviews:

Great collection of 19th/20th Century music.......2003-08-12

This is a great collection of works from 19th and 20th century women composers. Keep in mind, it is only a small sample of what's available, but an excellent place to start. It is also a good choice if you are a teacher wanting to introduce women composers to your class and do not want to invest in dozens of CDs. There are no large-scale works on this CD, so it is ideal as a sampler (or for use with kids in a classroom setting). I highly recommend this CD.

It's about Time!.......2001-12-07

A top-notch sampling of mainly 20th-century music by women composers, including Lili Boulanger and Pulitzer Prize-winners Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Shulamit Ran, this cd proves that the music has been excellent all along. What we have needed are good recordings of superior performances. The samples often are brief--e.g., a single movement from Clarke's cello sonata--yet do provide jumping off points for more concentrated pursuit of favorite composers. Those uninitiated in women's works will become familiar here with some of the best of the last 150 years: Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Thea Musgrave, and on and on. I hope every author of a text on music since 1840 will come to know and adore this cd, then include the music in their discussions of music history. It's about time!

Average customer rating:

Music By Shulamit Ran

Manufacturer: Bridge
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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Boehm: The Revolution Of The Flute/Schubert: Ständchen/Das Fischermädchen/Das Meer/Beethoven: Serenade
Chamber Music of Shulamit Ran
Alban Berg, Anton Webern, Shulamit Ran: Songs and Chamber Music
20th Century Voices in America

ASIN: B000003GJA
Release Date: 1995-05-16

Tracks:

Con Da Camera II: I. Con Spirto, Marcato
Con Da Camera II: II. 1/4nt = 56
Con Da Camera II: III. Stately, Majestic
East Wind
Inscriptions: I
Inscriptions: II
Inscriptions: III
Mirage
For An Actor: Monologue
Private Game

Album Description

The vibrant music of Shulamit Ran is heard in this collection of six of her recent compositions. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in music and composer-in-residence of the Chicago Symphony, Ran's music blends high-energy, dense compositional thought, with a penchant for long-spun melismatic melodies. Born in Israel, Shulamit Ran came to the United States as a fourteen year old. Soon after, Leonard Bernstein invited her to perform one of her own compositions with the New York Philharmonic. Ran's music combines eastern melodic and formal influences with a dramatically argued sense of structure.

Average customer rating:

Chamber Music of Shulamit Ran
Ran , and Peabody Trio
Manufacturer: New World Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Music of Shulamit Ran: Concerto da Camera II (1987) (for clarinet, string quartet and piano); Hyperbolae (1976) for piano; Apprehensions (1979) for voice, clarinet and piano; Private Game (1979) for clarinet and cello
Music By Shulamit Ran

ASIN: B000066F3R
Release Date: 2002-05-28

Tracks:

Fantasy Variations
Soliloquy
Verticals
Excursions

Album Description

That Shulamit Ran (b. 1949) has mastered clarity and the vital essence of composition, the art of communication, is clearly evinced by the four pieces on this disc, two solo works—Fantasy Variations (1979/rev.1984) for cello and Verticals (1982) for piano—and two works for trio, Excursions (1980) and Soliloquy (1997). Ran's fierce musical individuality can be placed in a tradition with the Expressionists of the second Viennese school—Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg. The works from the 1970s and late 1980s in particular reveal a rich chromaticism that cycles quickly through all twelve pitches. Angular and sometimes pointillistic melodies with large intervals dramatically shift from one emotional gesture to another. However, to date, Ran has never written a piece that has remained strictly within serialist parameters. Rather, in describing her style she coined the phrase "freely atonal," with an emphasis on the word "freely." To make parallels with the second Viennese school, however, we might look more aptly to Alban Berg's lush, romantic, and dramatic compositional style. It is this sense of the dramatic that is often mentioned by reviewers, and Ran's own expression marks in scores often read more like stage directions than like musical terms. Ultimately, a composition by Shulamit Ran tends to feels like a journey or an adventure—there is always a sense of motion and progression, through many emotions and dramatic outbursts, through moments of calm and ethereal lucidity, always moving toward centers of harmonic gravity.

Average customer rating:

New Music from Bowling Green, Vol. IV

Manufacturer: Albany Records
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ECLIPSE

ASIN: B0009ETW0Q
Release Date: 2005-05-01

Tracks:

xylem
Voices
Joi, amor, Cortezia: Seven Dancees of Joy, Love and Courtliness
Chinese Folk Dance Suite
Inspiring Beethoven

Product Description

Xylem is a short, energetic piece that amplifies a microscopic world, creating perpetual motion punctuated by explosive bursts. It takes its name from the tissue made of long tubular open-ended cells that conducts water from the soil up to the various parts of plants. Orianna Webb currently teaches composition at the Cleveland Institute of Music where she is a founding director of the Young Composers Program. Shulamit Ran writes: My having been commissioned by the National Flute Association for a flute concerto in celebration of that organizations year 2000 convention was, for me, a much-relished opportunity to further explore the direction I found myself pursuing in earlier works. The work was premiered on August 19, 2000, with Patricia Spencer, flutist, and Ransom Wilson, conductor. Samuel Adler writes: Nostalgia plays a role in the creation of many works of art. This was certainly the case in my writing this particular orchestral work which was composed for the Texas Little Symphony and John Giordano in the summer of 1982. For a long time now, I have had a love affair with Texas and also with music of the rather distant past. The resulting work was one which I had wanted to do for many years, namely, a dance suite based on Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque themes. These dances are treated as recompositions rather than arrangements. While the actual tunes in most of them are from a bygone era, the compositional techniques employed are of the 20th century and result in a metamorphosis of the old material. In other words, it is as if a contemporary composer took a journey into the past, fell in love with seven dance forms, brought them back to our century and rewrote them for he felt they still give off the same charm, excitement and contemporaneousness which they did when they were originally conceived. Chen Yi is currently the Cravens/Millsap/Missouri Distinguished Professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She received her bachelors and masters degrees in music composition from the Central Conservatory in Beijing, and a doctorate from Columbia University. Her composition teachers include Chou, Davidovsky, Wu and Goehr. She has served as composer-in-residence for the Womens Philharmonic, the vocal ensemble Chanticleer and the Aptos Creative Arts Center (1993-1996) supported by Meet the Composer. Kevin Putss Inspiring Beethoven was commissioned by the Phoenix Symphony, Hermann Michael, conductor, for their Beethoven Festival in January 2002. The work is a musical tale of Beethoven transcending the grim realities of his life and finding the inspiration to compose the joyous first movement of his Symphony No. 7. Puts has received degrees from the Eastman and Yale University Schools of Music, and currently serves as assistant professor of composition at the University of Texas at Austin.

Average customer rating:

With every leaf a miracle
Kent Leslie
Manufacturer: Hard Cor Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000O78VAA
Release Date: 2007-02-27

Tracks:

Shulamit Ran: Invocation
Mark Schultz: With every leaf a miracle
James Beckel: Primitive Modern
Michelle McQuade Dewhirst: ...sky is falling in...
Jody Nagel: Games
Frank Glover: Manunya
Becky Archibald: Bittersweet

Product Description

Contemporary chamber music for horn by living composers.

Songs Of Solitudes; American Works For Solo Violin

Average customer rating:

Songs Of Solitudes; American Works For Solo Violin

Manufacturer: Composers Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000005TXL
Release Date: 1996-02-20

Tracks:

Inscriptions: I. Possessed By The Devil
Inscriptions: II. Rondino Mostly Tongue-In-Cheek
Inscriptions: III. Upsurge
Synchronisms No.9
Four Songs Of Solitude: I
Four Songs Of Solitude: II
Four Songs Of Solitude: III
Four Songs Of Solitude: IV
Fantasy
Riconoscenza per Goffredo Petrassi
Sonata For Violin Solo: I. Fantasia
Sonata For Violin Solo: II. Capriccio
Sonata For Violin Solo: III. Rondo
Three Songs Without Words: I. Her Dream
Three Songs Without Words: II. After Long Silence
Three Songs Without Words: III. His Confidence

Points of Entry: Contemporary Works for Solo Flute by American Women

Average customer rating:

Points of Entry: Contemporary Works for Solo Flute by American Women

Manufacturer: Capstone
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000GW8RES
Release Date: 2006-08-22

Average customer rating:

Harold Blumenfeld: "Rilke for Voice & Guitar"

20th Century Voices in America

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Music By Shulamit Ran
Kaija Saariaho: Château de l'âme / Graal Théâtre / Amers

ASIN: B000001K52
Release Date: 1995-09-26

Tracks:

Tableaux, Sound Pictures From 'The Silver Talons Of Piero Kostrov' For Soprano And Eleven Players - Jan De Gaetani
No. 1
No. 2
No. 3
No. 1
No. 2
No. 3
No. 1
No. 2
No. 3
No. 1
No. 2
No. 3
The Wonderful Widow Of Eighteen Springs, For Voice & Piano (1942) - Rosalind Rees
Tell Me Where Is Fancy Bred, For Voice And Guitar (1938) - Elliott Carter
Orpheus With His Lute, For Voice And Guitar (1944) - William Schuman
Tell Me Where Is Fancy Bred, For Voice, Clarinet & Guitar (1964) - Richard Wagner

Tracks:

I. Du, Meine Heilige Einsamkeit - Harold Blumenfeld
II. Archaischer Torso Apollos - Harold Blumenfeld
III. Ich Bin Nicht Diese Steile Stunde - Harold Blumenfeld
Steps, For Voice And Guitar (1975) - Gregg Smith
The Sentences, For Voice And Guitar (1976) - Rosalind Rees
'O, The Chimneys,' For Mezzo Soprano, Flute, Clarinet, Cello, Percussion And Piano (1969) - Shulamit Ran
String Quartet No.2, For Soprano And String Quartet (1959-1961) - Phyllis Bryn-Julson

Customer Reviews:

Harold Blumenfeld: "Rilke for Voice & Guitar".......2000-03-09

This CD set includes "Rilke for Voice & Guitar" by Harold Blumenfeld. The composer submits this review of the work by Donal Henahan in the New York Times. "In Harold Blumenfeld's austerely beautiful 'Rilke', a cycle of three songs, soprano Rosalind Rees sang superbly, with a dulcet tone, unusual attention to dynamic subtleties, and flawless pitch. The songs, with the guitar softening contemporary asperities that a piano sometimes exaggerates, made their lonely, pained point with the utmost precision. The guitarist, David Starobin, performed with exemplary technique and great sensitivity as accompanist."

Average customer rating:

Something for everyone -- and some things for no one ...
Wonderful playing, but not all at once

Compassion: A Tribute to Yehudi Menuhin
Philip Glass , Edna Michell , Allen Ginsberg , and Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005LMLD
Release Date: 2001-06-19

Tracks:

Tavener: Song Of The Angel
Ran: Yearning
Chen Yi: Romance Of Hsiao And Ch'u
Henze: Adagio adagio
Leef: T'Filah
Ruders: Credo
Satoh: Innocence
Rihm: Cantilena
Xenakis: Huuem-Iduhey
Foss: Romance
Husa: Stele
Olivero: Achot Ketana
Kurtag: Ligatura
Glass: Echorus
Riech: Duet

Amazon.com

Fifteen of the world's greatest living composers contributed works for Compassion, the musical tribute to Yehudi Menuhin and the enlightened ideals of the late violin maestro. The lineup is impressive and seemingly spans the entire spectrum of contemporary composing styles: John Tavener, Hans Werner Henze, Poul Ruders, Iannis Xenakis, Lukas Foss, Philip Glass, and numerous others. Oddly, the music they've written is, for the most part, quite similar--short, somber pieces that, not surprisingly, emphasize the violin. There are some impressive achievements, however. Somei Satoh's "Innocence" for soprano, violin, and cellos sounds a little like the "holy minimalism" of Arvo Pärt; Glass's "Echorus" features the narration of Allen Ginsberg; and Foss's "Romance" pursues a fading-Americana theme and includes an excerpt from Walt Whitman. The six-minute work for violin, string orchestra, and soprano also has a spirited mood, which is quite refreshing on this sobering disc. Violinist and Menuhin collaborator Edna Michell lovingly plays all these pieces with the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. It's a unique tribute to a unique figure in Classical music, but it's not for everyone. For an even better sense of Menuhin's magic, check out one of his legendary early recordings. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Something for everyone -- and some things for no one ..........2005-06-02

I agree that this collection of 15 20th-Century music is best taken in portions, rather than its entirety. I enjoy many of the compositions more than others, but on the whole the selections are engaging. I didn't care for the Glass work, "Echorus", but that's my own personal prejudice (this was the first Glass composition to make its way into my 400+ classical CD collection). The less tonal works are hard to digest all at once, but if you have an ear for atonality, you should enjoy the middle tracks, particularly the Leef, Xenakis, Foss, and Husa. The final Duet for violins and string orchestra was my first exposure to a composition by Steven Reich other than his Music for Eighteen Musicians. Unfortunately, my CD has some damage to this track at the very end; I don't know if this is a problem with copies other than my own. This is an eclectic selection, but one that belongs in the library of serious modern music connoisseurs.

Wonderful playing, but not all at once.......2001-11-27

I ordered this CD after hearing excerpts of it on Chicago's classical music radio station, WFMT. The CD does present a wonderful selection of works by prominent composers of the past decade. The playing is wonderful, and the pieces are valuable contributions to the repertoire. I did find that the pieces were similar enough to not want to hear all 79'13" at one sitting. I am definitely glad that I purchased this recording. How many places can one go to sample works by Tavener, Ran (I particularly liked this work), Chen Yi, Henze, Xenakis and ten other composers in less than an hour and twenty minutes?

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