Lou Harrison: For Strings

Track Listings

1. Adagio, molto cantabile 3:54

2. Allegro moderato 2:01

3. Allegro moderato, tranquillo 5:12First recording by string orchestra

4. Estampie 4:02

5. Chorale 4:07

6. Double Fugue 5:12

7. Ductia 2:38

8. Lament 5:56

9. Canonic Variations 5:22

10. Little Fugue 3:12

11. Round in Honor of Hermes 3:04

12. Nocturne 3:45

13. Allegro 4:12

14. Troika 2:53

15. Three Sharing 2:50

16. Wind and Plum 2:58

17. Neapolitan 1:10

18. Threnody for Richard Locke 5:20

19. Estampie 7:18

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
¥ The present recording traces the development of HarrisonÕs creativity over a half century Ñ from 1948 to his last large-scale composition (1997). ¥ The Suite No. 2 for Strings was written while Harrison lived in New York. Having spent his formative years in San Francisco, Harrison had a great deal of trouble adjusting to East Coast big-city life. A nervous breakdown required him to be hospitalized for about nine months. The Suite No. 2 dates from the year after this traumatic event, and signs of HarrisonÕs mental stress are apparent, particularly in the torturous and difficult second movement. But also in evidence is the tranquility he sought from religion during this period and the more transparent textures he would favor later. ¥ This CD presents the first recording of the work by a string orchestra Ñ HarrisonÕs original intent. ¥ The lengthy Suite for Symphonic Strings was a commission from BMI. By this time Harrison had returned to the San Francisco region. The bass and cello sections provide percussion accompaniment, the players hitting the bodies of their instruments with their fingers and using guitar picks on the strings to achieve a percussive pizzicato. This is the first recording of the complete nine-movement work. ¥ Harrison had been interested in Asian music since his early years. The late Concerto for Pipa is a model of HarrisonÕs trans-ethnicism, evoking the many influences that had attracted him over a half century. The work ends with an extended, medieval-inspired estampie, a virtuoso tour-de-force for soloist and orchestra. ¥ The concerto was written for conductor Dennis Russell Davies and pipa virtuoso Wu Man. ¥ Wu Man was cited by the Los Angeles Times as Òthe artist most responsible for bringing the pipa to the Western World.Ó She has championed new pipa literature from composers including Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Lou Harrison, and Tan Dun.

Tracks:

Suite No. 2: 1. Jahla - John Schneider/Amy Shulman/Gene Sterling
Suite No. 2: 2. Waltz For Evelyn Hinrichsen - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
Suite No. 2: 3. Therenody - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
Suite No. 2: 4. Son in Ishartum - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
Suite No. 2: 5. Beverly's Troubadour Piece - John Schneider/Amy Shulman/Gene Sterling
Sarabande - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
Two Studies On Ancient Greek Scales: Study on Olympos' Pentatonic - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
Two Studies On Ancient Greek Scales: Study on Archytas' Enharmonic - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 1. Today I Am A Man - John Schneider
8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 2. Gentlemen - John Schneider
8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 3. Considered Pretty - John Schneider
8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 4. A Very Good Idea - John Schneider
8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 5. Possible Rides - John Schneider
8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 6. Jesus Was God In The Flesh - John Schneider
8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 7. You Lucky Women - John Schneider
8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 8. Why In Hell Did You Come? - John Schneider
Dream - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
In A Landscape - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
Six Sonatas: 1. Moderato - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
Six Sonatas: 2. Allegro - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
Six Sonatas: 3. Moderato - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
Six Sonatas: 4. Allegro - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
Six Sonatas: 5. Moderato - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
Six Sonatas: 6. Allegro - John Schneider/Amy Shulman

Customer Reviews:

like spring water(just intonation) versus tonality(polluted).......1999-06-27

Just intonation is based on the natural physicalness of sound,that composers and performers . We haven't, in the history of Western music, instead we have been barbarians with Tonality as our ear- icon, the Western system of what we hear(or don't hear) today is based on "bent" or altered states of vibrations, especially the intervals thirds and fifths. The problem now is that our ears have been conditioned,almost irreparably.Tonality is like an oil-slick touching every shore of World music. If you've never heard music based on just intonation, this is a great place to start. The combination harp and guitar (with some percussion here) has a pure unimpaired quality for which you will immediately say, "why haven't I ever heard this music before". The works here are also by devoted creators who have an intimate knowledge of the tuning non-Western systems of the world. Lou Harrison's music works best in smaller intimate pieces as here in the "Suite No.2". Here the tightly constructed five movements for guitar and harp has a richly diverse constitution,highlighting the solos unique melodic qualities as well as the ensemble chordal combinations. Harrison's music has a close association with the gestures of Asian music,but you always sense he is speaking his own voice always melodic yet with original shapes,lines and contours in unpredictable ways. La Monte Young's "Sarabande", originally for piano solo doesn't suffer under its transformation for guitar and harp.It sounds like wind chimes,a sense of static harmonies(purified now) drifting freely and gently. I never warmed to Partch's music. Granted his profound theories on tuning and instrument making is what the world music systems needed, still his music doesn't have the emotive eqivalence of his profound theories. The spoken text here from "Barstow: 8 Hitchhikers' Inscriptions"(1941) is simply blunt and boring reflecting an uniformed sense of the unfreedom of anarchy. "In a Landscape" by John Cage,- originally a piano piece- works better, as a harp solo with its simple arpeggiated harmonies magnetized around two tones." Dream" also by Cage works less successfully, the original G-minor piano solo has a sense of sparceness,and intimacy, where the guitar and harp combination heregently explodes thisas a miniature orchestration. Shulman and Schneider are always sensitive with a high sense of musicality and emotive direction no matter what music is in front of them.

Excellent selection.......1999-03-26

A beautiful selection of microtonal pieces. I enjoyed listening to it a lot. The booklet which comes with the CD is great and manages to explain some of the concepts behind this music. Great value.

Just Guitars: Microtonal Music for Guitar

Average customer rating:

The only record of its kind, and well-done
inconsistent, directionless, some great material

Just Guitars: Microtonal Music for Guitar

Manufacturer: Bridge
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Just West Coast
The Harry Partch Collection, Volume 1

ASIN: B000096JH4
Release Date: 2003-05-05

Tracks:

Carter Scholz: Rhythmicon
Lou Harrison: Scenes from Nek Chand
Lou Harrison: Scenes from Nek Chand
Lou Harrison: Scenes from Nek Chand
Lou Harrison: Tandy's Tango
Lou Harrison: Cinna
Lou Harrison: Palace Music
Lou Harrison: Plaint & Variations on 'Song of Palestine'
Lou Harrison: Plaint & Variations on 'Song of Palestine'
Lou Harrsion: Serenado por Gitaro
Harry Partch: Letter from Hobo Pablo
Harry Partch: December 1942
Harry Partch: December 1942
Harry Partch: December 1942
Harry Partch: Three Intrusions
Harry Partch: Three Intrusions
Harry Partch: Three Intrusions
Terry Riley: Harp of New Albion
Terry Riley: Harp of New Albion
John Schneider: Lament

Album Description

This recording features the premiere recordings of works by the late Lou Harrison and the legendary Harry Partch. John Schneider, guitarist and Los Angeles radio personality performs on a wide variety of guitars using such instruments as Partch's microtonal Adapated Guitars, Martin, Gibson and Fender guitars, a National Resophonic Guitar, and other instruments that feature tuneable fretboards for various types of Just Intonation. Lou Harrison (1917-2003) wrote his last guitar piece for National Steel guitar, custom fretted in Just Intonation. The Scenes from Nek Chand uses a six-note mode and is based on the sculpure and architecture of Nek Chand in northern India. Harry Partch worked on the adapatation of guitars in the 1930s, using one for his Barstow: 8 Hitchhikers' Inscriptions (1941) (available on BRIDGE 9041). The opening of Partch's long lost song cycle, December 1942, begins with a setting of the jester's song "Come Away Death" from Shakespearre's Twelfth Night. Three Intrusions (1949) are the first compositions to use Partch's newly invented Diamond Marimba and the Adapted Guitar 2. Both of these works feature Schneider singing and intoning the vocal parts, as well as performing on copies of Partch's Adapted Guitars.

Also available: Just West Coast, John Schneider guitars, BRIDGE 9041

Customer Reviews:

The only record of its kind, and well-done.......2006-01-10

While I too have some criticisms, I can't imagine anyone having the time to do all the unique things that had to be done to realize this album and still have time to get every little thing perfect. This stands beyond many albums in terms of performance and artistry. It is unique and varied. It is definitely a bit jolting in terms of consistency, from the electric-sounding track 1, to the Partch, whereas the rest is more normal guitar playing. But it is all worthwhile. Schneider's singing may not sound like Partch, but his inflection and interpretation are suberb in terms of following the composer's intent. His playing is technically brilliant. It is not fair but to view this as an early recording in a basically yet-to-be-explored field. I hope this album inspires many to build on the ground that Schneider and a few others are working to lay down.

inconsistent, directionless, some great material.......2005-10-15

The reason this recording is important is because it has several important pieces which are on record for the first time, a few by Lou Harrison, a few by Harry Partch. The performances are technically excellent but some truly lack soul. The album is for the most part consistent until we reach the Harry Partch material which seems out of place (this is when it takes a turn and makes the listener cringe), John Schneider sings on the Harry Partch tracks, the singing is very sub-par. He sings about being a hobo and riding a train but the voice sounds far too crisp and clean. But it's hard to complain because these are their first time on record and our only way to hear them. You need to close your eyes and Imagine a gruff, hairy, hobo singing them. Also, the piece written by John Scheider feels a little too melodic and peaceful for this record. This disk has some great material on it, but purchase with an informed mind.

Average customer rating:

Chamber

Manufacturer: Pitch
ProductGroup: Music
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ASIN: B000AA4KXI
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Average customer rating:

Lou Harrison: Works 1939-2000

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ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Lou Harrison: For Strings
Drums Along The Pacific
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Harrison: Piano Concerto/Suite For Violin, Piano And Small Orchestra

ASIN: B00008NRJ2
Release Date: 2003-05-06

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Lou Harrison: For Strings

Manufacturer: Mode
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Lou Harrison: Works 1939-2000
Lou Harrison: Rapunzel and Other Works
Music of Lou Harrison
American Ultramodernists 1920-1950
Stephen Scott: The Deep Spaces

ASIN: B0002MPQLY
Release Date: 2004-09-21

Tracks:

Adagio, molto cantabile 3:54
Allegro moderato 2:01
Allegro moderato, tranquillo 5:12First recording by string orchestra
Estampie 4:02
Chorale 4:07
Double Fugue 5:12
Ductia 2:38
Lament 5:56
Canonic Variations 5:22
Little Fugue 3:12
Round in Honor of Hermes 3:04
Nocturne 3:45
Allegro 4:12
Troika 2:53
Three Sharing 2:50
Wind and Plum 2:58
Neapolitan 1:10
Threnody for Richard Locke 5:20
Estampie 7:18

Album Description

¥ The present recording traces the development of HarrisonÕs creativity over a half century Ñ from 1948 to his last large-scale composition (1997). ¥ The Suite No. 2 for Strings was written while Harrison lived in New York. Having spent his formative years in San Francisco, Harrison had a great deal of trouble adjusting to East Coast big-city life. A nervous breakdown required him to be hospitalized for about nine months. The Suite No. 2 dates from the year after this traumatic event, and signs of HarrisonÕs mental stress are apparent, particularly in the torturous and difficult second movement. But also in evidence is the tranquility he sought from religion during this period and the more transparent textures he would favor later. ¥ This CD presents the first recording of the work by a string orchestra Ñ HarrisonÕs original intent. ¥ The lengthy Suite for Symphonic Strings was a commission from BMI. By this time Harrison had returned to the San Francisco region. The bass and cello sections provide percussion accompaniment, the players hitting the bodies of their instruments with their fingers and using guitar picks on the strings to achieve a percussive pizzicato. This is the first recording of the complete nine-movement work. ¥ Harrison had been interested in Asian music since his early years. The late Concerto for Pipa is a model of HarrisonÕs trans-ethnicism, evoking the many influences that had attracted him over a half century. The work ends with an extended, medieval-inspired estampie, a virtuoso tour-de-force for soloist and orchestra. ¥ The concerto was written for conductor Dennis Russell Davies and pipa virtuoso Wu Man. ¥ Wu Man was cited by the Los Angeles Times as Òthe artist most responsible for bringing the pipa to the Western World.Ó She has championed new pipa literature from composers including Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Lou Harrison, and Tan Dun.

Average customer rating:

Lou Harrison: Suite for Violin

Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Lou Harrison: Works 1939-2000
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Lou Harrison: Suite for Symphonic Strings; Strict Songs
Lou Harrison: For Strings

ASIN: B00000J8R9
Release Date: 1999-06-22

Tracks:

Suite For Violin With String Orchestra: Threnody
Suite For Violin With String Orchestra: Estampie
Suite For Violin With String Orchestra: Jahla
Suite For Violin With String Orchestra: Chaconne
Western Dance For Piano
Three Waltzes: Waltz In C
Three Waltzes: Hesitation Waltz
Three Waltzes: Waltz In A
Suite For Cello And Piano: Moderato
Suite For Cello And Piano: Elegy
Suite For Cello And Piano: Allegro
Gigue & Musette
Polka
Jarabe
Suite For Cello And Harp: Chorale
Suite For Cello And Harp: Pastorale And Rondeau
Suite For Cello And Harp: Interlude
Suite For Cello And Harp: Aria
Suite For Cello And Harp: Chorale (reprise)

Amazon.com

A new disc of music from American composer Lou Harrison is always an occasion for joy. Harrison, perhaps more than any other American composer, has made the freest use of this century's many conflicting styles and modalities--including those from the Pacific Rim nations. The resultant polystylism is both idiosyncratic and infectious. This disc contains some of Harrison's best melodic writing, mostly for piano and solo strings, with the standout being the winsome Suite for Violin and String Orchestra (1993). Maria Bachmann is the soloist on the suite, with James Sedares and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in superb form. The suite alone is worth the price of the disc and, without a doubt, these delicate, graceful works provide an excellent introduction to Harrison. --Paul Cook

Alan Hovhaness: Mysterious Mountain, Lousadzak; Lou Harrison: Elegiac Symphony

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Alan Hovhaness: Mysterious Mountain, Lousadzak; Lou Harrison: Elegiac Symphony

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ASIN: B00000DWMZ
Release Date: 1989-01-01

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American Concertos

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

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ASIN: B000001K5F
Release Date: 1996-05-21

Tracks:

Violin Concerto: I. Andante con moto
Violin Concerto: II. Adagio
Violin Concerto: III. Allegro giusto
Concerto For Viola, Strings And Percussion: I. Andante mosso
Concerto For Viola, Strings And Percussion: II. Presto leggiero
Concerto For Viola, Strings And Percussion: III. Lento, leading to IV. Molto allegro
Concerto For Cello, Tape And Orchestra

Tracks:

Concertmasters For Three Violins And Orchestra
Concerto For Violin And Percussion Orchestra: I. Allegro maestoso
Concerto For Violin And Percussion Orchestra: II. Largo cantabile
Concerto For Violin And Percussion Orchestra: III. Allegro vigoroso poco presto
Concertino For Piano And Chamber Orchestra
Violin Concerto: I. Moderato pesante
Violin Concerto: II. Poco adagio
Violin Concerto: III. Allegro ostinato

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1. Adagio, molto cantabile 3:54
2. Allegro moderato 2:01
3. Allegro moderato, tranquillo 5:12First recording by string orchestra
4. Estampie 4:02
5. Chorale 4:07
6. Double Fugue 5:12
7. Ductia 2:38
8. Lament 5:56
9. Canonic Variations 5:22
10. Little Fugue 3:12
11. Round in Honor of Hermes 3:04
12. Nocturne 3:45
13. Allegro 4:12
14. Troika 2:53
15. Three Sharing 2:50
16. Wind and Plum 2:58
17. Neapolitan 1:10
18. Threnody for Richard Locke 5:20
19. Estampie 7:18