The two song cycles recorded here are the result of a collaboration between British composer Alec Roth and Indian-British poet Vikram Seth. For the Twelve Songs in Time of War, Seth reworked poetry by eighth century poet Du Fu, who, for much of his life, was caught up in a civil war. The songs are scored for the lovely ensemble of tenor, violin, harp, and guitar. Roth has a gift for graceful, unforced melody, and in spite of the grim subject matter, many of the songs are memorably lyrical. Much of their appeal lies in their ...
Read More
The two song cycles recorded here are the result of a collaboration between British composer Alec Roth and Indian-British poet Vikram Seth. For the Twelve Songs in Time of War, Seth reworked poetry by eighth century poet Du Fu, who, for much of his life, was caught up in a civil war. The songs are scored for the lovely ensemble of tenor, violin, harp, and guitar. Roth has a gift for graceful, unforced melody, and in spite of the grim subject matter, many of the songs are memorably lyrical. Much of their appeal lies in their simplicity; the accompaniment often consists of arpeggiated figures in the harp or guitar or a countermelody in the violin. The music may be simple, but it's a highly sophisticated simplicity; these songs are clearly the work of an independent and original thinker, not an ideological conservative reacting to the complexities of modernism. The second cycle, Chinese Gardens, is scored for tenor and guitar. Here again Roth's unabashed lyrical gifts are on full display. The composer...
Read Less
