In a space of about three years, American composer Leo Smit (born in Philadelphia in 1921) wrote songs to seventy-five of Emily Dickinson's poems, and by 1999 had set eighty-three of them. He has titled the whole lot The Ecstatic Pilgrimage, and divided it into separate song cycles.This disc presents thirty-three of them, comprising the following: Cycle 1, Childe Emilie, fourteen songs about memories and fantasies of childhood (1989); Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, twelve songs about music and birds (1988); and Cycle 6, The ...
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In a space of about three years, American composer Leo Smit (born in Philadelphia in 1921) wrote songs to seventy-five of Emily Dickinson's poems, and by 1999 had set eighty-three of them. He has titled the whole lot The Ecstatic Pilgrimage, and divided it into separate song cycles.This disc presents thirty-three of them, comprising the following: Cycle 1, Childe Emilie, fourteen songs about memories and fantasies of childhood (1989); Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, twelve songs about music and birds (1988); and Cycle 6, The White Diadem, seven songs about poets and poetry (1989). The performances are about as authoritative as can be imagined. Smit himself accompanies at the piano. His singer is soprano Rosalind Rees, described as a "composer's singer" with over a hundred premieres and dedications to here credit." She and Smit have been working together since 1971. She premiered all the songs on this disc.The writer must balance admiration for her artistry, understanding, musicianship, and ability to...
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