This album of music by Paul Moravec, who won the Pulitzer Prize in music in 2004, includes two vocal works and a piano solo. The song cycle Vita Brevis sets five brief texts by a variety of poets that move through the course of life from birth to death. Scored for voice and string trio, the pieces skillfully exploit the additions the string sonorities make to the traditional pairing of voice and piano. Soprano Amy Burton, ably accompanied by Trio Solisti, sings them with lovely tone and a disarming naturalness. The composer ...
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This album of music by Paul Moravec, who won the Pulitzer Prize in music in 2004, includes two vocal works and a piano solo. The song cycle Vita Brevis sets five brief texts by a variety of poets that move through the course of life from birth to death. Scored for voice and string trio, the pieces skillfully exploit the additions the string sonorities make to the traditional pairing of voice and piano. Soprano Amy Burton, ably accompanied by Trio Solisti, sings them with lovely tone and a disarming naturalness. The composer describes the almost-20-minute Useful Knowledge: A Franklin Fantasy as a brief cantata for baritone and mixed chamber ensemble that includes oboe, string trio, piano, and glass harmonica. It uses a variety of quotes by Franklin juxtaposed in the manner of a fantasia, with little immediately apparent connection between them. Baritone Randall Scarlata sings with a warm, open tone. The use of the glass harmonica (an instrument Franklin invented) adds immeasurably to the interest of the...
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Add this copy of Useful Knowledge / Vita Brevis & Characteristics to cart. $32.47, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Naxos American Classics.
