DANIEL BÖRTZ (b.1943): His Name was Orestes, A Joker's Tales for Recorder and Orchestra (Dan Laurin [recorder]).

Catalogue Number: 03J084

Label: BIS

Reference: CD-1653/54

Format: CD

Price: $39.98

Description: Börtz' ninety-minute oratorio condenses Aeschylus' Oresteia into two parts; the first deals with Clytemnestra's murder of Agamemnon and Cassandra, the second with Orestes' return, murder of Clytemnestra and her lover, his trial by the Furies and acquittal by the gods. The narrative is presented largely in the form of extended - and demanding - solo arias for the principal characters, with punctuating narrative by the choir or its leader, a spoken role. Börtz' idiom is grounded in tonality, but he most salient feature of the music in this work is the dramatic expression of the psychology of the characters, conveyed via the passionately immediate vocal writing. The chorus conveys the emotional temperature of the narrative, and the orchestra - used sparely, except for moments of dramatic punctuation (and there are some marvelous moments of tonal tension and resolution, especially in the trial scene) - sets the scene and provides the predominantly dark-toned backdrop, but it is left to the soloists to communicate the thrust of the characters' passions, and their arbitrary treatment by the heartless gods. 2 CDs. Swedish-English texts. Annalena Persson (soprano), Ingrid Tobiasson (mezzo), Anders Larsson, Olle Persson (baritones), Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra; Alan Gilbert.

Search:

Login:
(requires cookies enabled)

E-mail:
Password:

Register:
Need to register? Click here.

Cart:
(requires cookies enabled)

Your cart is currently empty.