Žibuoklė Martinaitytė Choral Works Uniquely Beautiful

This release was my introduction to the music of Žibuoklė Martinaitytė. This Lithuanian composer has built a following among contemporary music audiences. Martinaitytė's music is all about atmosphere. And in these vocal works, it's expressing emotion beyond words.

The opening track "Aletheia" was composed in 2022 for the Latvian Radio Choir. The shock of the Russian invasion of Ukraine inspired the work. There's no text. We hear sighs, whispers, moans, and other disquieting -- but very human -- sounds. 

Imagine Gyorgy Ligeti's "Atmosphères" crossed with the thick textures of Eric Whitacre. It's a powerful work, and one of disturbing beauty. 

Chant des Voyelles (2018), or, Incantation of Vowels is just that. Here Martinaitytė subtly shifts long, held tones. Overtones move, changing the character of the sounds in unobvious ways. The music seems suspended in time. And yet it's continually evolving and moving forward. 

Martinaitytė writes that her work "Ululations" portrays "mourning women whose men... are at war fighting and dying." The ululations of the female voices provide the motivic structure of the work. And from those sounds the choir builds in quiet intensity. 

The Blue of Distance is the earliest work on the album, dating from 2010. But it's mature Martinaitytė. The wordless chorus creates a sensuous cloud of sound. One that continually swirls about itself, creating new combinations of tones and overtones. 

The Latvian Radio Choir commissioned one of the works on this release. And their performance of "Aletheia" is nothing less than authoritative. And their singing on the other pieces even more so. This is a capella music -- no instruments to lean on. And the music continually has tones a half-step apart. Their dissonances create sonic beats that are as much of the score as the written notes. 

It takes singers of extraordinary skill to sing this music. If I was told they all had perfect pitch, I wouldn't be surprised. For Martinaitytė's music to deliver its full effect, every note must be sung perfectly. And that's what we get on this release. Four perfectly-sung performances. And they create four soundscapes of exceptional beauty. 

Žibuoklė Martinaitytė: ALETHEIA
Choral Works
Latvian Radio Choir; Sigvards Klava, conductor
Ondine ODE 1447-2

#ClassicsaDay #Divertimento Week 5

  The Classics a Day team decided to lighten up a little. Webster's Dictionary defines a divertimento as "an instrumental chamber work in several movements usually light in character." 

For October, the challenge is to post videos of divertimentos written by classical composers. 

I quickly discovered that every composer had a different idea of what "light in character" meant. The only thing any of these selections have in common is the title: divertimento. Here are my selections for the fifth and final week of the #ClassicsaDay challenge, #Divertimento.

10/28/24 Akira Yuyama: Divertimento for Marimba and Alto Saxophone

Yuyama is one of the major Japanese composers of the 20th Century. Songs and solo piano works make up a large part of his catalog. But he has written in other genres, especially chamber music.

  

10/29/24 Josef Fiala: Divertimento for Keyed Trumpet

Fiala was a Czech composer and oboist. He was also a contemporary of Beethoven. Fiala wrote concertos for a wide variety of instruments, including the then newly invented keyed trumpet.

 

10/30/24 Malcolm Arnold: Divertimento for Flute, Oboe, and Clarinet

Today he’s best remembered for his score for “Bridge over the River Kwai.” But in his lifetime, Arnold was considered one of England’s greatest and most versatile composers.

 

10/31/24 Bela Bartok: Divertimento for Orchestra

Bartok composed his divertimento in 1939 for Paul Sacher and the Basler Kammerorchester. It was his final work before emigrating to the United States.

 

11/01/24 Andres Segovia: Divertimento

Segovia was one of the greatest guitarists in the world. He wrote a vast amount of music for his instrument. Yet within his catalog is just one divertimento -- this one for two guitars.

 

Next Month:

Maria Rosa Coccia - Sacred Music from 18th Century Rome

Maria Rosa Coccia was a composer and harpsichordist acive in the late 1700s. Her career is almost a case study in the "separate but equal" concept. Coccia showed talent at an early age. 

By 13 she had written six harpsichord sonatas. She'd also composed an oratorio "Danielli." The work was performed in the Oratory S. Fipllo Neri -- an event women were barred from attending. 

Her talent couldn't be denied, though. Anyone practicing music in Rome at the time had to enter the Accademia di Santa Cecilia. They also had to pass an exam to be a Maestro di Capella. 

Coccia did both at age sixteen. But because of her gender, she was never allowed to direct a choir. 

Fortunately, that didn't prevent her from composing music for choirs. This release features five sacred works by Coccia and two of her instrumental works. The program includes works by her contemporaries: Stane Pesci, Giovanni Battista Casali, and Sebastiano Bolis. 

Coccia writes in the clean, elegant style of the middle Classical period. If you enjoy the choral works of Haydn and Mozart, you'll find a lot to like in Coccia's music. Her clarity of line ensures the text is always readily understandable. Yet her interplay between voices shows real imagination. And she has solid contrapuntal skills. 

The Cardiff University Chamber Choir has a warm, transparent sound. Their acapella singing is assured, and their phrasing is fluid. It gives the music a supple energy I quite enjoyed. Based on the quality of Coccia's work here, I would love to hear her oratorio and large-scale cantatas. But this is a great start. 

Maria Rosa Coccia: Sacred Music from Eighteenth-Century Rome
Cardiff University Chamber Choir; Peter Leech, director
Robert Court, chamber organ
Toccata Classics TOCC 0359

#ClassicsaDay #Divertimento Week 4

 The Classics a Day team decided to lighten up a little. Webster's Dictionary defines a divertimento as "an instrumental chamber work in several movements usually light in character." 

For October, the challenge is to post videos of divertimentos written by classical composers. 

I quickly discovered that every composer had a different idea of what "light in character" meant. The only thing any of these selections have in common is the title: divertimento. Here are my selections for the fourth week of the #ClassicsaDay challenge, #Divertimento.

10/21/24 Johann Georg Albrechtsberger: Divertimento in F major for violin, cello, and contrabass

In his day, he was a big name. Today, he's best remembered (if at all) as one of Ludwig van Beethoven's early composition teachers. Albrechtsberger was a cellist and colleague of Franz Joseph Haydn. His catalog includes two divertimenti for violin, cello, and double bass.  

10/22/24 Franz Schubert: Divertissement sur des motifs originaux français, D823 for piano four hands

Schubert wrote the first movement in 1826, and the remaining movements the next year. It wasn't published until 1888, long after Schubert's death.

 

10/23/24 Bertold Hummel: Divertimento for 4 Violins

Hummel was director of the Studio for New Music in Wurzburg for 25 years. He wrote several major works: 3 symphonies, an oratorio and some ballets. And several divertimenti. 

 

10/24/24 Ellen Taffe Zwilich: Divertimento for clarinet, flute, violin, and cello

Zwilich composed this work in 1983. it is her only composition in the genre.

 

10/25/24 Leonard Bernstein: Divertimento for Orchestra

Bernstein wrote his Divertimento in 1980. The work was composed for the centenary celebration of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

 

#ClassicsaDay #Divertimento Week 3

The Classics a Day team decided to lighten up a little. Webster's Dictionary defines a divertimento as "an instrumental chamber work in several movements usually light in character." 

For October, the challenge is to post videos of divertimentos written by classical composers. 

I quickly discovered that every composer had a different idea of what "light in character" meant. The only thing any of these selections have in common is the title: divertimento. Here are my selections for the third week of the #ClassicsaDay challenge, #Divertimento.

10/14/24 Johann Baptist Vanhal: Divertimento in G major

Czech composer and multi-instrumentalist Vanhal found fame and fortune in 1790s Vienna. Mozart and Haydn highly regarded his music, and Vanhal often performed with them.

 

10/15/24 Friedrich Gernsheim: Divertimento for Flute and Strings in E Major, Op. 53

Gernsheim was an older contemporary of Johannes Brahms. Some critics compared his style to a mixture of Brahms and Bruckner.

 

10/16/24 Paul Juon: Divertimento Op.51

Swiss composer Paul Juon studied with Arensky and Taneyev. He composed his divertimento in 1913 after he had relocated to Berlin.

 

10/17/24 Elizabeth Maconchy: Divertimento for Cello and Piano

Maconchy is considered one of the most important British composers of the 20th Century. She composed her divertimento in 1954.

 

10/18/24 Grażyna Bacewicz: Divertimento for Strings

Bacewicz was a violinist as well as a composer. She composed her divertimento in 1965.