Recording Musical Performances of the Finest Artists in Central New York: Renegade
Classics
Ernst Bacon,
composer
"Ernie searched for the soul of America and found his answers in its
jazz, folk song, dance music, and its history and literature," says Ellen [Bacon].
He was a great lover of nature and often found the soul of America in its
mountains and streams, canyons and plains."
written by David Abrams, November 16, 1997
Syracuse Herald American
Ernst Bacon was one of that
pioneering generation of composers, along with Thomson, Copland, Harris, and
others, who found a voice for American music. Born in Chicago on May 26,
1898, his Austrian mother gave him a love song and an early start on the piano.
Although his varied career included appearance as pianist and conductor, along
with teaching and directing positions, his deepest preoccupation was always
composing. His musical awards included a Pulitzer Fellowship in 1932 for
his Symphony in D minor and three Guggenheim Fellowships.
As
a composer, Bacon belonged to no "school" and followed no fads. He was
only interested in pursuing his own path and being himself. Self-taught in
composition except for two years of study with Karl Weigl in Vienna he
experienced the depression of post-war Europe at first hand and concluded that
the European avant-garde movement, reflecting the pessimism of that era and
locale, was not appropriate to America. Returning to Chicago, he set out
to write music that expressed the vitality and affirmation of our own country.
Sometimes compared with Bartok, he incorporated into his music the history and
folklore, as well as the indigenous music poetry, folk songs, jazz rhythms, and
the very landscape of America.
"Ernst Bacon, the late former dean of the Syracuse University
School of Music and a 1932 Pulitzer Fellowship for Music, was a gifted composer who
rubbed elbows with a number of important literary and arts figures,
including author Carl Sandburg and photographer Ansel Adams - whom he
met in 1927 and with whom he maintained a close friendship until Adams'
death in 1985. In his composition Remembering Ansel Adams,
which was scored for strings, clarinet and timpani, Bacon's elegiac tribute
to his friend begins with a long, haunting lyrical section led by the solo
clarinet. The writing, which uses musical tones that spell out Adams'
name, is quite touching and uses a rich harmonic structure that recalls the
lush string writing of Ralph Vaughn-Williams."
(Written by David Abrams Syracuse Post Standard)
On Sonata for Cello and Piano, 1948 - Paul A.
Snook of Fanfare writes:
"Possibly the finest chamber work for its instrument by any
American, this four movemnt , 21-minute statement covers a wide expressive
compass and makes a forcefully solid impression. This legendary
performance by two great soloists form the Beaux Arts Trio was originally
issued on Desto and later transferred to vinyl by CRi. Its restoration
to the catalog fills an important gap in the recorded American chamber
repertoire."
Fond AffectionCD Review fromNATS Journal of Singing
"The disk opens
with seven songs sung with breathtaking beauty by soprano Janet Brown.
Especially lovely is 'Schilflied,' which shows that Bacon could
set German poetry quite well."
(NATS Journal of
Singing. November/December 2002)
"This new release offers a
selection of 21 songs--half sung by soprano, half by baritone, each with
piano--all short, sharply drawn, stressing precision and focusing on a
single mood or gesture. Many are gems. 'Schilflied' (on a German lyric)
is Schubertian, infused with gloomy, ardent longing. Even better are
Bacon's Dickinson settings. 'It's Coming--the Postponeless Creature'
evokes the remorseless tread of mortality in somber repeated chords,
while 'Velvet People', with its evanescent darting piano figures like
the scattering of light on water, conjures up the bumble-bees alluded to
in the poem's title. A wayward vocal line over fluttering arpeggios in
'The Bat' portrays that tiny monster's eccentric swooping flight.
"The performers obviously love this music; they sing and play it with
warmth, sensitive musicianship, and tonal beauty. Sopranos Janet Brown
and Amy Burton have lovely voices, and baritone William Sharp is
commanding and manly. The sound (seven songs given before a politely
quiet concert audience, the remainder in the studio) is excellent. This
is a wonderful addition to the recorded repertoire of a fascinating and
inimitable American composer.
(Mark L. Lehman, American Record Guide, September 1, 2002)
Released on CRi label in 2002.
[1] - [7]
Soprano Songs
Settings to poems by Emily Dickinson, Nickolaus Lenau, Robert Burns,
& Emily Brontė
Ernst Bacon's Sonata for Violin and
Piano was commissioned in 1983 for a concert at the United States
Library of Congress in Washington D.C. Of interest are the many
descriptive markings in the score, i.e., "rough pavement; archly; not
dominant but not neutral; power but not brilliance; the vibrato
discreet". The third movement, Lento is described by Mr. Bacon as
a "slumber song", and contains two original folk-like melodies taken
from his vocal works.
Born in Rochester, New York, David
Diamond studied composition with Sessions and Boulanger. His
Chaconne for Violin and Piano, dedicated to Jean Westbrook, was written
in 1948. The work is comprised of an opening introduction theme in
B minor, followed by twenty-two variations of different lengths, full of
rhythmic complexity. After a short solo cadenza for the violin,
the work concludes with a coda played by both instruments.
James Greening-Valenzuela, violin
John Walker, piano
Recorded in 1987 at Hollcraft Studios, Pleasant Hill, CA
