24 Songs
Download from iTunes Quantity in Basket: None JACOB AVSHALOMOV 24 Songs TROY249 - Price: $16.99
Go Back >

 

Songs in the Barber-Ives-Prokofiev molds.

Jacob Avshalomov was born in Tsingtao, China in 1919. He studied music first with his father, Aaron Avshalomov, and then Ernst Toch, Bernard Rogers, Aaron Copland and at Reed College and the Eastman School. He has taught at Columbia University and summers at Tanglewood and Aspen. From 1954 to 1994, he was conductor of the Portland Youth Symphony where he conducted among other works, the U.S. premieres of Tippett's The Child of Our Time and Roger Sessions' Divertimento. About the music on this disc, Mr. Avshalomov writes: "I'm with William Byrd, when he proclaimed, "Since synging is so good a thynge I wish all men would learne to synge.' The human voice is the ultimate musical instrument. I still believe this even after having reveled for 40 years as conductor of the Portland Youth Symphony. So it was no surprise to me, when I stepped down from my podium to concentrate on composing that as I surveyed my lifetime list of works, I realized over half of them were either vocal or choral. This, of course reflects an abiding interest in poetry and devotional literature of various persuasions. The songs presented in this recording were composed over a 40-year period, which began a decade before I became a conductor. Almost all the songs were composed for mezzo-soprano."
Contents:
Jacob Avshalomov, composer
Songs for Alyce
Alyce Rogers, mezzo, Linda Barker, piano

Jacob Avshalomov, composer
Whimsies
Alyce Rogers, mezzo, Linda Barker, piano

Jacob Avshalomov, composer
Threnos
Alyce Rogers, mezzo, Linda Barker, piano

Jacob Avshalomov, composer
Wonders
Alyce Rogers, mezzo, Linda Barker, piano

Jacob Avshalomov, composer
Biblical Songs
Alyce Rogers, mezzo, Linda Barker, piano

Jacob Avshalomov, composer
From the Chinese
Alyce Rogers, mezzo, Linda Barker, piano

Jacob Avshalomov, composer
Two Old Birds
Alyce Rogers, mezzo, Linda Barker, piano

Jacob Avshalomov, composer
Who is My Shepherd
Alyce Rogers, mezzo, Linda Barker, piano

Jacob Avshalomov, composer
Fed by my labors
Alyce Rogers, mezzo, Linda Barker, piano

Jacob Avshalomov, composer
O Time
Alyce Rogers, mezzo, Linda Barker, piano

Review:
"Avshalomov, the former director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic, composed these songs over 40 years. He is more sensitive to words than many composers, and, in Rogers, he finds a matching muse. The selections provide a nice range of emotions, textures, musical wit and poignancy, from William Blake's poetry to biblical songs to the vivid imagery of Li Po's poetry." (The Oregonian)
You may also like:
More Info
iTunes JACOB AVSHALOMOV Choral Works
More Info
iTunes THE AVSHALOMOV FAMILY Three Generations of Music
More Info
iTunes JACOB AVSHALOMOV Orchestral Music
More Info
iTunes OREGON COMPOSERS World Premieres
More Info
iTunes JACOB AVSHALOMOV Fabled Cities