Songs of Solitude Archive

RICHARD DANIELPOUR: Songs of Solitude; War Songs; Toward the Splendid City – Thomas Hampson, bari./Nashville Sym. Orch./ Giancarlo Guerrero – Naxos

by Audiophile Audition | Feb 23, 2017 | Classical CD Reviews

Some very moving and well-written songs on topics of war. RICHARD DANIELPOUR: Songs of Solitude; War Songs; Toward the Splendid City – Thomas Hampson, bari./Nashville Sym. Orch./Giancarlo Guerrero – Naxos 8.559792, 60:48, (10/14/16) ****: For people who follow American contemporary classical music only casually composer Richard Danielpour might not be one of the first names they would manage to mention. However, he has for quite some time now been writing emotional and deeply attractive music and should definitely be thought of as one of our greatest living composers. He also has the gift and talent for being able to write well; technically proficient, well structured and very accessibly for the solo voice and/or chorus. This in indeed not easy to do. A very good example can be found by listening to Danielpour’s Ancient Voices, composed for soprano Hila Plitmann. Here we have two more splendid song cycles for solo voice and orchestra (in this case the soloist is the amazing Thomas Hampson.) Both Songs of Solitude as well as War Songs are written on themes of loss and war. Songs of Solitude uses poetry by William Butler Yeats to reflect on the moods very shortly after the “9-11” attack on […]