Boston SO, Marin Alsop - Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No. 3 'Kaddish'; Missa Brevis; The Lark (2015)
Leonard Bernstein - Symphony No. 3 'Kaddish'; Missa Brevis; The Lark (2015)
Claire Bloom (narrator), Kelley Nassief (soprano);
São Paulo Symphony Choir; Maryland State Boychoir; Washington Chorus;
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 267 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 172 Mb | Artwork included
Genre: Classical | Label: Naxos | # 8.559742 | Time: 01:09:38
Claire Bloom (narrator), Kelley Nassief (soprano);
São Paulo Symphony Choir; Maryland State Boychoir; Washington Chorus;
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 267 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 172 Mb | Artwork included
Genre: Classical | Label: Naxos | # 8.559742 | Time: 01:09:38
Three examples of Leonard Bernstein’s vocal art can be heard in this recording. His Symphony No. 3 ‘Kaddish’ shuns traditional symphonic ideas in favor of an eclectic theatrical and oratorio-like form with a prominent rôle for speaker. For this recording Marin Alsop has returned to the work’s original narrative text, heard before the 1977 revision. The Lark – heard in a concert version with added narration – derives from Lillian Hellman’s adaptation of L’Alouette on the life of Joan of Arc, and it was this music that Bernstein reworked into his Missa Brevis many years later.
Marin Alsop is a Bernstein protégé, and has written fondly and extensively about studying with him. He mentored her when he was conductor of the New York Philharmonic and few conductors today understand his music better. This disc presents Bernstein the vocal composer performed inlargely original editions by one of his best contemporary interpreters. The speaker in Kaddish is the great actress Claire Bloom.
There's a theory among lovers of Russian music that the conductors who worked directly with Dmitry Shostakovich have a leg up in interpreting his music. Whether or not it's true, Marin Alsop, who was a protégée of Leonard Bernstein, is a fine interpreter of his music, and here she delivers an excellent collection of his choral music headlined by the difficult Symphony No. 3 ("Kaddish"), given in its original 1963 version. A 1977 revision shortened the work, but Alsop takes the sprawling quality of Bernstein's music at face value and holds it all together (she is also very sympathetic to the similarly musically and textually multilingual Mass of 1971). This is not a symphony in a conventional sense, but a sort of narrated Jewish oratorio, with a text fusing the Kaddish prayer and a text of Bernstein's own composition. Alsop is immeasurably aided here by the 82-year-old Claire Bloom as the reader: Bloom, who sounds just as she did in her theatrical heyday, catches the personal quality that comes through all of Bernstein's best classical pieces. The symphony is satisfyingly bracketed by a pair of works that have links both to each other and to the symphony, which was inspired by Arthur Honegger's similarly narrative Joan of Arc at the Stake (1958). Bernstein's The Lark originated as incidental music for a production of Jean Anouilh's play L'Alouette, about Joan of Arc, and that work was reconfigured by Bernstein into the fascinating, naive Missa Brevis of 1988, one of Bernstein's last works. Thus the questing, dissatisfied voice of Joan of Arc hangs over all three works in a way (Bernstein's additions to the Kaddish text are full of doubt), and Alsop gets it to the hilt. A major addition to the Bernstein catalog.Review by James Manheim, Allmusic.com
The Kaddish Symphony (1961-63) is the most problematic of the series of works in which Leonard Bernstein questioned the whole concept of religious belief. Choirs sing contrasting settings of the traditional Jewish prayer the Kaddish, and a narrator speaks an English text by Bernstein himself, an anguished interrogation of his heavenly Father – while in the score, he wrestles fruitfully with three musical father-figures, Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Copland.
The problems arise over the tone of voice and placing of the spoken passages, much rewritten by Bernstein and later by others. For this (well balanced) live recording, Marin Alsop opts for his original version, specifically for female voice. Claire Bloom delivers it in a calm, inward manner, as if at prayer, without the fierce anger generated on Bernstein’s first recording by his wife Felicia Montealegre, and on his second (of his own revision) by Michael Wager. Despite assured, purposeful contributions by the choirs and Alsop’s excellent Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the narration’s gentleness of tone nullifies an essential element of the work.
Before and after the Kaddish Symphony, the fresh-voiced choir of Alsop’s other orchestra, the São Paulo Symphony, impresses in two overlapping concert versions of Bernstein’s 1955 music for choir and percussion for Jean Anouilh’s play about Joan of Arc, The Lark: a Latin Missa Brevis, and a suite linked by some of Joan’s speeches, which are spoken by Bloom. Mixing jazzy rhythms and period colouring, the music is bright and positive, as if offering a response to the desperate questioning of Kaddish.Review by Anthony Burton, BBC Music Magazine
Boston SO, Marin Alsop - Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No. 3 'Kaddish'; Missa Brevis; The Lark (2015)
Boston SO, Marin Alsop - Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No. 3 'Kaddish'; Missa Brevis; The Lark (2015)
Tracklist:
Missa Brevis
01. 1. Kyrie (0:52)
02. 2. Gloria (2:52)
03. 3. Sanctus (1:17)
04. 4. Benedictus (1:24)
05. 5. Agnus Dei (1:57)
06. 6. Dona nobis pacem (2:11)
Symphony No.3 'Kaddish'
07. Ia. Invocation (3:12)
08. Ib. Kaddish 1 (4:58)
09. IIa. Din Torah (8:15)
10. IIb. Kaddish 2 (8:38)
11. IIIa. Scherzo (4:33)
12. IIIb. Kaddish 3 (2:47)
13. IIIc. Finale (5:59)
14. IIId. Fugue (4:10)
15. The Lark (16:31)
Exact Audio Copy V1.1 from 23. June 2015
EAC extraction logfile from 13. March 2017, 8:36
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop / Bernstein - Symphony No.3 'Kaddish'
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==== Log checksum 716736DAD6FA7CDD37D51AB9C4946E96EF6866A4FC5F75E924D3500B1EE0E44E ====
EAC extraction logfile from 13. March 2017, 8:36
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop / Bernstein - Symphony No.3 'Kaddish'
Used drive : HL-DT-STDVDRAM GU70N Adapter: 1 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 48
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 128 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "Date=%year%" -T "Genre=%genre%" %source%
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 0:51.71 | 0 | 3895
2 | 0:51.71 | 2:52.33 | 3896 | 16828
3 | 3:44.29 | 1:17.36 | 16829 | 22639
4 | 5:01.65 | 1:23.46 | 22640 | 28910
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6 | 8:22.73 | 2:10.58 | 37723 | 47530
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8 | 13:45.31 | 4:58.03 | 61906 | 84258
9 | 18:43.34 | 8:14.73 | 84259 | 121381
10 | 26:58.32 | 8:38.37 | 121382 | 160268
11 | 35:36.69 | 4:33.13 | 160269 | 180756
12 | 40:10.07 | 2:47.27 | 180757 | 193308
13 | 42:57.34 | 5:58.62 | 193309 | 220220
14 | 48:56.21 | 4:10.35 | 220221 | 239005
15 | 53:06.56 | 16:31.19 | 239006 | 313349
Range status and errors
Selected range
Filename C:\temp\Bernstein - Symphony No.3 'Kaddish'\Bernstein - Symphony No.3 'Kaddish'.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 2.3 X
Range quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 95CC2C1C
Copy CRC 95CC2C1C
Copy OK
No errors occurred
AccurateRip summary
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==== Log checksum 716736DAD6FA7CDD37D51AB9C4946E96EF6866A4FC5F75E924D3500B1EE0E44E ====
foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2017-03-25 21:32:45
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop / Bernstein - Symphony No.3 'Kaddish'
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR14 -7.41 dB -29.62 dB 3:12 07-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - Ia. Invocation
DR16 0.00 dB -21.41 dB 4:58 08-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - Ib. Kaddish 1
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DR16 -5.52 dB -28.45 dB 8:38 10-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - IIb. Kaddish 2
DR19 0.00 dB -25.84 dB 4:33 11-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - IIIa. Scherzo
DR13 -0.48 dB -20.78 dB 2:47 12-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - IIIb. Kaddish 3
DR16 -2.73 dB -26.93 dB 5:59 13-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - IIIc. Finale
DR13 -2.73 dB -20.46 dB 4:10 14-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - IIId. Fugue
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Number of tracks: 8
Official DR value: DR15
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Bitrate: 510 kbps
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================================================================================
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: The São Paulo Symphony Choir, Marin Alsop / Bernstein - Symphony No.3 'Kaddish'
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR Peak RMS Duration Track
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DR11 -1.67 dB -20.70 dB 0:52 01-Missa Brevis - 1. Kyrie
DR13 -0.31 dB -18.87 dB 2:52 02-Missa Brevis - 2. Gloria
DR10 -1.56 dB -18.85 dB 1:17 03-Missa Brevis - 3. Sanctus
DR11 -1.30 dB -20.67 dB 1:24 04-Missa Brevis - 4. Benedictus
DR12 -4.75 dB -24.53 dB 1:57 05-Missa Brevis - 5. Agnus Dei
DR13 -1.35 dB -21.76 dB 2:11 06-Missa Brevis - 6. Dona nobis pacem
DR15 -1.14 dB -22.69 dB 16:31 15-The Lark
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Number of tracks: 7
Official DR value: DR12
Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
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================================================================================
log date: 2017-03-25 21:32:45
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop / Bernstein - Symphony No.3 'Kaddish'
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR14 -7.41 dB -29.62 dB 3:12 07-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - Ia. Invocation
DR16 0.00 dB -21.41 dB 4:58 08-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - Ib. Kaddish 1
DR16 -0.32 dB -23.54 dB 8:15 09-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - IIa. Din Torah
DR16 -5.52 dB -28.45 dB 8:38 10-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - IIb. Kaddish 2
DR19 0.00 dB -25.84 dB 4:33 11-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - IIIa. Scherzo
DR13 -0.48 dB -20.78 dB 2:47 12-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - IIIb. Kaddish 3
DR16 -2.73 dB -26.93 dB 5:59 13-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - IIIc. Finale
DR13 -2.73 dB -20.46 dB 4:10 14-Symphony No.3 'Kaddish' - IIId. Fugue
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Bitrate: 510 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: The São Paulo Symphony Choir, Marin Alsop / Bernstein - Symphony No.3 'Kaddish'
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR11 -1.67 dB -20.70 dB 0:52 01-Missa Brevis - 1. Kyrie
DR13 -0.31 dB -18.87 dB 2:52 02-Missa Brevis - 2. Gloria
DR10 -1.56 dB -18.85 dB 1:17 03-Missa Brevis - 3. Sanctus
DR11 -1.30 dB -20.67 dB 1:24 04-Missa Brevis - 4. Benedictus
DR12 -4.75 dB -24.53 dB 1:57 05-Missa Brevis - 5. Agnus Dei
DR13 -1.35 dB -21.76 dB 2:11 06-Missa Brevis - 6. Dona nobis pacem
DR15 -1.14 dB -22.69 dB 16:31 15-The Lark
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Number of tracks: 7
Official DR value: DR12
Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 510 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================
Boston SO, Marin Alsop - Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No. 3 'Kaddish'; Missa Brevis; The Lark (2015)
