{"product_id":"0781064014621-rhian-samuel-songs-of-earth-and-air-the-vocal-works-of-rhian-samuel-cd","title":"Songs of Earth \u0026 Air","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePRODUCT DESCRIPTION \u003cbr\u003e The first section, Songs of Earth and Air, is inspired by Gloucestershire poet Laurie Lee’s poem, April Rise. Rhian Samuel explores the full artistic nature of the piano, employing it as ‘an instrument of colour’ to ‘create the sense of a gentle haze’, depicting the luscious deep green fields of Gloucestershire or ‘the quiet place that’s green, away from all mankind’ in W.H. Davies’ poem, The Kingfisher. Rhian Samuel’s April Rise and The Kingfisher was premiered by Edmund LeRoy and Kirt Pavitt in St Louis, Missouri, in 1983, while Snowdrop and A Warm Rain were originally set for mezzo-soprano and premiered the following year on the British Tour of USA artists Sharon Mabry and Patsy Wade. The text for the works of Spring Diary is derived from poems by Anne Stevenson, until recently a near-neighbour of Rhian Samuel in North Wales. Spring Diary celebrates the multifaceted nature of spring from Anne Stevenson’s unique Welsh influenced perspective with references to the mountainous region of Cwm Nantcol and to the Mabinogion, 14thcentury Welsh folklore literature in the Mabinogion. Jeremy Huw Williams stars in the solo piece, Moon over Maenefa, a poem written by Welsh poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. Hopkins’ poems often contains ‘cynghanedd’, a Welsh poetic technique that employs a strict structure of sounds through patterns of consonants. In this spirit, Rhian Samuel evokes the technique through the use ofalliteration and repetition. Moon over Maenefa was commissioned by the Royal Academy of Music, London as part of its 200th anniversary celebrations. Summer Songs is full of vivid contrast where In Summer highlights the end of night compared to the second poem’s afternoon sun. Paula Fan masters the demanding piano work, whose role and importance throughout the two poems rivals that of the voice showcasing the evocation of the sobbing cry of the waking bird in In Summer and the translucence of the butterfly’s wings in A Dragonfly in the Sun. A Swift Radiant Morning gives an overview of the life of Poet Charles Hamilton Sorley who was killed in the Battle of Loos in 1915. Earth’s King is a fitting memorial to the life of Sorley, celebrating his endurance and legacy. Rondeau for baritone, Ivo Shin de Souza (flute), Jackie Glazier (Bb clarinet), Morris Palter (vibraphone), Emmy Tisdel (viola) and Theodore Buchholz (cello) is based on the Japanese poet Daigaku Horiguchi’s story of a butterfly’s entanglement in a spider’s web, synonymous with the author’s own struggling love life. Samuel uses a repeated 3- note motif to imitate the rocking motion of the butterfly and its quest to escape. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e REVIEW \u003cbr\u003e Samuel’s ingenious setting of this anonymous 14th-century poem offers a striking musical evocation of the swan in all its guises, from soaring arcs of melody to pattering snippets of exploratory vocalisation. --Bbc Music Magazine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41615421636705,"sku":"0781064014621","price":17.37,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_10351954_13306176.jpg?v=1747662669","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/0781064014621-rhian-samuel-songs-of-earth-and-air-the-vocal-works-of-rhian-samuel-cd","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}