June 28, 2011

  • Review: The Pulitzer Project

     

    The Pulitzer Project: Pulitzer Prize-Winning Works by
    Schuman,  Sowerby, & Copland
    Grant Park Orchestra & Chorus/Carlos Kalmar
    Cedille Records 90000 125
    Total Time:  74:00
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

     

    Recorded in concert last summer, this disc from the Grant Park (Chicago) Orchestra and Chorus brings together three of the first four classical works which received the Pulitzer Prize in Music (Howard Hanson’s powerful, Neo-Romantic Fourth Symphony was awarded the Pulitzer in 1944).  Of the three only one has managed to stay consistently in the orchestral repertoire, albeit in its larger orchestral form.  All three of the composers represented here, William Schuman, Aaron Copland, and Leo Sowerby, are important artists who contributed much to our musical landscape.  What is fascinating is that both the Schuman and Sowerby receive their world premiere recordings here--which in the latter case is enough to warrant acquiring this disc for any student serious about American Music.

    William Schuman was the first composer to receive the Pulitzer for Music in 1943.  It was for his choral-orchestral settings of texts from Walt Whitman’s Drum Taps, A Free Song (1942).  The music’s power spoke loudly to a nation at war.  The opening movement, “Look Down, Fair Moon,” opens contemplatively enough with beautiful lyrical lines and a fine baritone solo (sung well here by Ryan J. Cox).  Where the piece shines, though, is in its concluding second movement, “Song of the Banner.”  Here are those massive blocks of harmonic writing which are hallmarks of Schuman’s sound.  The music is forceful, not as angular as one would expect, but opens powered with a fascinating fugue.  It is also in this movement where Schuman’s brilliant orchestration comes to the foreground growing into a quiet patriotic and rousing full orchestra and choral conclusion.  The powerful performance by The Grant Park chorus and orchestra is simply earth shattering, especially in its final bars.  The chorus feels at times a bit recessed (a common problem in any large choral production) but texts are mostly clear.  Carlos Kalmar proves to be a perfect match for shaping this music and the fugue comes off perfectly with just the right dramatic emphasis.

    Appalachian Spring (1944) is probably the most famous American ballet ever composed.  In it we see much of Aaron Copland’s Americana style in full blossom.  In contrast to the Schuman before it, one could not find a better contrast in style.  Simple lines and rich harmonic writing that shifts between an open sound and those that pull together into major seventh chords, make for music that has a growing power.   Perhaps known more for its inclusion of the Shaker hymn, “Simple Gifts,” the ballet for Martha Graham is part of a sound that was gracing her ballets not just by Copland, but by others she commissioned.  There is no denying the power of this score however and the Pulitzer was awarded for its chamber orchestra version.  In 1945, Copland’s suite (performed on this release) brought together 8 of the movements for fuller orchestra and is the version heard most today.  It is unfortunate that the performance here is not of the version which actually received the Pulitzer in 1945.  Still the Grant Park musicians are more than capable of handling the music that is everyone’s hope to perform at some point.  Some of the dance segments feel just slightly under tempo at times, but no less convincing and when it takes off it does so with fabulously clean articulation and crystal clear orchestral textures.  Though many will have their favorite performance of this work, this one deserves to be in that mix. 

    For no real good reason, Leo Sowerby (1895-1968) has all but faded from musical notice.  Organists may be most familiar with his many masterful pieces for that instrument and other church works.  Sowerby was the composer-in-residence for over 30 years for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra whose conductor, Frederick Stock, was a champion of his works.  Stock’s death occurred 2 months before the commission for what is perhaps Sowerby’s masterpiece, The Canticle of the Sun (1945).  Though winning the Pulitzer for this piece in 1946, his publisher joked that his music would be harder to sell than ever.  At any rate, this work has seen about a dozen performances over the past 65 years which is simply tragic.  Sowerby’s texts for the piece are by St. Francis of Assisi.  Though theoretically religious texts, Sowerby felt the work was more a secular concert work in line with his symphonies, concerti, and other formal pieces.  It might be safe to say that Sowerby’s textual choice was a bit bold at a time when most composer’s were exploring American poets of the 19th century, especially the Transcendentalists.  But given the composition of the work in the concluding years of WWII, one finds that it is a work of cosmic hope that wants to get at deeper meanings and universal truths.  Critics at the time had a hard time placing the musical style finding in the work Delian qualities (listen especially to some of the final cadential moments in the score, and in the quieter choral passages) to Liszt and Wagnerian orchestral writing.  The intense dramatic quality of the work is nonetheless captured in a Neo-Romantic like orchestral style of expanded harmonic proportions.  The orchestral writing is as brilliant as one is likely to find and the choral writing is a reminder that Sowerby was a master at composing for voices.  The moving work receives a stellar performance here and is filled with proper nuance and well-shaped lines and orchestral balance.  There were many large-scale choral and orchestral works that came out of the 1940s and the neglect of this one continues to be unfathomable.  This performance alone is enough to recommend the present release.

    For those unfamiliar with the Grant Park Orchestra, they essentially perform outdoor concerts in Chicago’s Millennium Park.  It is where this program was recorded last June (2010) and this may have something to do with a bit more bass balance at times and the choral projection.  But the sound is still quite amazing with a fabulously-captured dynamic range.  The booklet includes all the texts and as well as excellent program notes.  If ever an ensemble could be encouraged to continue exploring other Pulitzer works, one can only hope that it would be the Grant Park ensemble under their conductor Carlos Kalmar.  The entire production is simply wonderful and a testament to the quality of America’s many lesser known regional orchestras.  This disc would have been recommendable for the repertoire alone, but fortunately, one can highly recommend this disc from its excellent performances alone.