Yehuda Hanani, Jane Alexander, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, William Eddins - Perry: Jamestown Concerto - Schuman: A Song of Orpheus - Thomson: Cello Concerto (2008)

Tracklist

01. Jamestown Concerto: I. London 1606. The Virginia Company
02. Jamestown Concerto: II. Settlements Along the River
03. Jamestown Concerto: III. The Long Winters
04. Jamestown Concerto: IV. Pocahontas in London
05. Jamestown Concerto: V. Jamestown: Four Hundred Years On
06. Henry VII, Act 3: Orpheus with his Lute Made Trees
07. A Song of Orpheus
08. Cello Concerto: I. Rider on the Plains
09. Cello Concerto: II. Variations on a Southern Hymn
10. Cello Concerto: III. Children's Games

This recording presents three important yet infrequently heard American cello works.

It is the first modern recording of William Schuman’s A Song of Orpheus; the Virgil Thomson Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra in its original full orchestration has not been recorded since the 1950s; and William Perry’s Jamestown Concerto is receiving its world première recording.

All three composers worked extensively in art song, opera or musical theatre, and their concertos, while technically demanding, emphasise the lyric qualities of the cello, the instrument that most closely identifies with the human voice.

The music is distinctly American, optimistic and outgoing, while intentionally touching on the roots of the American experience.

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