[Adolphus
Hailstork: An American Port of Call;
Naxos 8.559722 (2012)]
Adolphus C. Hailstork is a prolific African American composer whose vocal and instrumental works are performed with great frequency. He was born
on April 17, 1941 and is featured at AfriClassical.com, which lists
28 recordings on which his works appear. The Virginia Symphony,
under the direction of JoAnn Falletta, has just released its first CD
on the Naxos label, An
American Port of Call,
Naxos 8.559722 (2012).
The new CD opens with the composer's Symphony No. 1 (1988) (21:10). JoAnn Falletta leads the Virginia Symphony in a bright and lively rendition of the work. Next is Three Spirituals (2005) (8:17), an instrumental piece encompassing Everytime I Feel The Spirit; Kum Ba Yah; and Oh Freedom. The title work of the recording follows: An American Port of Call (1985) (8:33). Fanfare on Amazing Grace (2003) (3:32) is next. The program concludes with the choral work, Whitman's Journey: Launch Out on Endless Seas (2005) (17:37). The texts are by Walt Whitman. Vocal performers are Kevin Deas, baritone; and the Virginia Symphony Chorus, whose Director is Robert Shoup.
The new CD opens with the composer's Symphony No. 1 (1988) (21:10). JoAnn Falletta leads the Virginia Symphony in a bright and lively rendition of the work. Next is Three Spirituals (2005) (8:17), an instrumental piece encompassing Everytime I Feel The Spirit; Kum Ba Yah; and Oh Freedom. The title work of the recording follows: An American Port of Call (1985) (8:33). Fanfare on Amazing Grace (2003) (3:32) is next. The program concludes with the choral work, Whitman's Journey: Launch Out on Endless Seas (2005) (17:37). The texts are by Walt Whitman. Vocal performers are Kevin Deas, baritone; and the Virginia Symphony Chorus, whose Director is Robert Shoup.
Composer’s
Notes
“In 1987 I was
asked to write a piece for a summer music festival in Ocean Grove,
New Jersey. Since the piece was to be twenty minutes long and for a
Haydn-sized orchestra I decided that a simple first symphony would
fit the bill. It is written in the standard four movements: Allegro,
Adagio,
Scherzo and
Rondo.
The final rondo brings back themes from the previous three movements.
“The Three
Spirituals are
orchestral settings of three spirituals I set for pipe organ:
Everytime
I Feel The Spirit,
Kum Ba
Yah,
and Oh
Freedom.
I made the arrangements in 2005 to help celebrate the reopening of
the Crispus Attucks Theater in Norfolk, Virginia.
“An American
Port of Call was
written in 1985 for the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. The concert
overture, in sonata-allegro form captures the strident (and
occasionally tender and even mysterious) energy of a busy American
port city. The great port of Norfolk, Virginia, where I live, was the
direct inspiration.
“Whitman’s
Journey, Launch Out on Endless Seas
was commissioned by Donald J. McCullough for the Master Chorale of
Washington, DC. The première took place in April 2006 at the Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts. Though this movement was originally
conceived as the first of a set of three, it stands alone as a
tribute to the adventurous spirit of all people setting out on the
seas of life. The texts used in this piece are among the early,
youthful poems in Whitman’s Leaves
of Grass.
They depict Whitman’s vigorous optimism and his call to all women
and men to join with him as he launches out on life’s great
journey.”
Adolphus
Hailstork
Adolphus
Hailstork, JoAnn Falletta and the Virginia Symphony have worked their
magic once again, this time with an international release on the
world's leading classical music label, Naxos. This is an exciting
yet cerebral disc we expect to make a regular part of our music
listening.
Disclosure:
A review copy of this CD was
provided by the record label.
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