Evening (Ešenvalds) - from CDA67796 - Hyperion Records

Reviews

'Ešenvalds displays an impressive command and variety of musical language … soloist, choir and strings are first-rate' (Choir & Organ)

'Ešenvalds responds to the purpose of the words he sets, occupying similar choral territory to the likes of Whitacre and Shchedrin, character rather than ego dominating … Ešenvalds favours the upper voices, giving them luminous, floating melodies against backgrounds that set them in shimmering relief or throw mysterious, penumbrous cloaks around them. Polyphony typically balances beauty of timbre with precise articulation and empathy with the texts' (BBC Music Magazine)

'Within seconds I knew I was going to adore this CD and the music of Ēriks Ešenvalds … this is a performance of considerable impact, not least in the second movement when the electrifying choral cries of 'Crucify' dissolve so magically into calm, plainchant-inspired music above which Carolyn Sampson floats with angelic luminosity … if the music wasn't so utterly gorgeous, I would happily devote several hundred words to praising Stephen Layton for these totally absorbing performances. Along with Polyphony, he set the benchmark long ago, and while this is as good as anything they've ever committed to disc, the real praise here has to be reserved for Ēriks Ešenvalds, whose music clearly warrants a great deal more exposure' (International Record Review)

Evening sets a brief poem by Sara Teasdale, who took her own life after an unhappy marriage and the suicide of a close friend and admirer, fellow-poet Vachel Lindsay. This magical little tone poem is really an exploration of just a few chords, simple triads that are subtly piqued as they frequently telescope into each other. Against this static backdrop, sopranos and altos limn the dusk chorus and a first glimpse of the stars. The piece doesn’t really go anywhere, it simply is, full of innocent wonderment at the close of the day.

Evening met en musique un court poème de Sara Teasdale, poétesse qui se donna la mort après un mariage malheureux et le suicide de son ami intime et admirateur, le poète Vachel Lindsay. Ce magique petit poème symphonique se contente, au vrai, d’explorer quelques accords, de simples accords parfaits subtilement excités par de fréquents télescopages mutuels. Sur ce fond statique, sopranos et altos dessinent le chœur crépusculaire et un premier aperçu des étoiles. En vérité, cette pièce ne va nulle part, elle est, tout simplement, pleine d’émerveillement innocent à la tombée du jour.

Evening ist eine Vertonung eines kurzen Gedichts von Sara Teasdale, die sich nach einer unglücklichen Ehe und dem Selbstmord eines guten Freundes und Bewunderers—ihr Dichter-Kollege Vachel Lindsay—das Leben nahm. Diese bezaubernde kleine Tondichtung ist in Wirklichkeit ein Erkunden von nur wenigen Akkorden, schlichte Dreiklänge, die geschickt behandelt und mehrfach ineinandergeschoben werden. Gegen diesen statischen Hintergrund malen die Sopran- und Altstimmen den Sonnenuntergangschor und den ersten Blick auf die Sterne. Das Stück bewegt sich nicht wirklich in eine bestimmte Richtung, es ist einfach nur, voll des arglosen Staunens über das Tagesende.

Recording details: April 2010
All Hallows, Gospel Oak, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Adrian Peacock
Engineered by David Hinitt
Release date: March 2011
Total duration: 3 minutes 21 seconds

Cover artwork: Good Friday (2002) by Maggi Hambling (b1945)
Private Collection / Bridgeman Art Library, London

Evening

Polyphony, Stephen Layton (conductor)

Reviews

Introduction