Celtic Voices and Hale Bopp

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The Great Comet Hale-Bopp , 1997

Celtic Voices and Hale Bopp op. 36 are two independent compositions for string orchestra by Graham Waterhouse , which were published together in 1998 by Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag . Celtic Voices was created in 1995, Hale Bopp was inspired by the comet Hale-Bopp in 1997 . This work contains a chorale stanza How beautifully does the morning star shine , which is intended for a boy soprano .

"Celtic Voices"

Celtic Voices op. 36/1 for string orchestra, a piece in a movement of about 5 minutes, was composed in 1995. The composer explains: "Celtic music has diverse origins in the different folk music traditions of the western regions of the British Isles, it can therefore not be defined as clearly as Celtic art , which is easily recognized by its characteristic style of decoration."

Ivan March, in his review in the specialist magazine Gramophone, described a balance between virtuosity and lyrical tone, immersed in Phrygian modality . ("Celtic Voices similarly balances virtuosity with lyricism and dips into the Phrygian mode to establish its underlying harmonic flavor.")

"Hale Bopp"

Hale Bopp op. 36/2 for string orchestra with an obbligato part for boy soprano (or horn ) was inspired in 1997 by the comet Hale-Bopp, discovered on July 23, 1995, which became the Great Comet in 1997 .

The one-movement piece of about 7 minutes begins with tremoli , glissandi and an instrumentation that favors extreme highs and lows. It ends with a stanza of the chorale How beautifully the morning star shines ( Philipp Nicolai , 1599), with a boy soprano accompanied by a string quartet. The composer comments: "A star in the strict sense is not a comet, but every celestial phenomenon has its place in the firmament, and all of them have always fascinated people."

The work was performed for the first time in 1997, the composer directed the Orchester d'Yverdon. In the Advent season 2011, Hale Bopp was performed in Borbeck Castle , together with Bach's cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61 , and the Christmas cantata The Beginning of a New Time by Graham Waterhouse on words of the Munich poet Hans Krieger .

Printing and recording

The two works for a similar instrumentation appeared together in 1998 as Celtic Voices and Hale Bopp by Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag. Both were recorded in 2002 by the English Chamber Orchestra , conducted by Yaron Traub , as part of the Graham Waterhouse Portrait 2 CD . The CD from Meridian Records contains a combination of works by the composer for string orchestra and those for wind ensemble. On the CD, between the two works, Hymnus for winds appears, which also uses a chorale melody, but instrumental as a refrain. In his review, Hubert Culot compared the work in its suggestion of an extraterrestrial atmosphere with Caeli enarrant ... ("The heavens tell ...") by Georges Lentz .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Celtic Voices op. 36/1 . Graham Waterhouse. 2010. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  2. ↑ Ivan March: Graham Waterhouse ( English ) Gramophone. 2004. Archived from the original on March 23, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 26, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gramophone.net
  3. ↑ Andrew Fraknoi: Music Inspired by Astronomy ( English , PDF; 151 kB) International Year of Astronomy. 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
  4. ↑ Hale Bopp op. 36/2 . Graham Waterhouse. 2010. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
  5. ↑ Music at Christmas time . Graham Waterhouse. December 4, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  6. ↑ Celtic Voices and Hale-Bopp, Op. 36 / Part. . Friedrich Hofmeister. 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 2, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hofmeister-musikverlag.com
  7. ^ Hubert Culot: Graham Waterhouse ( English ) musicweb-international.com. 2004. Retrieved July 24, 2010: “Hale Bopp Op.36 / 2 ... opens with wide-spaced chords suggesting some other-worldly atmosphere and ends with a treble voice singing How brightly shines the Morning Star , accompanied by a string quartet. Though shorter and, on the whole, less astringent, this lovely piece may compared to Georges Lentz's Caeli enarrant ... III. "