Fendrich, Sharon / Red Sky Prairie
| Album: | Red Sky Prairie | Collection: | Classical | |
| Artist: | Fendrich, Sharon | Added: | Aug 2019 | |
| Label: | Crossover Records | |||
A-File Activity
| Add Date: | 2019-08-21 | Pull Date: | 2019-10-23 | Charts: | Classical/Experimental |
|---|
| Week Ending: | Sep 8 |
|---|---|
| Airplays: | 1 |
Recent Airplay
| 1. | Sep 07, 2019: | Music Casserole
Within Whispers (4:42) |
||||
Album Review
Gary Lemco
Reviewed 2019-08-18
Reviewed 2019-08-18
Composer Fendrich writes that the album’s source is a daydream about a prairie landscape after a passing storm. She felt a sense of peace and safety she expresses in 11 tracks written in a “stream of consciousness” style, moving from solo piano through increased layers of sound, all flowing as an improvisation. Fenrich, a native of Eugene, OR, worked for the La Jolla Music Society and the San Diego Chamber Orchestra in California.
1. L’dor Vador means “Generation to Generation.” The piano, strings and voices create a circular pattern. (5:08)
2. A Secret’s Song pays tribute to composer James Horner of the song “Somewhere Out There,” from An American Tail. The music creates a misty atmosphere whose middle section becomes passionate in the manner of Ludovico Einaudi, with piano and violin. (5:47)
3. Within Whispers features a delicate duo of piano and Irish flute. Its middle section takes its cue from French composers Debussy’ orchestration of Satie’s Gymnopedie No. 1. (4:42)
4. Red Sky Prairie sets a mood piece for peaceful reflection. Deliberately cast in “American” scoring, the music first depicts a storm in the manner of Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite, with full a orchestra whose violin and cello lines create a sense of intimate harmony. (5:53)
5. Song of the Dove presents a song in Esperanto meant to unite peoples of various cultures. The dove of peace sails on, despite storms and obstacles, to a point beyond the stars. (4:48)
6. Never Alone is sung in Spanish, English, and Yiddish, a series of prayers for refuge. The music alludes both to the summer of 2018, with the media attention focus on refugees entering the USA from Latin America and on Jews who sought asylum from Nazi Germany. (6:04)
7. Moonswept is set for piano, flute, violin, and harp, in order to invoke a sense of movement surrounded by moonlight. (5:01)
8. Bittersweet Memory offers a hazy orchestral palette that supports a piano and flute duet. The composer states the work invokes lost love. (4:49)
9. Last Tears presents a piano trio (piano, violin and cello) that “celebrates” the inevitable closure after grief. (5:58)
10. In Memoriam was composed for the victims of Alaska Airlines flight 261, which crashed 31 January 2000 en route from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Seattle, Washington, killing all 88 aboard. The song contains the Latin words, Dona eis pacem. Volant cum angelis. Amen. “Grant them peace. They fly with the angels.” (4:15)
11. That September Day refers to America’s tragic September 11, 2001. Like that fateful day, the piece opens in lovely, late summer, only to assume a fatal darkness. The English lyrics and melody try to assuage the catastrophe with a sense of “togetherness, hope, and strength.” (6:42)
1. L’dor Vador means “Generation to Generation.” The piano, strings and voices create a circular pattern. (5:08)
2. A Secret’s Song pays tribute to composer James Horner of the song “Somewhere Out There,” from An American Tail. The music creates a misty atmosphere whose middle section becomes passionate in the manner of Ludovico Einaudi, with piano and violin. (5:47)
3. Within Whispers features a delicate duo of piano and Irish flute. Its middle section takes its cue from French composers Debussy’ orchestration of Satie’s Gymnopedie No. 1. (4:42)
4. Red Sky Prairie sets a mood piece for peaceful reflection. Deliberately cast in “American” scoring, the music first depicts a storm in the manner of Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite, with full a orchestra whose violin and cello lines create a sense of intimate harmony. (5:53)
5. Song of the Dove presents a song in Esperanto meant to unite peoples of various cultures. The dove of peace sails on, despite storms and obstacles, to a point beyond the stars. (4:48)
6. Never Alone is sung in Spanish, English, and Yiddish, a series of prayers for refuge. The music alludes both to the summer of 2018, with the media attention focus on refugees entering the USA from Latin America and on Jews who sought asylum from Nazi Germany. (6:04)
7. Moonswept is set for piano, flute, violin, and harp, in order to invoke a sense of movement surrounded by moonlight. (5:01)
8. Bittersweet Memory offers a hazy orchestral palette that supports a piano and flute duet. The composer states the work invokes lost love. (4:49)
9. Last Tears presents a piano trio (piano, violin and cello) that “celebrates” the inevitable closure after grief. (5:58)
10. In Memoriam was composed for the victims of Alaska Airlines flight 261, which crashed 31 January 2000 en route from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Seattle, Washington, killing all 88 aboard. The song contains the Latin words, Dona eis pacem. Volant cum angelis. Amen. “Grant them peace. They fly with the angels.” (4:15)
11. That September Day refers to America’s tragic September 11, 2001. Like that fateful day, the piece opens in lovely, late summer, only to assume a fatal darkness. The English lyrics and melody try to assuage the catastrophe with a sense of “togetherness, hope, and strength.” (6:42)
Track Listing