The Gift to be Free: songs by Aaron Copland: Voices, Volume 3

In this excellent selection Susan Chilcott and Iain Burnside grasp the subtlety of Copland's idiom. The two sets of Old American Songs are rightly sung in an American accent in a range of styles... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 More…

Release Date: 7th Aug 2003
Catalogue No: BBM1074
Label: Black Box

Gramophone Magazine

November 2003

Editor's Choice

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Copland: Poet's song

Susan Chilcott (soprano), Iain Burnside (piano)

Copland: Pastorale

Susan Chilcott (soprano), Iain Burnside (piano)

Copland: Four Piano Blues

Susan Chilcott (soprano), Iain Burnside (piano)

Copland: Old American Songs, Sets 1 & 2

Susan Chilcott (soprano), Iain Burnside (piano)

Copland: Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson

Susan Chilcott (soprano), Iain Burnside (piano)

Copland: Night

Susan Chilcott (soprano), Iain Burnside (piano)

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Reviews

2010

In this excellent selection Susan Chilcott and Iain Burnside grasp the subtlety of Copland's idiom. The two sets of Old American Songs are rightly sung in an American accent in a range of styles from the soulful-nostalgic of 'Long time ago' to the knockabout comedy of 'I bought me a cat'. But 'Simple Gifts', so well known from Appalachian Spring, is taken well below the marked tempo.
Copland's settings of Emily Dickinson are given with the commanding authority that this great cycle deserves. The competition on CD consists of Roberta Alexander with Roger Vignoles, where there are minor flaws, and Barbara Bonney with André Previn, which isn't an all-Copland disc. Neither of Copland's own recordings is still available. Even in this company Chilcott is impressive, with an enviable control of the wide leaps from top to bottom.
Her breath control is so good that she can easily sustain the last note of 'I could not stop for death' for its full length, symbolising eternity. In each song every mood is right, although the recorded balance varies.
The early songs are interesting. Copland set his friend Aaron Schaffer's poem Night when he was only 18 and Debussy's impressionism still avant-garde. But Pastorale three years later, just before he went to study with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, shows real personality.

The Gift to be Free: songs by Aaron Copland

Presto CD

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