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Although he wrote two large scale operas, two symphonies and a concerto each for violin, cello and piano, the majority of Barber's compositions were on a much smaller scale. This collection of songs and chamber pieces contains some of his earliest work, dating from 1928 to 1940, with two groups of songs from 1968 and 1972 respectively.
The Adagio movement of the String Quartet from 1936 has, in its version for string orchestra, become one of the most popular works by an American composer. Here is an opportunity to hear it as Barber originally intended, and the intimacy brought to it by a smaller ensemble lends it a greater intensity.
Barber was a fine composer for the voice and his output of songs was prolific. Dover Beach, to words by Matthew Arnold, is one of Barber's finest compositions and it is beautifully sung here by Thomas Allen.
Barber: Dover Beach, Op. 3
Barber: Serenade, Op. 1 - 1. Un Poco Adagio, Allegro Con Spirito
Barber: Serenade, Op. 1 - 2. Andante Con Moto
Barber: Serenade, Op. 1 - 3. Dance
Barber: Songs, Op. 2 - The Daisies
Barber: Songs, Op. 2 - With Rue My Heart Is Laden
Barber: Songs, Op. 2 - Bessie Bobtail
Barber: Songs, Op. 10 - Rain Has Fallen
Barber: Songs, Op. 10 - Sleep Now
Barber: Songs, Op. 10 - I Hear An Army
Barber: Songs, Op. 13 - 3. Sure On This Shining Night
Barber: Songs, Op. 13 - 4. Nocturne
Barber: Songs, Op. 45 - Now Have I Fed & Eaten Up The Rose
Barber: Songs, Op. 45 - A Green Lowland Of Pianos
Barber: Songs, Op. 45 - O Boundless, Boundless Evening
Barber: String Quartet, Op. 11 - 1. Molto Allegro E Appassionato
Barber: String Quartet, Op. 11 - 2. Adagio
Barber: String Quartet, Op. 11 - 3. Molto Adagio, Presto
Barber: Despite & Still, Op. 41 - A Last Song
Barber: Despite & Still, Op. 41 - My Lizard
Barber: Despite & Still, Op. 41 - In The Wilderness
Barber: Despite & Still, Op. 41 - Solitary Hotel
Barber: Despite & Still, Op. 41 - Despite & Still
November 2009
****
“Mostly a wide-ranging choice of Barber's songs, intense and rather Brittenish in idiom, but polished and often warm-hearted, plus his String Quartet, source of the famous Adagio.”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
Barber: Dover Beach, Op. 3