Description
Title: Playing on the Edge 2
Artist: Sirius Quartet
Label: Navona
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 896931006156
Genre: Classical
Release Date: 2020-10-23
Number of Discs: 1
PLAYING ON THE EDGE 2 follows up Navona Records” first Gramophone-lauded album in this series for string quartet. Like the first installment, the award-winning Sirius Quartet plays the entire catalogue to perfection. Bruce Babcock opens the album with Watcher of the Sky, a piece commissioned to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the birth of American astronomer George Ellery Hale. Four movements chronicle the astronomer”s achievements throughout the course of his career: the listener follows the rise from humble beginnings to great discoveries, always enveloped in a sense of marvel at the infinity of outer space. The Canary Who Sang by Dayton Kinney is a politically-inspired piece drawing parallels between the historical canaries in coal mines and today”s whistleblowers: a musical testament on how one voice can potentially disrupt a larger society. Happiness, anger, sorrow and joy are the underlying emotions of Roger Fong”s Variations on Emotions. Derived from a Chinese saying that it is these emotions that make up life, Fong examines the nature of these heterogeneous sentiments with great accuracy. Daniel Burwasser”s Puck”s Game is a cinematically illustrative characterization of Shakespeare”s mischievous sprite Puck from A Midsummer Night”s Dream. Rhythmic and exciting, the work is somewhat reminiscent of Shostakovich, but more light-hearted and humorous. The first movement of String Quartet by John Summers is a meditation on sound, with thick harmonic layers and long, luscious melodic lines. The eclectic Landscapes by Gregory J. Harris round off the album. Careful to give every note, every idea ample space, the three-movement work exploits the tension between grandeur and intimacy – and the string quartet setup is the perfect conjunction of both.
Tracks:
1.1 Watcher of the Sky~In 1903
1.2 Watcher of the Sky~Night of First Light
1.3 Watcher of the Sky~1938
1.4 Watcher of the Sky~Palomar
1.5 Canary Who Sang
1.6 Variations on Emotions
1.7 Puck”s Game
1.8 String Quartet~Mvt. 1
1.9 String Quartet No. 1 “”Landscapes””~Scenes from a Dark Wood
1.10 String Quartet No. 1 “”Landscapes””~In the Moon”s Wake
1.11 String Quartet No. 1 “”Landscapes””~A Wild Wind
Audio Sample:
All soundclips are provided by Tidal and are for illustrative purposes only. For some releases, the tracks listed may not accurately represent the tracks on the physical release.
