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New Releases
July, 2008                                      Read Last Month's Newsletter
The dog days of summer bring fewer music releases, but still a few not to miss - you can find the complete lists at 
MLSCMUSIC.COM  
 
In August, MLSC will be moving to a new location.  We have been in our own building in downtown Wilmington, NC for the last six years.  However, the NC Department of Transportation selected our location as the potential home for a train station that may be built in the next ten years.
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While I am in full agreement with the recent discussion on MLA-L about train or other alternative transportation needs, I must admit at first I was less than thrilled to have our property converted to a train station.  However, now that we have waded through the difficulties and confusion of eminent domain and the lengthy process, we are ready to move on to a brighter future in our new location.
 
One day you will be able to take a train to visit Wilmington, NC and you can stop by our new office at:
MLSC, Inc.
Music Library Service Company
44 Darlington Avenue
Wilmington, NC 28403
We will be in our new location as of August 11, 2008.  Our other contact information such as phone numbers, email and web addresses will remain the same. 
 
 
Philip Glass: Waiting for the Barbarians
Orange Mountain Music 39
Philip Glass's 2005 opera, Waiting for the Barbarians is based on the 1980 novel by Nobel Prize winning South African author J.M. Coetzee, with a libretto by Academy Award winner Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement).  Waiting for the Barbarians is a harrowing allegory of the war between oppressors and the oppressed.  This live recording from a performance in Amsterdam in 2006 is performed by the company from the Erfurt Theater, Erfurt Germany, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies with Richard Salter as the Magistrate, and Eugene Perry as Colonel Joll. 


Shakespeare's Tempest 
Sir Arthur Sullivan & Jean Sibelius
Kansas City Symphony Orchestra, Michael Stern conducting
Reference 115
Recorded in February, 2008, the Kansas City Symphony pairs the first modern recording of the Tempest suite by Sir Arthur Sullivan with the Sibelius suites. 
 
"This is a very good idea... (the Sullivan) is full of memorable and ingenious touches, always tuneful, light of style and sometimes anticipating the Savoy Operas... (the Sibelius) is among his greatest achievements, superbly characterful, wonderfully inventive and brilliantly orchestrated... Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony do the music proud... the reproduction has terrific impact, space and glow." --Colin Anderson, classicalsource.com 
Eric Sawyer: Our American Cousin
Boston Modern Orchestra Project
BMOP/Sound 1006
An opera based on the assassination of President Lincoln from the standpoint of the actors presenting the comedy of the same name at Ford's Theater. It offers something new in the realm of American contemporary opera, an American myth told in an unfamiliar way, with both poetic and musical language drawing from the past but refracted through the present. The opera is the collaborative invention of composer Eric Sawyer and librettist John Shoptaw, whose libretto is freely imagined within the framework of the documented historical event and adapted plot of the original Broadway comedy. Its three acts comprise the backstage events prior to the play, the play itself, and the rupture of the stage drama by the assassination and its immediate aftermath.

Hear, O Israel: A Prayer Ceremony in Jazz
Herbie Hancock/Thad Jones/Ron Carter
Trunk 25
Originally privately pressed in 1968 in minute numbers and only for sale at Friday night prayer concerts, Hear, O Israel has to be one of the rarest and most extraordinary jazz recordings to come out of New York. Written by a 17 year-old and played by one of the greatest jazz line-ups of all time, this really has to be heard to be believed. And this is the first-ever proper release of this extraordinary album. Back in 1968, a 17 year-old named Jonathan Klein had written an alternative concert for Friday Night Jewish prayers. It had been performed a few times at various Friday night gatherings, and been received well. The decision was made by a Jewish charitable organization to take this concert a little further and record it properly. An extraordinary line-up was put together (we have no idea how this came about), and the recording was made. It was pressed in very, very limited numbers without a real label, with no catalog number and was only offered for sale at various prayer gatherings. Without real distribution, the LP disappeared from view very fast, and even today there is little or no reference to it anywhere except on an obscure Herbie Hancock recordings web site. Jonny Trunk first came across the album in the late 1990s, and again recently in 2005. Because it is so unusual and so incredibly beautiful, he decided to get in touch with everyone involved, and officially licensed the recording for its first-ever worldwide release. Musically, the album is like no other, with its wholly unique mixture of spiritual New York jazz, Hebrew praises and modal phrases.
New Label
 
Caro Mitis produces state-of-art releases of classical music recordings of outstanding Russian & European musicians, ensembles & orchestras. Caro Mitis albums contain a number of World Premiere Recordings, particularly of early music.  Caro Mitis exclusively records and supports Pratum Integrum Orchestra - a leading orchestra on authentic instruments in Russia.
Other Releases to Note
  • Bach Cantatas, Volume 25 with Sir John Eliot Gardiner includes cantatas written for the Fifth Sunday after Easter with those written for the Sunday after Ascension Day.  Soli Deo Gloria 144
  • Julian Bream plays Dowland and Bach a 2 cd set of Bream's earliest recordings some of which have never been on CD. Deutsche Grammophon 1134302
  • Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms/Symphony in C with Simon Rattle conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker.  EMI 76300
  • Bella Napoli: Oboe Concertos by Scarlatti, Hasse, Cimarosa with Chritoph Hartmann, oboe.  EMI 142322
  • Spellbound! Lydia Kavina, theremin.  As a follow up to her first CD of original theremin works, Kavina returns with first recordings of major works for theremin and ensemble.  Mode 199
  • Lowell Liebermann: Quintet for piano, Quintet for clarinet with David Korevaar and Jon Manasse performing.  Koch Intl 7743
  • Alfred Deller: Folk Songs and Ballads the complete Vanguard recordings in a 7cd box set.  Musical Concepts 193

 

  • Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson: Two Men with the Blues.  Blue Note 504454
  •  Bluegrass - Independent Label Sides 1951-1954 this 4cd collection includes artists who recorded on small record labels like Mutual and Blue Ridge.  JSP Records 77110
  • Desert Blues 3 the Network label continues the Desert Blues series exploration of African music.  Network 495122
DVDs
 
Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp
Awake Productions 2
 The first feature documentary about Sacred Harp singing, a haunting form of a cappella, shape note hymn singing with deep roots in the American south. Shape note singing has survived over 200 years tucked away from notice in the rural deep south, where in old country churches, singers break open 'The Sacred Harp', a 160 year old shape note hymnal which has preserved these fiercely beautiful songs which are some of the oldest in America. The film offers a glimpse into the lives of this 'Lost Tonal Tribe' whose history is a story of both rebellion and tradition. The filmmakers, Matt and Erica Hinton spent 7 years documenting this yet largely unknown art form.  This film will be airing on PBS in November.  Read more about this documentary on the website
 
History of the Organ, Volume 1, Latin Origins
Arthaus Musik 102111
The first volume in a four-part series tells the history of the organ, displaying the beauty of the sound it produces, the wealth of music written for it, the craftsmanship involved in building such a complicated and often ornate structure and the wonderful settings in which it has come to reside.
 
VOLUME 1:  Starting out in the Verona workshop of Bartolomeo Formentelli, this episode travels through Italy, Spain and France to trace the origins, history and development of the organ. It encompasses the classical sobriety of the Italian style, the Golden Age of the organ in sixteenth-century Spain, and the French style of the eighteenth century.
 
 
Egypt in Dance: Traditional Regional Dances
HMC 9573
A collection of traditional regional dances performed in 1977 by the Ahmad Khalil Dance Company with rich choreography, elaborate costuming and traditional music. 
 
  • Strauss: Arabella with Renee Fleming and Zurich Opera.  Decca 1138009
  • Rossini: L'Italiana in Algeri from the 2006 Festival d'Aix-en-Provence.  Bel Air 25
  • Purcell: Dido & Aeneas performed at the Staatsoper Berlin in 2005. Arthaus 101311
  • Angelin Preljocaj: Le Parc guided by the music of Mozart and performed by the Paris Opera Ballet.  Bel Air 209
  • Arrigo Boito: Mefistofele this performance was broadcast live via satellite on the screens of European digital cinemas in 2008 with the Teatro Massimo.  Dynamic 33581
  • Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, the acclaimed 1995 Bayreuth production conducted by Daniel Barenboim.  Deutsche Grammophon 114270
  • Prokofiev: Cinderella filmed in 1999 at the Salle Garnier, Monte-Carlo Opera House.  Deutsche Grammophon 1134209
  • Herold: La Fille mal gardee  recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, 2 February 2005. Opus Arte 992


     
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