Release Date: 21 July 2017
Label: Prima Facie
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 0607128998594
Genres: Classical Contemporary Classical
Description
The composer Paul Corfield Godfrey releases the first ever recording of his music. 'Akallabêthand Other Tolkien Works' features Tara Mcswiney (soprano), Andrew Henley (tenor), Adam Jondelius (baritone), Nicola Loten (flute), Niamh Ferris (viola), Immanuel Carl Maria Vogt (piano), and Connor Fogel (piano).
A preoccupation with the work of JRR Tolkien (1892-1973) has dominated much of Godfrey's composing career. Most notably, Godfrey's cycle of epic scenes, The Silmarillion, is the largest work of classical music written in Wales in the twentieth century, inspired by Tolkien's vast mythical legendarium of the same name.
Many of the works on this CD are associated with The Silmarillion. Daeron Op. 45, for flute and piano, was written after Godfrey's cycle The Silmarillion. It describes the wanderings of Daeron in search of his beloved Lúthien. Tolkien Songs Op. 9 mostly draw upon elements of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, but the final song is inspired by the closing scene of The Hobbit. Shadow-Bride Op. 33 is written for soprano, piano and viola, and is a setting of part of The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. It is connected to a legend in The Silmarillion, in which a woman is trapped in union with a possessive lover. The solo piano work, Akallabêth, is a symphonic poem in rondo form, based on the story of the doomed kingdom of Númenor in The Silmarillion.
The song cycle Mysteries of Time Op. 44 involves tenor, baritone and soprano voices, and sets poetry by Ralph Hodgson, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Allison Reynolds, William Butler Yeats and Poul Anderson. All touch upon the inspiration that poets draw from the natural world. "An undulating vocal line that perfectly reflects the poetic idea." - Gywnn Parry-Jones, MusicWeb International.
Paul Corfield Godfrey's output includes music in all genres. Notable works include The Dialogues of Óisin and Saint Patric and Arcturus, both performed in Cardiff and elsewhere, and The Silmarillion, a cycle of epicscenes based upon JRR Tolkien's posthumous novel. Godfrey has performed on both radio and television, and has had his work performed throughout the UK, as well as in Hungary, America, Australia and New Zealand.
Tracklisting
Xuefei Yang, Johannes Moser, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Or
Kenneth Hamilton
Michael Cretu
Laura Serra
Vladimir Miller, Neil Latchman, Keri Farish
Terence Charlston, Julian Perkins
John Turner & Neil Smith
I Solisti Di Londra & Aleksander Szram
Paul Corfield Godfrey
Paul Corfield Godfrey
Paul Corfield Godfrey
