Norman Dello Joio

Started by cilgwyn, April 08, 2017, 08:41:21 AM

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cilgwyn

Before I go any further....I trust this composer hasn't got his own thread!
Anyway,Norman Dell Joio,1913-2008,was born in New York,and composed quite a number of works. He received awards and quite some level of recognition in his lifetime. It's all there on Wikipedia,anyway!! ;D One of his most well known works seems to be the one I have come across the most;his Symphony,The Triumph of Saint Joan.

His Wikipedia profile:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Dello_Joio

cilgwyn

I was going to drone on a bit longer;but my mind was on food (tea time here) and I pressed the wrong key!! ??? ::) :( ;D Anyway,just to say I was listening to a cd-r of some of his music today,and I have rather liked what I have heard. The Symphony,particularly,but also his New York Profiles and Serenade. Looking on Amazon and elsewhere,I am surprised at how little music has been recorded,at least in recent times,by this composer! :(


Turner

#2
Discogs lists some recordings:
https://www.discogs.com/artist/775265-Norman-Dello-Joio

Based on my sample listenings, I can´t say that I have found his style particularly captivating, so far. He is very much an American figure, I assume.

A collection mainly founded on old LPs, I´ve got
The Triumph of St. Joan Symphony,
Phantasy & Variations for Piano & Orchestra /Leinsdorf;
Epigraph for Orchestra /Swarowsky;
Aria & Toccata for 2 Pianos /Grunschlag Duo.

Once had a longer variation work for orchestra too, the Meditations on Ecclesiastes, likewise religiously inspired, on a CD.



cilgwyn

#3
I seem to have found a Dello Joio thread,now. Begun by vandermolen,with only one post................by vandermolen!! Yet I am unable to find it in the Composer index! Do I need an appointment with a certain,ubiquitous high street optician,I wonder?!! ::) :( (Other smaller,alternatives are still available!).

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,23398.msg816807.html#msg816807

I've been through the American Composers category index again and still can't find it;so I've now bookmarked the vandermolen Dello Joio thread (if that's the right term for one post!) just in case the Moderator wipes this off the face of the earth!! ??? ;D Can anyone help?!!

vandermolen

#4
Quote from: cilgwyn on April 08, 2017, 11:08:02 AM
I seem to have found a Dello Joio thread,now. Begun by vandermolen,with only one post................by vandermolen!! Yet I am unable to find it in the Composer index! Do I need an appointment with a certain,ubiquitous high street optician,I wonder?!! ::) :( (Other smaller,alternatives are still available!).

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,23398.msg816807.html#msg816807

I've been through the American Composers category index again and still can't find it;so I've now bookmarked the vandermolen Dello Joio thread (if that's the right term for one post!) just in case the Moderator wipes this off the face of the earth!! ??? ;D Can anyone help?!!
It's not that unusual for me to be the only contributor to my own threads.  8)

'Meditations on Ecclesiastes' is a fine work by Dello Joio. This is a very nice CD. I enjoy every work on it and had some nice email exchanges with Arnold Rosner until he sadly passed away recently.
[asin]B000068ZWK[/asin]
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

cilgwyn

I was just thinking. You've finally got a response. It only took (well) over two and a half years!!
After enjoying the Symphony and New York Profiles in old mono recordings;and the Serenade,I think.....but my scribbled on track listing is shockingly sloppy! (I'll have to re-do the cd-r) I decided that.despite my intention to resist cds for a few months (until my birthday,to be exact) I felt I had to hear the Symphony in a newer stereo recording......so I bought this cd,yesterday:



This has the Variations,Chaconne & Finale on it,as well. I I see from your post here,and a post (or more?) on Amazon,that you were impressd by this work. Hopefully,this is a decent recording. I just wanted to hear the Symphony in a stereo recording! I think it's a very fine work. I also liked New York Profiles. I wouldn't say it was as impressive;but it's enjoyable music. It has that American sound to the string writing which I always enjoy. I wish I could be more technical than that,incidentally!! :-[ ;D

springrite

Quote from: cilgwyn on April 09, 2017, 04:06:09 AM
I was just thinking. You've finally got a response. It only took (well) over two and a half years!!
After enjoying the Symphony and New York Profiles in old mono recordings;and the Serenade,I think.....but my scribbled on track listing is shockingly sloppy! (I'll have to re-do the cd-r) I decided that.despite my intention to resist cds for a few months (until my birthday,to be exact) I felt I had to hear the Symphony in a newer stereo recording......so I bought this cd,yesterday:



This has the Variations,Chaconne & Finale on it,as well. I I see from your post here,and a post (or more?) on Amazon,that you were impressd by this work. Hopefully,this is a decent recording. I just wanted to hear the Symphony in a stereo recording! I think it's a very fine work. I also liked New York Profiles. I wouldn't say it was as impressive;but it's enjoyable music. It has that American sound to the string writing which I always enjoy. I wish I could be more technical than that,incidentally!! :-[ ;D

This is one of three CDs I have of Dello Joio's music. I like the Variations, Chaconne and Finale better than I liked the symphony, if I recall correctly. I agree he is a very fine composer. I wish more of his music is available.
Do what I must do, and let what must happen happen.

cilgwyn

Oh good! Well,if I like the Symphony I'm going to love that!! :) :) :)

cilgwyn

Reading your reviews,vandermolen,I just couldn't resist buying this as well! Also,since I seem to like everything I have heard by this composer (so far) how could I not?!! From everything I have read,in various places online,his Meditations on Ecclesiastes is considered to be one of his finest works,if not the finest! The other music on the cd sounds interesting too. I know you think highly of the work by Ronald Lo Pesti,too!


vandermolen

Quote from: cilgwyn on April 09, 2017, 05:05:35 AM
Reading your reviews,vandermolen,I just couldn't resist buying this as well! Also,since I seem to like everything I have heard by this composer (so far) how could I not?!! From everything I have read,in various places online,his Meditations on Ecclesiastes is considered to be one of his finest works,if not the finest! The other music on the cd sounds interesting too. I know you think highly of the work by Ronald Lo Pesti,too!


That is one of my favourite CDs cilgwyn - I'm sure you'll like it too and look forward to hearing what you think of it. All three works are great. The Lo Presti is not even mentioned on the front of the CD. I find the first movement of 'The Masks' incredibly moving - don't know why. I would never have come across it had it not been for a kind GMG member who introduced me to his music. He does seem to be genuinely unfairly neglected. There is next to nothing on CD. He died quite young. Who knows, thanks to you, the Dello Joio thread might reach page 2!  :o
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

cilgwyn

I hope so! :) I made a cd-r of the works mentioned in my original post (I got them off one of those Vinyl blogs) and have been quietly impressed (as they say) by them for some time. I put them on again,the other day,and I felt I just had to create a thread......and then found yours!! Yes,even in the weaker works there is an eloquence to the writing,a poetic dignity that I do like. I particularly like his writing for the string section of the orchestra. I'm looking forward to these..........although,not my bank statement!! ??? ;D

arpeggio

#11
Dello Joio was also a superb concert band composer.  Several of his works have become part of the standard repertoire of the band literature.  I have performed the following works many times: Variants on a Medieval Tune, Scenes from the Louvre and the Satiric Dances

The following recording includes many of his band works (including the Variants on a Medieval Tune) and a great interview of the composer.

https://www.amazon.com/Dello-Joio-Mediaeval-Concertante-Instruments/dp/B00013D4CW/ref=tmm_acd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1491782853&sr=8-22

(Note: I tried to use the Amazon button but I could not get it to work)

vandermolen

Quote from: arpeggio on April 09, 2017, 04:21:54 PM
Dello Joio was also a superb concert band composer.  Several of his works have become part of the standard repertoire of the band literature.  I have performed the following works many times: Variants on a Medieval Tune, Scenes from the Louvre and the Satiric Dances

The following recording includes many of his band works (including the Variants on a Medieval Tune) and a great interview of the composer.

https://www.amazon.com/Dello-Joio-Mediaeval-Concertante-Instruments/dp/B00013D4CW/ref=tmm_acd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1491782853&sr=8-22

(Note: I tried to use the Amazon button but I could not get it to work)
Thanks arpeggio - will look out for this.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Karl Henning



Quote from: cilgwyn on April 09, 2017, 04:06:09 AM
I was just thinking. You've finally got a response. It only took (well) over two and a half years!!


We're in for the Long Game, here  8)

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

cilgwyn

Another cd that arrived today. I'm listening to it now. The more I hear Dello Joio's music,the more I like what I hear. I just had to hear this symphony in stereo.....and the Variations,which vandermolen recommended.



The othe Dello Joio cd arrived,too. More on this later.

vandermolen

#15
Thought I'd revive this slumbering thread. I've been listening a lot to the fine 'Meditations on Ecclesiastes' recently. I have all three recordings. James De Priest with the Oregon SO is the best (most deeply-felt) I think. This work would, I believe, appeal to admirers of Arthur Bliss's 'Meditations on the Theme by John Blow' - it seems to have a similar spirituality about it. As the long gone cilgwyn was, more or less, the only other contributor to this thread I'm expecting a rather one-sided conversation!

Review of the (very good) David Amos CD:
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/k/kle05119a.php
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

classicalgeek

Quote from: vandermolen on December 02, 2021, 09:55:25 AM
Thought I'd revive this slumbering thread. I've been listening a lot to the fine 'Meditations on Ecclesiastes' recently. I have all three recordings. James De Priest with the Oregon SO is the best (most deeply-felt) I think. This work would, I believe, appeal to admirers of Arthur Bliss's 'Meditations on the Theme by John Blow' - it seems to have a similar spirituality about it. As the long gone cilgwyn was, more or less, the only other contributor to this thread I'm expecting a rather one-sided conversation!

Review of the (very good) David Amos CD:
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/k/kle05119a.php


I couldn't find the Meditations on Ecclesiastes on Spotify, unfortunately... but I did have a listen to this:

Norman Dello Joio
The Triumph of St. Joan Symphony
Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Gil Rose

(on Spotify)



I found it tuneful and pleasant if nothing else - but it didn't strike me as particularly memorable.
So much great music, so little time...

Original compositions and orchestrations: https://www.youtube.com/@jmbrannigan

vandermolen

#17
Quote from: classicalgeek on December 02, 2021, 03:38:20 PM
I couldn't find the Meditations on Ecclesiastes on Spotify, unfortunately... but I did have a listen to this:

Norman Dello Joio
The Triumph of St. Joan Symphony
Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Gil Rose

(on Spotify)



I found it tuneful and pleasant if nothing else - but it didn't strike me as particularly memorable.
Thanks for replying James. From what I've heard the 'Meditations on Ecclesiastes' (which I'm listening to again now) is his masterpiece. The Bay Cities CD has a very nice programme of works but the other CDs are fine as well and AFAIK can be picked up relatively inexpensively.
There are a couple of performances on You Tube. I find the last section particularly moving:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp5Fa4t6WGk
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).