Lately, these works have fit the qualification:
Franz Schmidt: The Book with Seven Seals. This epic oratorio starts off in a rather benign fashion, but soon develops into an absolutely hair-raising, apocalyptic, terrifying piece of music as befits its subject matter - the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from the book of Revelation - and eventually coming to a ecstatically triumphant conclusion. I had previously only known Schmidt's symphonies, which, though excellent (especially the 4th), didn't quite prepare me for the emotional range and dramatic scope of this work. Anyone who enjoys 20th century vocal/orchestral music simply must hear this! I listened to the Kristjan Jarvi recording on Chandos.
Schnittke: Requiem. A mind-blowingly imaginative masterwork that is deeply unsettling yet approachable and communicative. The eerily monotonous spoken chants of the
Tuba mirum and the
Credo with its drumkit (!) part are especially unforgettable. Now I see what all the hype about Schnittke on this forum is all about! I listened to the Polyansky recording on Chandos.
John Powell: Symphony in A major Virginia Symphony. Apparently Powell was a terribly racist person, but so was Wagner and his music still gets performed around the world. IMO, it's best to separate the man from the music. This symphony completely exceeded my expectations - it is a 55-minute edifice of simply glorious and life-affirming music where ideas flow in the most natural and organic manner. The way Powell weaves Appalachian folk tunes into the music is completely engaging and successful. Perhaps think of Braga Santos' first four symphonies but a bit less variegated and more understated in mood. I listened to the JoAnn Falletta recording on Albany Records.
Samuel Jones: Roundings: Musings and Meditations on Texas New Deal Murals (symphonic suite). Anyone who has, like me, fallen in love with Jones' 3rd Symphony
Palo Duro Canyon (I know there are a couple on this forum) simply must hear this substantial piece. I believe Jones is one of America's most sorely neglected contemporary composers - much of his output remains unperformed and unrecorded while contemporary composers of lesser stature (IMO) get promoted by the country's top orchestras. (Perhaps his very generic name hasn't done him any favors?
) His music is very much in the great American tradition of Copland, Barber, Harris, and Hanson (his teacher) and never gets involved with contemporary gimmicks and "-isms".
Roundings is a deeply compelling work which takes the listener on a journey back to Depression-era America, with stunningly vivid portraits of a windmill, an oil well, a locomotive, a tractor, etc. Jones' orchestration is constantly inventive and his musical language always engaging. The only recording available is with the Amarillo SO under James Setapen on Naxos - not a world-class ensemble perhaps but they acquit themselves very well with Jones' soundworld.
Harold Shapero: Symphony for Classical Orchestra. Another great American discovery! Harold Shapero is not a frequently discussed composer, not even on this forum, but on the evidence of this work he is definitely one worth remembering. I'll quote Amazon reviewer G.D. who gives an excellent description of the work:
"What a marvelous, exhilarating work Harold Shapero's Symphony for Classical Orchestra is! As expected from the title, the style is neo-classical and quite conservative, but the results are thrilling - the image that springs to mind js Shapero donning his sunglasses and taking Haydn, Beethoven and Stravinsky on a swift-paced ride through New England in a sleek sports car. That description is not meant to cast aspersions on the results; indeed, I am willing to claim that it is something of a travesty that Shapero's work hasn't established itself as one of the most widely recognized and admired American symphonies of the twentieth century. It is a young man's work - Shapero showed the score to a dismissive Stravinsky in 1947 (Copland was also dismissive, which is probably partially to blame for the fact that Shapero stopped composing for almost twenty years) - but is extremely skillfully and imaginatively put together, and the ideas are fresh, vital and strong. The music is also almost surprisingly original - while Stravinsky's influence is obvious it doesn't really sound anything like the music of other neo-classical composers working in the US at the time.
The most obvious model for the symphony seems to have been Beethoven's seventh, but the symphony can hardly be called derivative. Its opening movement is thoroughly compelling and thematically memorable. The long Adagietto is the heart of the symphony, however, and it is achingly beautiful and sufficiently varied and imaginative to sustain its rather substantial duration without trouble. The Scherzo is great fun; exuberant, playful and stormy, and the Finale brings it home in a deeply impressive way. Yes, there is much in the symphony that is almost conservative enough to have been written in the classical age (though there are plenty of modern harmonic and rhythmic touches as well), but Shapero imbues it all with a personal touch. A magnificent work."
(I listened to the LA Phil/Previn recording on New World Records.)
P.S. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'll post some more of my recent discoveries eventually. I finally have some time to post here, as I am on break for the next few days. I'll be back at school for a few more weeks and then I'll have a month-long Christmas break when I will surely have enough time to post here regularly again.
