written by

Bright Sheng

Composer
Béla Bartók: Tomlocben

Béla Bartók: Tomlocben

Bartók once said that a simple folk melody can accommodate more complicated harmony. And here is a case in point. This descending Dorian tune repeats itself while the text changes, but the piano accompaniment changes quite bit along with the text, from consonance at...

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Samuel Barber:  The Daisies

Samuel Barber: The Daisies

I love this popular song because of the simplicity and charm it brings out from the moving eighth notes on both the voice and piano. Sometimes the least pretentious can be most rewarding. Leontyne Price with Barber at the piano Marilyn Horne with Martin Katz

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Ravel:  Shéhérazade

Ravel: Shéhérazade

This three-song set is equivalent to three scenes from an opera. It paints the actions of the text both in reality and in abstraction, but in its most effective way, it depicts an unyielding longing for something unfathomable or unobtainable. Ravel's Shéhérazade sung...

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Bernstein: Nachspiel

Bernstein: Nachspiel

I was Lenny’s assistant with Michael when we prepared the premiere of this set of eight songs for mezzo-soprano, baritone and piano four-hands. "Nachspiel" is the last one which has no text and all singers (and pianists, and perhaps the audience) humming together. It...

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