In days of yore when the 33rpm 12” LP reigned supreme
it had competition. It never came to much but there were a few
smaller diameter classical EPs and 45 singles. I remember a
reassuringly very thick BLP EP of Sargent conducting Beni
Mora. It sounded stunning. Since 1983 and the dawn of the
CD era there have been few classical singles. Here is one accommodated
on what is physically the standard size silver disc but in this
case playing just short of 7 minutes. As for the subject I think
Navona must have known that I am a sucker for music from ancient
times (review),
even if of necessity such is highly speculative. The hint is
in the title of this piece by Texan composer Michael
Mauldin.
Remember archaeologist Leonard Woolley’s successful 1938
book Ur of the Chaldees? Ur was the centre of the Sumerian
civilisation in ancient Mesopotamia, now Iraq. Mauldin’s
The Last Musician of Ur is clearly not intended to be
a reconstruction of music from the golden days of Ur. It is
his imagining of the atmosphere of those far distant times but
in the neo-romantic language of today. It is melodic, cinematographic,
atmospheric and all-out orchestral. It owes its existence to
the British harpist Andrew Lowings. Lowings it was who reconstructed
the Gold Lyre of Ur which had been damaged by looters at the
Iraq Museum in Baghdad. The authentic and playable replica is
used here. Its role and balance is however pretty much subsidiary
in the score; no harp concerto here. A lush yet transparently
scored film-score effect is what we hear. The music is very
approachable and has a signature that delicately blends components
of Hollywood epic exotica, Hovhaness, Griffes (Kubla Khan
and White Peacock), Ravel and Debussy. An alluringly
murmuring idea smokes and processes in sinuously diaphanous
style throughout.
More details of the Mauldin-Lowings-Ur project can be found
here.
After this I am left wondering about Mauldin’s other music,
said to be evocative of the rugged beauty and ancient cultures
of his adopted state of New Mexico. There is at least one orchestral
CD of his music: Enchanted Land.
Rob Barnett
Support
us financially by purchasing this disc from: |
|
|
|
|
Editor's note: The "single" nature of this recording
has rather caught most online sellers unaware. AmazonUK is selling
it for £9.10, Amazon US for $9 and ClassicsOnline for
$7.99, if you buy it as an album, or $1.59 if you just buy the
one and only track. ArkivMusic seems to be more conscious of
the duration with a price of $3.99.
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra/Petr Vronský 