Between the Bliss and Me… Songs to Poems of Emily Dickinson
7/1/2013, 27 Tracks, 57:19
Featuring
Julia Faulkner
Martha Fischer
Lee Hoiby
Aaron Copland
John Woods Duke
Arthur Farwell
Ernst Bacon
Lori Laitman
Richard Pearson Thomas
Scott Gendel
Did you know?
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Composer Biography
Arthur Farwell, the earliest composer on this album, championed Emily Dickinson's poetry before it gained widespread popularity, composing nearly forty settings of her poems.
Recording & Production
The Lee Hoiby cycle, "The Shining Place," was recorded in 2007 with the composer at the piano and is sadly his last recording as a pianist.
Historical Context
Emily Dickinson, one of America's greatest poets, spent most of her life secluded at home and only had a handful of her nearly 1800 poems published during her lifetime.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded in Mill's Concert Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, across two sessions in March 2009 and May 2007.
Composer's Artistic Vision
John Duke, one of America's foremost song composers, believed that vocal utterance was the basis of music's mystery, which explains his focus on songs.
Performer Biography
Soprano Julia Faulkner, who performs on this album, made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1994 and has sung major roles at the Bavarian and Vienna State Operas.
Cultural Impact
Emily Dickinson's poetry, with its quirky rhythms and eccentric grammar, has long intrigued and challenged over one hundred composers, eight of whom are featured on this recording.
