Bliss: Meditations on a Theme by John Blow - A Prayer to the Infant Jesus / Music for Strings
11/1/2007, 12 Tracks, 1:05:57
Featuring
Hugo Rignold
Sir Philip Stevens Ledger
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Ambrosian Singers
Arthur Bliss
Did you know?
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Composer's Artistic Vision
Sir Arthur Bliss considered himself a 'romantic' composer, believing that the very wish to create is a romantic urge, and music is the romantic art par excellence.
Composition History
Sir Arthur Bliss's "Meditations on a Theme by John Blow" was commissioned by the Feeney Trust for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and premiered in 1955.
Compositional Technique
Sir Arthur Bliss's "Meditations on a Theme by John Blow" is a set of variations based on Psalm XXIII, providing a quasi-literary and thematic unity, similar to Strauss's Don Quixote.
Composition History
Sir Arthur Bliss's "Music for Strings" premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 1935, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Compositional Technique
While "Music for Strings" subdivides its string sections, it does not use a concertino like a traditional Concerto Grosso, making it more akin to a symphony for a smaller orchestra.
Recording & Production
This album's recordings of "Music for Strings" and "Meditations" were made in January 1966 at Kingsway Hall, London.
