A striking feature of Elena Langer's work is her "refreshing and daringly unfashionable pleasure in the expressive possibilities of melody and traditional harmony."
Composer's Artistic Vision
Elena Langer's music blends Russian tradition, modernist influences like Ligeti and Stravinsky, and a strong inheritance from Russian folk cultures.
Composition History
The earliest and latest pieces on this album, Ariadne and Landscape with Three People, both prominently feature the human voice and an oboe.
Composer Biography
Elena Langer, the composer, trained initially as a pianist in Russia before turning to composing because she found it "more fun, less repetitive, and didn't take as much time."
Performer Biography
Soprano Anna Dennis, a performer on this album, became friends with Elena Langer while studying at the Royal Academy of Music, and Langer composed Ariadne with Dennis's voice in mind.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded in November 2014 at the Britten Studio, Snape Maltings, Suffolk, UK.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Elena Langer aims to create a "synthetic, imaginary folk-music" by blending traditional elements, contemporary techniques, and her own musical personality, rather than using a specific folk genre as a model.
