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Click here to return to the main site. Classical Music Review
Voices from the Other Side is a collection of evocative chamber works performed by cello octet - several with soprano soloist Gabrielle Haigh. Included are Arvo Pärt’s tintinnabuli-style 'Fratres' as well as his 'L’abbé Agathon', inspired by the remains of a 12th-century leper hospital near Beauvais, France; as well as the beloved Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos. Two works by American composer Margi Griebling-Haigh are featured: the title piece is a setting of three otherworldly poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay, and a single-movement work called Cantilena allows the cellists to shine individually as well as together. Griebling-Haigh’s music has been praised for memorable melodies and strong rhythms; her colourful scoring and harmonic language have been compared to Barber, Ravel, and Poulenc... Voices from the Other Side collects together 5 works (8 tracks - 1 hr, 8 min, 21 sec) from three composers. To say the pieces are hauntingly beautiful is an understatement. The richness and variety on offer here is quite staggering. We open with Margi Griebling-Haigh's three-part 'Voices from the Other Side' which introduces to the "otherworldly" sound of soprano Gabrielle Haigh. The work uses the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay as inspiration. One of the highlights here is Arvo Pärt's eerie work for strings. 'Fratres' is mournful and depressingly melancholic, yet there's a air of hope and salvation underpinning the piece. The juxtaposition of Gabrielle Haigh's soulful vocals and Erie Coast Cellists almost macabre playing, make for an enriching, rewarding collection of poignant pieces. Track listing: Margi Griebling-Haigh Arvo Pärt Margi Griebling-Haigh Arvo Pärt Heitor Villa-Lobos 8 Darren Rea Buy this item online
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