FOR THE QUIET HOUR
RR-99CD Cover
REVERIES

EIJI OUE
MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA

RR-99CD
[HDCD]

Relaxing, beloved classics by Debussy, Satié, Ravel, Faure, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and more, beautifully played by one of America's great orchestras.   A balm for jangled nerves!

The pace of the human heartbeat so appealed to the composers on this program that they harnessed their music to it.   Yet they produced orchestral statements of such variety that a listener might not immediately discern their similar pace, which is described by the musical term “andante,” or walking tempo.

The serene music of Debussy permeates this program, and his Reverie gave us our title.   Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is now so familiar that we can't imagine how its revolutionary textures and form stirred audiences when it was new.   Debussy's musical presence can be felt in the Stately pavanes of Fauré and Ravel.   His orchestrations of two Satie Gymnopédies begin and end this program of subtle, provocative music, which has endured since "la belle epoch" to inspire generations of listeners with its rare beauty.

A departure, then, for Reference Recordings and “Prof.” Johnson, whose spacious and transparent sonic textures play large dividends in string-based orchestral music of such clarity and refinement.


Related back catalog on Reference Recordings
featuring Eiji Oue & the Minnesota Orchestra

RR-96 - Rachmaninoff
RR-95 - Respighi
RR-93 - Copland 100
RR-92 - Bolero!
RR-91 - Valentino Dances
RR-88 - Mahler - Das Lied
RR-87 - Bernstein
RR-83 - Richard Strauss
RR-82 - Mephisto & Co.
RR-80 - Ports of Call
RR-79 - Pictures at an Exhibition
RR-71 - Exotic Dances
RR-70 - Stravinsky

PROGRAM LISTING

1.   satie, arr. debussy - gymnopédie no.1 3:38
2.   debussy - reverie 4:28
3.   fauré - pavane 6:03
4.   grieg - solveig's song (peer gynt) 5:30
5.   massenet - the last sleep of the virgin 4:29
      Anthony Ross, cello
6.   wolf-ferrari - intermezzo (the jewels of the madonna) 5:09
7.   debussy - prelude to the afternoon of a faun 10:44
      Adam Kuenzel, flute
8.   gounod - le sommeil de juliette (romeo et juliette) 3:17
9.   ravel - pavane for a dead princess 6:06
10. tchaikovsky - andante cantabile 7:01
11. sibelius - the swan of tuonela 9:30
      Marni J. Houghom, english horn
12. satie, arr. debussy - gymnopédie no. 3 3:04

Total Time 69:16



Reference Recordings are distributed in Australia by Rockian Trading