“…a composer of undoubted sincerity and ability” —Musicweb International
Robert Nelson is a wonderfully inventive and stylistically versatile composer known for his prolific output and his forays into a broad range of musical idioms. Many of his creations feature artful fusions of classical, jazz and even hard rock. He has a particular affinity for vocal music of all kinds: operas snd choral creations – as well as the art song, as exemplified in this stunning release.
The songs offered here – in Nelson’s first album for Delos – reflect these musical characteristics and more, as well as his richly expressive palette encompassing a remarkable range of emotions and moods from somber and haunting to humorous. We are treated to two song cycles – Zoo Stories and the title work, Watercolors – as well as seven other songs presented in pairs or as substantial individual works.
The internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Sonja Bruzauskas heads a diverse and accomplished cast of collaborators in works accompanied either by piano or by varying chamber ensembles composed of gifted performers on violin, viola, cello, clarinet, horn and oboe.
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Track List:
- Sapphire (Text by Randolph Lacy)
- Bowls (Texts by Ava Leavell Haymon)
- Abzählen
- Mit Einer Scheusslichen Puppe
- What Is Love? (Text by William Shakespeare)
- A Valentine (Text by E.E. Cummings)
- The Giraffe, the Elephant, and the Gorilla
- The Goose and the Dapper Red Fox
- The Long Walk
- Lesson i
- Lesson ii
- Lesson iii
- Lesson iv
- Watercolor: Two Rockers on a Sun Porch
Two Cabaret Songs (Texts by Friedrich Hollaender)
Two Love Lyrics
Zoo Stories (Original Stories by Kate Pogue)
Watercolors (Texts by Ava Leavell Haymon)
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