The lovely art songs of long-neglected American composer Margaret Ruthven Lang continue to attract positive critical attention across the pond. Our first volume of her songs, Love is Everywhere (DE 3407), was effusively reviewed on Musicweb International several months ago. Now, our second volume, New Love Must Rise (DE 3410), has inspired a very appreciative review in the current issue of Gramophone, Great Britain’s (and the world’s) most distinguished music review magazine.
Reviewer Laurence Vittes perceptively described Lang’s life’s work as “…one of those Franz Schubert stories,” in that she “…created an attractive, quiet intimacy with her Boston Brahmin audience, inspired by a Neverland of poetry … Each of the songs is carefully considered and wrought in gracefully sunlit shades of romantic twilight.” Vittes goes on to praise the performers, reporting that “Donald George’s sweet tenor, partnered sympathetically by Lucy Mauro, captures the modest charm and lyrical flavor of Lang’s music.” While Gramophone reviews rarely mention an album’s associated writing, Vittes even comments that “Lindsay Koob’s delicately written booklet-notes indict a time and society in which women’s rights had not yet been fully established, while providing an excellent guide to the songs.”
Check out the entire review right in the August 2012 edition of Gramophone Magazine, and then – if you haven’t already – scroll down to get to know Lang’s remarkable music for yourself. If you’re an art-song aficionado, or (especially) a vocalist on the prowl for fresh recital repertoire, you owe it to yourself to get smart about one of the most fabulous composers you’ve never heard of! BTW, our first volume, DE 3407, comes with a companion data disc that contains Printable PDF’s of full scores and texts to all songs in both volumes, and more – what more could a singer ask?
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