Louis Andriessen – La Passione (2009)

Interesting compositions from Dutchman Louis Andriessen here. First, the delightful and charming Bells of Haarlem, meant to imitate the bells of the St. Bavo cathedral in that city on occasion of the restoration of its concert hall. No church bells came into it; Andriessen created the sounds with a glockenspiel, vibraphone, celeste, piano and synthesizer. The work is eternalized in more than one way, for it was engraved in the glass façade of the building. The booklet mentions, “a sonogram of the composition was made”..I’m not sure what they mean by that.
“Passeggiata in tram in America e ritorno”, then, is a composition based on the Canti Orfici from Italian poet Dino Campana (1885-1932), as is “La Passione”. Campana seems to have had an extremely troubled life, spending the greater part of it in mental institutions.
The words for the third composition, “Letter from Cathy”, were literally taken from a letter to the composer written by Cathy Berberian.

Tracks:

01. Bells for Haarlem [0:06:01.13]
02. Passeggiata in tram in America e ritorno [0:07:56.14]
03. Letter from Cathy [0:07:05.30]
04. La Passione: Introduction [0:01:14.33]
05. La Passione: 1. Una canzone si rompe [0:04:49.04]
06. La Passione: 2. La sera di fiera [0:06:28.01]
07. La Passione: 3. Una forma nera cornuta [0:04:48.22]
08. La Passione: 4. O Satana [0:02:38.09]
09. La Passione: 5. Sul treno in corsa [0:05:03.39]
10. La Passione: 6. Il Russo [0:09:25.39]

Performers:

Boston Modern Orchestra Project – Gil Rose
Christina Zavalloni – mezzo-soprano
Monica Germino – violin