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Description
When the subject of 18th-century music comes up, the United States is rarely considered any sort of creative artistic bastion. But this collection of Moravian religious music reveals how deep a fallacy it is to write off the U.S. as unimportant in vocal music history. The Moravian Church, founded on the cusp of the 14th and 15th centuries, would generate a distinctly musical worship tradition in the 1700s, just prior to the first Moravians settling in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Once in Pennsylvania, the music flowed at a brisk pace, comprising significant sections of worship ceremonies. Composers included in this collection reflect two particular facets of the music: its harmonic simplicity and its abiding spiritual values. Of course, "simplicity" is an easily derogatory descriptive, but that is not at all the case here. These choral works display tremendous richness and depth, with traces of J.S. Bach's cantatas as well as works by Haydn and even Mozart, who developed on a parallel musical track to the Moravians. And there are pop smarts here, too: One of the songs even quotes the Star Spangled Banner, then a ditty for the masses. The period instruments create a fine chamber background--music that floats without weighting the vocals or tearing ears away. A second bonus CD contains an extended discussion with Martin Pearlman, whose discussion of the music is more than enlightening. --Andrew Bartlett
Customer reviews for 'Lost Music of Early America: Music of the Moravians'
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Overall very nice, enjoyable music to listen to and savor
Some terrific, beautiful melodic choral singing here. Splendid baroque choral harmonies and melodies, very reminiscent of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Overall, very nice, enjoyable music to listen to and savor.
Rated at four stars.
Ken Cybulska
[Thursday, January 01, 2009]
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Music So Beautiful That I Listen In The Middle Of The Night (from Ahadada Books)
Sad to say that I'm a worrier, and in this day of global warming and 24 hour cable news tragedies I have plenty to worry about. I come home from work, say hi to the wife and kids and find myself, more often than not, falling asleep in front of CNN and waking up in the wee hours with a terrible sense of where we are all heading. It is after pondering our post-post-modernity and the blank night sky, that I put on this CD and listen to the beautiful soprano voices arc and orbit and progress in baroque splendor through a dark that may or may not be inhabited by the all-good and all-knowing God that so inspired these composers to create such miniature sonic gems. These simple tunes have been part of the fabric of American music for generations as the musicologist Martin Peralman tells us in his superb introduction (included as a recorded lecture on the second CD), and names like Johann Frederich Peter, Johannes Herbst, and others should rightfully be included in the histories. I recommend this CD for yourself and your worries, and as a great gift for others. It will not help us solve our problems, but it may help us keep our humanity about us as we step into the dark.
[Sunday, June 22, 2008]
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Beautifully crafted, captures the spirit
This recording truly seems to capture the spirit of the music. As someone who grew up singing in the Moravian church, this cd is a FIND. I listened with joy and surprise to this collection. The execution is tender, passionate, thoughtful. The balance between vocals and chamber orchestra is lovely, as close to perfect as one might imagine. I know many of the works on this cd as hymns and choral anthems, albeit in English. The uplifting musicality as an important part of worship was and continues to be part of the life of the Moravian church. The Moravian tradition embodies folk music in an authentic fashion, where the music of the church is truly the music of the people. Singing is a part of all activities within the church, providing a fabric through which fellowship and goodwill can flow. Somehow, the spirit of the context is captured here. The commentary by Martin Pearlman is quite informative and respectful. For individuals for whom music in the church has been more than an interlude in worship, for other Moravians out there who are far from the fold and can still hear the echoes, for those who are curious and want to listen to something slightly, pleasantly, off the beaten path, you will not be disappointed.
[Monday, July 31, 2000]
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