As one of America's most honored young composers, Aaron Jay Kernis received the coveted Grawemeyer Award in Music Composition (2002) for this cello and orchestra version of Colored Field as well as the Grammy Award nominations for both Air and Second Symphony. The main work on this album, Colored Field, is a bleak but striking musical take on the theme of Holocaust. Initially written as a concerto for English horn, it appears here in its new guise as a cello concerto in dedication to Truls Mørk, a Norwegian virtuoso, who gives the solo line an even greater range of expression and, especially in the final moments, a more touching poignancy. Also included is another revised score, Air, which began life as a purling instrumental aria for violinist Joshua Bell, and sounds almost as fresh even when taken down an octave. To these two world premire recordings is added Musica Celestis, a transcription for string orchestra of the slow movement of Kernis' first string quartet, itself inspired by the ethereal music of Hildegard of Bingen.
Aaron Jay Kernis
Colored Field · Musica Celestis · Air
- Tracklist
Colored Field, concerto for cello & orchestra (new version created for Truls Mørk)
1. Colored Field
2. Pandora Dance
3. Hymns And Tablets
String Quartet No. 1 ("Musica Celestis")
Air, version for cello & orchestra (created for Truls Mørk)
Truls Mørk, cello
Minnesota Orchestra
Eiji Oue, conductor