Dominick Argento is widely considered to be one of America’s leading composers of lyric opera and choral music. The two major song cycles on this recording demonstrate Argento’s flair for setting unusual texts to music. From the Diary of Virginia Woolf, which won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for Music, is based on eight of the writer’s confessional journal entries, while The Andrée Expedition sets diaries and letters from an ultimately tragic balloon expedition to the North Pole in 1897. “For me, all music begins where speech stops.” – Dominick Argento
Tracklist
Artist details
Argento, Dominick
Andree, Salomon - Lyricist
Strindberg, Nils - Lyricist
Argento, Dominick - Lyricist
Adams-Ray, Edward - Lyricist
The Andrée Expedition
1 Part I, "In the Air": No. 1. Prologue (Knut Frænkel) 02:37
2 Part I, "In the Air": No. 2. The Balloon Rises (Nils Strindberg: Letter to Anna) 03:25
3 Part I, "In the Air": No. 3. Pride and Ambition (Salomon Andrée: First Journal) 02:51
4 Part I, "In the Air": No. 4. Dinner Aloft (Nils Strindberg: Letter to Anna) 01:08
5 Part I, "In the Air": No. 5. The Unforeseen Problem (Knut Frænkel) 03:02
6 Part I, "In the Air": No. 6. The Flight Aborted (Salomon Andrée: First Journal) 03:57
7 Part II, "On the Ice": No. 7. Mishap with a Sledge (Nils Strindberg: Letter to Anna) 03:07
8 Part II, "On the Ice": No. 8. The King's Jubilee (Salomon Andrée: First Journal) 04:40
9 Part II, "On the Ice": No. 9. lllness and Drugs (Knut Frænkel) 02:13
10 Part II, "On the Ice": No. 10. Hallucinations (Salomon Andrée: First Journal) 03:21
11 Part II, "On the Ice": No. 11. Anna's Birthday (Nils Strindberg: Letter to Anna) 05:12
12 Part II, "On the Ice": No. 12. Epilogue (Knut Frænkel) 05:56
13 Part II, "On the Ice": No. 13. Final Words (Salomon Andrée: Second Journal) 01:53
Argento, Dominick
Woolf, Virginia - Lyricist
From the Diary of Virginia Woolf
14 No. 1. The Diary (April, 1919) 04:00
15 No. 2. Anxiety (October, 1920) 01:42
16 No. 3. Fancy (February, 1927) 02:43
17 No. 4. Hardy's Funeral (January, 1928) 06:40
18 No. 5. Rome (May, 1935) 03:01
19 No. 6. War (June, 1940) - 06:42
20 No. 7. Parents (December, 1940) 04:50
21 No. 8. Last Entry (March, 1941) 06:44
