Nature, Love, and Death: Song Cycles by Eric Choate, Joseph Stillwell, and David Conte (CD Recording)
by David Conte
CD - Sheet Music

SKU: EC.CD205

Composed by David Conte and Eric Choate. CD. Arsis Audio #CD205. Published by Arsis Audio (EC.CD205).

UPC: 600313050520.

Nature, Love, and Death showcases pieces from three San Francisco Conservatory of Music faculty members: Eric Choate, Joseph Stillwell, and David Conte. The album opens with Choate’s …and fall. In this five-movement work, Choate conjures memories of autumn and the turning of the seasons. Stillwell then presents four settings of texts by William Butler Yeats about love, age, and solitude in his “Songs of Love and Solace.

The album closes with Conte’s “American Death Ballads.” Partly inspired by Aaron Copland’s “Old American Songs” and Conrad Susa’s “Murder Ballads,” “American Death Ballads” features four texts on death, dying, and murder. These works are superbly performed by tenor Brian Thorsett and the San Francisco Conservatory Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Jeffrey Thomas.

Track Listing:

by Eric Choate (b.1990)

     I. Sleep — text by Todd Davis (b. 1965) 3:27

     II. Neighbors in October — text by David Baker (b. 1954) 2:16

     III. All Hallows — text by Eric Choate (b. 1990) 4:30

     IV. Theme in Yellow — text by Carl Sandberg (1878–1967) 1:14

     V. November Night — text by Adelaide Crapsey (1878–1914) 2:17

by Joseph Stillwell (b. 1984)

Texts by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

     I. Brown Penny 2:55

     II. He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven 4:08

     III. When Your Are Old 5:09

     IV. The Lake Isle of Innisfree 4:46

by David Conte (b.1955)

Texts by Anonymous

     I. Wicked Polly 4:59

     II. The Unquiet Grave 4:07

     III. The Dying Californian 4:58

     IV. Captain Kidd 3:51.