Audiophile Audition critic Steven Ritter gives a Four-Star Review to the Richmond Symphony and Chorus and Steven Smith’s Mason Bates: Children of Adam; Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem recording: “Bates shows a fine grasp of the orchestral idiom, and even more importantly, the choral, with an integrated and highly individual sound that transfers from text to text in a seamlessly smooth manner. Hearing this makes me want to hear more from this young composer, who…
The Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony Chorus’s Bates: Children of Adam; Vaughan-Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem recording gets a four-star rating from Remy Franck’s Pizzicato Magazine: “The work is eventful in its orchestration and varied in its moods… [and] musically rich… here spiritual and sensual, there reflective, sometimes also solemn. In contrast to the very colorful and complex orchestral part, the choral part is rooted in the chorale and hymn… [an] exciting live recording.” —Remy Franck,…
Groundbreaking New Music from Mason Bates and the Richmond Symphony! Reference Recordings is proud to present a World Première recording of MASON BATES: Children of Adam, songs of creation—commissioned by the Richmond Symphony—coupled with RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Dona nobis pacem. These pieces both draw inspiration from Walt Whitman’s poetry and this release celebrates his bicentennial (born 1819). Children of Adam is a collection of exuberant celebrations of creation, from American poets to sacred and Native American texts. The title…