Larsen:
Deep Summer Music (1983)
Solo Symphony (1999)
Marimba Concerto: After Hampton (1992)
Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop (conductor)
John Kinzie (marimba)
Koch International Classics
Judging from the pieces on this CD, while Libby Larsen (b. 1950) composes lyrical, fairly tonal music that harkens back to harmonies of an earlier time, her purpose in writing seems different from many composers who have come before her. Certainly Larsen, like most everyone, can make a big noise when she chooses. But she seems far more interested in the exploration of ideas, relationships, and orchestral color than in making a grand ego statement about her existence. There is a basic good-naturedness about her writing, and a curious lack of drama — here, at least, she does not impress with towering presence or bold strokes — that many will find quite appealing.
Quoted in the liner notes, Larsen explains that the seven minute Deep Summer Music attempts to capture musically the glorious colors of summer in the Great Plains states, when "winds create wave after wave of harvest ripeness which... creates a kind of emotional peace and awe: a feeling of abundance..." This lovely lyrical excursion, a bit reminiscent in its feel of "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin' " from Oklahoma, leaves the
listener warm and content. This definitive world premiere recording of Solo Symphony, commissioned by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra as part of Larsen's role as composer-in-residence, explores the nature of the solo. Deciding that a solo — at least the kind of solo she's concerned with — is only possible through group effort, Larsen has written a symphony "about the one and the many." Its four movements: "Solo-solos," "One dancer, many dancer," "Once around," and "The cocktail party effect," provide all concerned with many opportunities to have a good time. The same can be said of the Marimba Concerto: After Hampton. "After Hampton" refers to the mallet percussion instruments that emerged as a result of the work of Lionel Hampton. Through careful placement of these solo instruments in the foreground and background of the orchestra, as well as on each side, Larsen gives the work the visual element that she feels has emerged in the "era of portable music." The Concerto explores the nature of the marimba as solo instrument and group member, often with engaging effect.
