SKU: HL.51481487

UPC: 840126989342. 8.25x11.75x0.079 inches.

It is a great pleasure to present, with Thanatopsis, maestro Kissin's opus 4, an expressive setting of the ground-breaking poem from the quill of William Cullen Bryant. Published in in the form known today in 1821, it is an early example of American romantic poetry of the 19th century. Bryant is today reckoned among the group of “Fireside Poets” or “Schoolroom Poets,” names that allude to the places where their poems were usually recited. His poems – first and foremost Thanatopsis (“A Consideration of Death”) as his most famous – are rooted in the English tradition, but at the same time show Bryant's openness to a genuine American language and lifeworld. Evgeny Kissin's setting is a large vocal scene intensely informed by recitative, which congenially allows the prevailing mood of the text to resound. Our edition additionally includes German and French translations of the poem and an informative afterword about Bryant's life and work and the genesis of Thanatopsis.

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SKU: HL.49008127

ISBN 9790001121477. 9.0x12.0x0.287 inches. German.

Commenting on this cycle of 35 songs, the composer writes: The contradictions in human nature delighted him; he loved the unevenness of life and all its manifestations. While nineteenth Century musical settings focused almost exclusively on his atmospheric and lyrical poetry, it was not until the twentieth Century that adequate musical expression could be found for Heine's poetic realism, unique in its time. In this selection I have attempted to juxtapose the various personae and forms used by Heine so as to present a picture of his personality..