Virgil Thomson
Early and As Remembered
NA034

Yvar Mikhashoff, piano; Martha Herr, soprano; David Kuehn, trumpet; John Boudler, percussion

Collectively, these [26] pieces, none of which runs more than seven minutes, remain one of the minor treasures of the American musical legacy.

--San Francisco Examiner

For Thomson's generation, the musical background of educated families was still mostly German, consisting of the local piano teacher, the church organ, folk songs in school, minstrel songs, ragtime and possibly a local conservatory. Annual musical events consisted of visits by the Sousa Band, the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, and traveling virtuosi like Paderewski, Busoni and Jenny Lind.

After World War I, Thomson came under French influence at Harvard, where he studied with Edward Burlingame Hill and Archibald T. Davison, who had both studied with Widor. In 1921, on a fellowship in Paris, he studied organ and counterpoint with Nadia Boulanger and met Satie. He stayed on in Paris from 1925-1940 and wrote his early music which was influenced by Satie and Stravinsky. His first opera, "Four Saints in Three Acts" (with text by Gertrude Stein) was a 'succes de scandale'. In the United States in 1940, his second opera, "The Mother of Us All" (text also by Stein) had richer colors, was more serious, and reflected America in its hymns and song styles. Thomson became very much his own man, but sometimes his musical language had a slight French accent and sometimes a Kansas City brogue. He was a composer with a fine ear who stubbornly refused to notate anything that he couldn't imagine with his inner ear. The result was a long list of clear and accessible scores always reflecting Thomson's personality and accessible to the general public when well performed. His musical personality is unique among 20th century composers.

--Otto Luening

These performers are very sensitive to Thomson's spirit, especially Mikhashoff, who worked with Thomson for the last decade of the composer's life.

--Fanfare

Track List

In Paris
1. Prelude (1925) 4:25
2. Valse Gregorienne (1927) 2:35
3. Preciosilla (1926) 3:00
Three Portraits
4. Madame Dubost chez elle (1930) 0:32
5. Clair Leonard's Profile (1930) 0:50
6. Russell Hitchcock, Reading (1930) 1:00
7. Five Phrases from the Song of Solomon (1926) 4:35

At Home and Abroad
Four New England Portraits
8. A Day-Dream: A Portrait of Herbert Whiting (1935) 1:45
9. Meditation: A Portrait of Jere Abbott (1935) 1:50
10. Hymn: A Portrait of Josiah Marvel (1935) 1:30
11. The Hunt Hymn: A Portrait of A. E. Austin (1935) 1:00
Three French Boys
12. Portrait of Claude Biais (1938) 1:10
13. A French Boy of Ten: Louis Lange (1938) 1:00
14. Maurice Vavoux: Young and Alone (1938) 2:05
Three Parisian Portraits
15. Poltergeist: A Portrait of Hans Arp (1940) 0:50
16. Aria: A Portrait of Germaine Hugnet (1940) 2:55
17. Swiss Waltz: A Portrait of Sophie Tauber-Arp (1940) 2:00

At the Chelsea Hotel
18. At the Beach (1949) 5:20
19. Peter Monro Jack: Scottish Memories (1942) 1:55
20. Homage to Marya Freund and to the Harp (1956) 1:15
Five Shakespeare Songs
21. 'Was This Fair Face The Cause?' (1957) 2:15

'Take, O, Take Those Lips Away' (1956) 2:15

'Tell Me Where is Fancy Bred' (1957) 2:15

'Pardon, Goddess Of The Night' (1957) 2:15

'Sigh No More, Ladies' (1957) 2:15
22. Man Of Iron: A Portrait of Willy Eisenhart (1972) 2:10
23. The Courtship of the Yongly Bongly Bo (1973-74) 7:10
24. Dr. Marcel Roche: Making a Decision (1982) 1:15
25. Molly Davies: Terminations (1982) 0:50
26. Jane Bowles: Early and as Remembered (1942 & 1985) 1:55

Total: 68:33

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