专辑简介

“‘Living’: Laura Wayte Sings Denise Levertov” is a collaborative effort of Portland-based composer Nicole Portley, Eugene-based soprano Laura Wayte, and seven string players of the Oregon and Eugene symphonies. The disc features a cycle of ten songs composed upon the poetry of Denise Levertov, one of America’s foremost modern poets. Levertov (1923–1997) lived in Washington and Northern California, and her poetry evokes the vivid natural beauty of the American far west and raw emotional sensibility. In writing music to go with Levertov’s words, delivering the vocal lines, and performing the string trio accompaniment, our team strove for connectivity with a fellow Pacific Northwesterner and fellow artist, passed but not forgotten.

Stylistically, the music is rooted in the art song tradition that attained prominence in the 19th century through the works of European composers such as Schumann, Schubert and Fauré, and was continued forth in the 20th century by Bernstein, Barber and others. However, the songs also contain characteristics drawn from the modern popular tradition, such as repetition of vocal lines and minimalist chord progressions. The resultant fusion of new and old is accessible to novice listeners yet thought-provoking for the classical music aficionado.