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Pines’ poetry has been set by composer Daniel Asia on five CD’s, Songs From The Page of Swords, Pines Songs I & II, Breath In A Ram’s Horn and, Purer Than Purest Pure (BBC Singers) on the Summit label. Asia’s 5th Symphony, premiered by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, 2008, and recorded by the Pilsen Symphony Orchestra as Of Songs & Psalms, 2011, features poems by Pines and Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai.  Asia also scored Pines’ libretto for The Tin Angel Opera.

Daniel Asia recently won the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for composition, and has been the recipient of many competitive grants and fellowships in music including a Meet The Composer/Reader's Digest Consortium Commission, United Kingdom Fulbright Arts Award Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, four NEA Composers Grants, a M. B. Rockefeller Grant, and many more.

- PINES SONGS I & II

 

Pines Songs is a song cycle with music by Daniel Asia and poetry by Paul Pines.  Scored for soprano (or mezzo soprano) and piano, a version for bass-baritone, oboe, and piano has also been published.  Poetry from the Pines Songs Chapbook can be found here.

To purchase go to Dan Asia's website.  Published by Summit Records.

"American classical music has finally taken a sharp turn for the better – back towards tonality, accessibility and immediacy. Daniel Asia is one of the composers who has his hands on the wheel. He’s an important new voice and Breath in a Ram’s Horn is the best possible way to find out what his fresh and engaging music is all about.
-Terry Teachout

Audio

  • Carmen Pelton, soprano; conducted by Dan Asia;
    1. White Pillars 2:17,  2. I'll Never Understand 6:18, 3. Fantasy #1 4:15, 4. A Little Girl 1:21, 5. Dear Frank 1:33, 6. Fantasy #2 7:03, 7. I Walk Out

 

 

  • Faye Robinson, soprano; Tannis Gibson, piano;
    1. White Pillars, 2. I'll Never Understand, 3. A Little Girl, 4. Dear Frank, 5. I Walk Out

 


Reviews

 

- Songs From the page of swords

To purchase go to Dan Asia's website or Summit Records.

Audio

  • Sara Watkins, bass-baritone; John Shirley-Quirk, conductor

1. Glyph/The Messenger 6:42, 2. My Egyptian Sister 2:21, 3. Mein Brüder 2:49, 4. Reincarnation 3:52, 5. New Years, 1979 2:55, 6. Glyph/ The Message 10:11

 

 

- OF SONGS & PSALMS

To purchase go to Summit Records.

Performers: Chris Pedro Trakas,  Robert Swensen; Dan Asia, composer; Koji Kawamoto, conductor; Czech Nonet, orchestra


Reviews

“…his music does a good job…getting to the point of each of the short poems, which are brief meditations on the present state of the Middle East and the day-to-day lives and psyches of its inhabitants, near and far. The tone is generally lyrical, the net effect moving and thoughtful. The beautiful prayer finale makes a memorable conclusion. This is a fine expression of the present day Jewish condition, and I hope it finds a substantial audience.”
-American Record Guide
“Soloists Chris Pedro Trakas and Robert Swenson are both masters of their art, enhancing both the drama and the lyricism of the texts. Their voices not only are well-suited to this music, but ideally complement each other. The chorus and orchestra also sing and play with finesse and considerable musical expression…With Summit’s excellent recorded sound and presentation, this release is a worthwhile addition to the recorded legacy of Daniel Asia and recorded contemporary music in general, and as such, certainly deserves a place in your collection.”
– Fanfare
“…The composer’s idiom is tonal and very approachable; an apt comparison in both mood and vocabulary would be Bernstein’s more ‘serious’ orchestral works – the Kaddish and Age of Anxiety symphonies for instance; harmonically rich and sometimes ambiguous, and always rhythmically vital, with excursions into contemplative depth of feeling. The concise Nonet is cast in similar musical language, with something of the clear precision of neoclassical Stravinsky.”
– Records International

- Pure than the purest pure: Choral Works of Daniel Asia with the BBC Singers

Britain's foremost professional chamber choir, the BBC Singers, was founded in 1924. As a vital resource in the BBC's music output, the BBC Singers hold a unique position in British musical life. Performing everything from Byrd and Birtwistle to Tallis and Takemitsu, the versatility of this 24-voice ensemble is second to none.

Purer Than Purest Pure: Choral Music of Daniel Asia Odaline de la Martinez, conductor; BBC Singers; Olivia Robinson (sop)1; Margaret Cameron (mez)1; Stephen Jeffes (ten) 1; Stephen Charlesworth (bar)1; Richard Pearce (pn)2; Elizabeth Poole, Gabriel Gottlieb (pitch-pipes) 3; Summit Records

To purchase go toDan Asia's website.

Reviews

"…his music is essential and pure…an original and much appreciated presence in the choral universe…"
-Fanfare
"…a sensuous approach to sound…"
-New York Times