Wednesday, April 9, 2014

The Unicorn, the Gorgon 
and the 
Manticore
by
Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007)
Madrigal-Ballet per coro, 
10 danzatori e 9 strumenti (1956) 
Coro e gruppo strumentale 
diretti da Thomas Schippers
Thomas Schippers (1930-1977)

4 comments:

  1. Never realized Menotti was this good.
    Worth highlighting.

    ReplyDelete

  2. Thanks for posting this, FT!

    I love The Unicorn, the Gorgon
    and the Manticore
    and will make time to listen to this entire performance.

    Many years ago (1966 or so), when I was in my teens, I had the honor and pleasure of singing in the chorus of performances of this piece at the Washington National Cathedral. What an experience! And working under the baton of Richard Wayne Dirksen, too!

    Back then, I didn't have enough appreciation of The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore, but I hope that I have proper appreciation now.

    From the libretto:

    Wicked is Man, Patient is God,
    All He gives Man to enjoy,
    Man will destroy.


    [source]

    ReplyDelete
  3. A thing of great beauty, charm, and mystery! A fanciful modern evocation of Mediaeval and Renaissance motifs! Funny too in subtle ways, and in the end very touching. A magical experience altogether. I wish they'd been able to preserve this performance on video tape. The piece arrived a bit too early for that, didn't it?

    - A. Fanne

    ReplyDelete

IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING, YOU DON'T BELONG HERE, SO KINDLY GET OUT AND STAY OUT.

We welcome Conversation
But without Vituperation.
If your aim is Vilification ––
Other forms of Denigration ––
Unfounded Accusation --
Determined Obfuscation ––
Alienation with Self-Justification ––
We WILL use COMMENT ERADICATION.


IN ADDITION

Gratuitous Displays of Extraneous Knowledge Offered Not To Shed Light Or Enhance the Discussion, But For The Primary Purpose Of Giving An Impression Of Superiority are obnoxiously SELF-AGGRANDIZING, and therefore, Subject to Removal at the Discretion of the Censor-in-Residence.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.