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To order through Capstone Records, click
here.
| 1. |
O Magnum Mysterium (4:25) ~
The Gregg Smith Singers;
Arthur Krieck, conductor
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Songs of Seasons ~ The Gregg Smith Singers;
Thomas Schmidt, piano;
Dale Jergenson, conductor |
| 2. |
January-April (2:32) ~
Alto solo by April Lindevald
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| 3. |
May (1:03)
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| 4. |
June-September (1:43)
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| 5. |
October (1:41)
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| 6. |
November-December (3:35) ~
Soprano solo by Mary Elizabeth Poore
Tenor solo by Drew Martin
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| 7. |
The Dawning (4:38) ~
The Men of The Gregg Smith Singers;
Gregg Smith, conductor
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Psalms ~
Jared Stamm, baritone;
Thomas Schmidt, piano |
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Psalm 46: 2-7, 10-11 (5:13)
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| 9. |
Psalm 84: 1-4 (2:29)
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| 10. |
Psalm 51: 10-17 (4:31)
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WARSONG (13:01) ~
Eileen Clark, soprano;
Megan Friar, mezzo-soprano;
Thomas Schmidt, piano
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"One can note with pleasure the flexibility of Thomas' musical language, and his determination to respond to poetic texts in an individual way. Each piece calls forth a different vocabulary from Thomas, defined most of all through intervallic emphasis. The psalm settings, with their lyrical language of faith, rely on open fifths, for example. In the "November-December" section of the title Songs of Seasons, Thomas evokes winter's gray not with the usual cloud of impressionistic harmonies but with an insistent and growing repetition of a single chord. Throughout, he succeeds in deriving novel programmatic effects from simple materials. The Gregg Smith Singers continue their long mastery of small-scale contemporary choral music with assured, sympathetic performances that will make many choristers want to rush out and try these pieces themselves."
James Manheim, All Media Guide |
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"The rewarding vocal works on Songs of Seasons provide yet more evidence that David Bennett Thomas is a composer who is capable of virtuoso writing, but opts to keep unnecessary flashiness reined in for a deeper, more thoughtful approach. The Gregg Smith Singers lend great feeling and technical precision to Thomas' music, while pianist Thomas Schmidt handles his role with warmth and dexterity... Beginning with the serenely beautiful harmonies of O Magnum Mysterium for mixed chorus, the disc remains consistently engrossing... A setting of excerpts from three of the Psalms for baritone and piano is a major highlight of the disc. Jared Stamm offers soulful readings of Thomas's strong melodies as Schmidt traverses intriguing harmonic territory..."
Brad Glanden, Sequenza 21
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"The Dawning, for unaccompanied men's chorus, manifests Thomas' exceptional ability to choose texts with great potential for musical elaboration...the shape and direction the music takes is exactly right, seeming to derive spontaneously from the verse...Psalms captures the peaceful, lyrical essence of these ancient songs...Especially affecting is "Old War Dreams" (WARSONG), where a sweetly memorable melody seems decidedly out-of-sync with the gruesome scene described, a reflection of the emotional distancing that can occur in the face of overwhelming trauma. "Dirge for Two Veterans," picturing a father and son being buried together, is a sad march saturated with an aching sense of loss."
Andrew Quint, Philadelphia Music Makers, Spring 2008 |
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To order through Capstone Records,
click here.
| 1. |
Piano Sonata #2 (Matthew Bengtson, piano)
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| 2. |
Steeples In My Soul: Movements for Alto
Flute (Carla Rees, alto flute)
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| 3. |
Sonata for Solo Cello ~ Robust (Jeffrey
Solow, cello)
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| 4. |
Blake Songs ~ Spring (The New Carillon
Ensemble; Mary Elizabeth Poore, soprano; April Lindevald, alto; Arthur
Krieck, tenor; Alan Reinhardt, bass; Thomas Schmidt, piano)
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Trio for Flute, Cello, and Piano ~ Allegretto (The
Temple New Music Trio: Cynthia Folio, flute; Jeffrey Solow, cello;
Charles Abramovic, piano)
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| 6. |
Juliet: Five songs from Shakespeare for
Soprano, Violin, Organ, and Tubular Bells ~ My only love sprung from
my only hate (Mary Elizabeth Poore, soprano; Laura Frautschi, violin;
Thomas Schmidt, organ; John Dolbashian, bells)
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"The piece convinces on both structural and emotional levels (Piano Sonata #2)....an invigorating cocktail of style and technique (Sonata for Cello Solo)...after a moving, almost Messiaenic introduction, the violin traces the voice exactly in the vocalize of 'O serpent heart...', using repetition of a melodic loop to a powerful climax - easily the most impressive moment on the disc ("Juliet").
The directness of David Bennett Thomas' communication with the listener should be noted, for he makes music that speaks with no pretension, and makes for a rewarding listening experience."
Ben Hogwood, The Classical Source, February 11, 2006 |
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"His music is concise and comprehensible, though he doesn't talk down to the listener or subscribe to any particular isms. This is a composer with an individual voice."
David Moore, American Record Guide, March/April 2006 |
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"...immediately engaging...meticulously structured works...a natural organicity, and fluidity of expression...Thomas' material is playful, soulful, technically dazzling, and often acutely communicative."
Andrew Quint, Philadelphia Music Makers, Spring 2006 |
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"While all the works represented here are accessible to even the most casual listener of classical music, there is an undercurrent of complexity and texture that is uncommon in many newly composed pieces. That added structure gives a new dimension to Thomas' recordings and is what makes his writing so honest and completely convincing."
Sean Hickey, The Daily Local, January 6, 2006 |
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"The chamber works of David Bennett Thomas may be categorized as neo-Romantic, neo-tonal, or even as a kind of sophisticated "fusion classical," but these terms by themselves are inadequate to describe the complex mixtures of elements in his music. His strongest pieces reveal both modernist influences and contemporary applications, though blended to sound original and whole, not like self-concious parodies or pastiches. Thomas is shrewd enough not to wear his influences on his sleeve, and these presumed sources are reworked with jazz harmonies and influences in an idiosyncratic but distinctive post-modern approach."
Blair Sanderson, All Media Guide |
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To order through CDBaby, click here.
To order through Amazon.com, click
here.
| 1. |
Four Easter Canticles (The Gregg Smith Singers)
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| 2. |
Short Sonata for Four Hands (Samuel Hsu and Gary Gress, piano)
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| 3. |
Homage to Toru Takemitsu (Gary Gress, piano)
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A Poem by Lady Mary Wroth (Deborah Lipsi, soprano; Michael Locati, viola; April Stace, harp)
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| 5. |
Impromptus for Flute and Piano (Margaret Claudin, flute; Samuel Hsu, piano)
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"...Thomas is a highly gifted and interesting composer who has his own distinct voice....his music is very well written for voice or instruments, and presents a real challenge to the performers...I have great confidence in his future, and would not be surprised if this cd makes it big...."
Lukas Foss |
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"Thomas' work is a refreshingly fresh flowering of a sensible a-historical approach to our musical art...The 'Impromptus for Flute and Piano' move effortlessly between irony and profundity, and even between sight-gag slapstick and the mournfully langorous....every phrase and every event in Thomas' music displays a perfectly conceived application of the proper scale of time and density for those events with regard to the weight and the tone of the musical ideas he is using. Perhaps this is the greatest lesson the great masters have to teach us about composition. David seems to know how to deploy his forces in such a way as to bring about this 'classic' balance."
Ron Thomas (from the liner notes) |
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To order through Arizona University Recordings, click
here.
This cd is a collection of pieces featuring the saxophone, including Thomas'
Rondo Capriccioso (Marshall Taylor, alto saxophone; Samuel Hsu, piano).
Other
composers on the cd include Lars-Erik Larsson, Lawrence Moss, and Edward
Green. Performers include Kenneth Tse, Dale Underwood, ThiBre Quartet,
Prism
Brass Quartet. For a full list, and to hear clips of any track, please
click on
the Arizona University Recordings link.
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Rondo Capriccioso for Alto Saxophone
and Piano (Marshall Taylor, alto saxophone; Samuel Hsu, piano)
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