Gould,Morton / Schermerhorn Fall River Legend CD

Morton Gould is most famous for his colorful light music and arrangements, always attractive, tuneful and marvelously scored, and often drawing on popular music and folk music in original and unexpected ways. But he also wrote more serious concert music, and the disc at hand really gives the full gamut of Gould's compositional interests. The Jekyll and Hyde Variations is a rarity. Commissioned by Mitropoulos, it was one of Gould's chances to try his hand at more serious music, and the results are telling. The variations are written in dodecaphonic, serial style, though you may not be able to tell on first listening - much of the music sounds modal, and in the Jekyll variations sometimes almost hymn-like. It is based on a series of gestures that are permuted, rearranged and re-colored, often ingenious, and very deftly crafted.

1. Theme 2. Variation 1 3. Variation 2 4. Variation 3 5. Variation 4 6. Variation 5 7. Variation 6 8. Variation 7 9. Variation 8 10. Variation 9 11. Variation 10 12. Variation 11 13. Variation 12 14. Variation 13 15. Prologue 16. Waltzes 17. Elegy 18. Interlude 19. Dirge 20. Lullaby 21. Serenade 22. Axe 23. Invitation to Church Social 24. Church Social 25. Hymnal Variations 26. Cotillon 27. Cotillon Coda 28. Death Dance 29. Mob Scene 30. Epilogue