Three Voices for Joan La Barbara is something of an avant-garde love fest. The poet Frank O'Hara wrote a poem called "Wind," which he dedicated to composer Morton Feldman. Feldman in turn wrote Three Voices, based on the text of "Wind," which he dedicated to vocalist/composer Joan La Barbara, who performs the work in this recording. The end result of all this mutual goodwill is a riveting piece of music. The three voices in question perform a cappella, beginning with a wordless vocal pattern that gradually articulates itself into fragments of the O'Hara poem. Like most of Morton Feldman's mature work, Three Voices for Joan La Barbara rewards the attentive listener with an astonishing range of rhythms, textures, and emotions.
Performed by the artist for whom it was written and produced to New Albion's meticulous standards, this can safely be regarded as the definitive record of one of late 20th century composition's small gems. Peter Nappi
MORTON FELDMAN (1926-1987)
1-10. Three Voices (49:48)
Credits :
Lyrics By – Frank O'Hara
Voice – Joan La Barbara
Notas :
"Three Voices" composed for Joan La Barbara and completed April 15, 1982, uses delicate repeating patterns of precise pitches and rhythms and is indicated to be sung very softly (ppp). It is a setting of fragments from the poem, "Wind", by Frank O'Hara (dedicated to Morton Feldman). The composition is sung in vocalise until just before the midpoint of the piece when the text appears. It was first performed in March 1983 at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia.
