Cooman: The Cloak with the Stars
Carson Cooman is many things musical – organist and Composer in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University; writer, critic and consultant, concert organist, and above all a highly prolific composer of music in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral to song.
His organ compositions come in many styles, from liturgical models, to more gritty and substantial pieces such as his organ symphonies and preludes and fugues. Much of the music here, tonal and accessible though never lacking in complex chromaticism, was written for and dedicated to the German composer Andreas Willscher whose works Cooman is also recording for Divine Art.
Erik Simmons is a fine organist, making his sixth Cooman organ album for Divine Art. He is playing the Cavaillé-Coll organ of the Abbey of Saint-Etienne, Caen, France in a live performance recorded through the Hauptwerk system.
This is volume 6 of this highly praised series. (Now up to volume 13)
Track Listing
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Carson Cooman(b.1982):
- Three St. Francis Legends - I. St. Francis Divests Himself of All Worldly Wealth
- Three St. Francis Legends - II. St. Francis and the Sermon to the Birds
- Three St. Francis Legends - III. St. Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio
- Piccola fantasia francescana
- The Cloak with the Stars
- Entrata festiva
- Diptych for New Life - I. Aubade
- Diptych for New Life - II. Toccata
- Gebet
- Sketch No. 3
- Ciaccona angelica
- Variations on a Theme of Andreas Willscher
- San Andreas Suite - I. Carillon in festo S. Andreae apostoli
- San Andreas Suite - II. Versets on a Melody from Perigord
- San Andreas Suite - III. Pastorale mit einem Orgelpunkt
- San Andreas Suite - IV. Toccata perigourdine
Reviews
“Most of the music on this disc is quiet, tonal, and consonant… all of the music is solidly crafted. Fans of Cooman’s music will definitely wish to add this to their burgeoning collections; recommended accordingly.
” —James A. Altena
“The dominant accent is contemplative…both the two larger pieces move seamlessly between the sublime and the ecstatic, with Simmons revelling in the unfettered energy.
” —Michael Quinn
“Erik Simmons now enjoys an established reputation for a level of expertise with Cooman’s repertoire. One of Cooman’s strengths as a composer is his ability to use programmatic material, he remains free enough to create highly atmospheric works. Cooman’s writing is colourful and highly effective.
” —Alex Baran
“Cooman’s organ compositions come in many styles… tonal and accessible though never lacking in complex chromaticism. Simmons plays with fine technique and assurance and the live recording quality is outstanding.
” —John Pitt
“All the pieces on this CD are new compositions from this year, but organist Erik Simmons plays them as confidently as if he’d known them for years… they are all distinctively different and varied in style, expression and technique. Quite fascinating!
” —Jean-Yves Duperron
