Into The Light: Symphonic Expressions of the Spirit

Label: Telarc
Year: 1997
Released on LP: No
Released on CD: Yes

Tracks

1. Symphony No.2 ('Mysterious Mountain'), Op. 132: 1. Andante con moto

2. Symphony No.2 ('Mysterious Mountain'), Op. 132: 2. Double fugue

3. Symphony No.2 ('Mysterious Mountain'), Op. 132: 3. Andante espressivo

4. Fantasy on a Hymn Tune by Justin Morgan for double string quartet and string orchestra

5. Orchestral Suite from 'Joy in the Morning': 1. In My Distress

6. Orchestral Suite from 'Joy in the Morning': 2. I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes

7. Orchestral Suite from 'Joy in the Morning': 3. Dance for Joy

8. Into the Light: 2nd movement

9. Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration), tone poem for orchestra, Op. 24 (TrV 158)

Notes

Alan Hovhaness (Composer)
Thomas Canning (Composer)
Dave Brubeck (Composer)
Steve Rouse (Composer)
Richard Strauss (Composer)

Jesús López-Cobos (Conductor),
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra)


Includes Dave's "Joy in the Morning", which he wrote in recollection of the comfort he obtained from Psalm 30 whilst awaiting bypass surgery.

Reviews

Concord Music Company - Release

The young American composer Steve Rouse, currently on the faculty of the University of Louisville, wrote Into the Light as he was grappling emotionally with the suddenly diagnosed terminal illness of his 32-year-old brother-in-law in 1991. The composer relates the work (particularly the serene second movement) to the after-death experience, the search for release through enlightenment, and the concept of God. Many other composers have responded to the human struggle for spiritual enlightenment. Thomas Canning's Fantasy on a Hymn is based upon a simple hymn composed by Justin Morgan (1747-1798) in response to the death of his wife, Amanda.

American jazz artist and composer Dave Brubeck's work, Joy in the Morning, was written in recollection of the solace he received from Psalm 30 while in the hospital facing bypass surgery.

Also included on the disc are works by Alan Hovhaness (Mysterious Mountain) and Richard Strauss (Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24).