Composer(s): Gordon, Ricky Ian
Conductor(s): Fisher, Rob
Label: Naxos
Series: Opera Classics
Genre: Opera; Vocal
Period: Contemporary
Catalogue No: 8.669028-29
Barcode: 730099902878
Release Date: 04/2013

GORDON, R.I.: Rappahannock County [Opera] (Walters, Sherman, Tuell, Moreno, Moore, Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra, Fisher)

Inspired by diaries, letters, and personal accounts from the 1860s, Rappahannock County is a music-theatre work which movingly and dramatically commemorates the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. The location of the Rappahannock River as a border between north and south is a metaphor for the region’s many conflicts. Performed by a cast of five singers who play over 30 rôles, the piece brings this dramatic historical period to life in songs which express the devastating impact of the Civil War on all of the people who endured it. Ricky Ian Gordon’s music has been described as ‘caviar for a world gorging on pizza’ (The New York Times), and Rappahannock County has been commended for its ‘effusiveness and accessibility’ by The Washington Post.

Tracklist

Disc 1
Gordon, Ricky Ian
Campbell, Mark - Lyricist
Walters, Mark (baritone)
Sherman, Faith (mezzo-soprano)
Tuell, Matthew (tenor)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
Moreno, Kevin (baritone)
Moore, Aundi Marie (soprano)
1Part I: Trio: Sanctified by God (Rev. Zachariah Springer) - A Noble Institution (Mrs. Laticia Saunders) - States' Rights (Jefferson Adams)08:32
Walters, Mark (baritone)
Sherman, Faith (mezzo-soprano)
Tuell, Matthew (tenor)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
2Part I: Recitative: Farewell, Old Dominion (Clement Davis)00:40
Tuell, Matthew (tenor)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
3Part I: Mine (Two Nameless Slaves)02:10
Moreno, Kevin (baritone)
Moore, Aundi Marie (soprano)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
4Part I: Farewell, Old Dominion (Clement Davis)04:55
Tuell, Matthew (tenor)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
5Part I: Victory at Manassas (Telegraph Operator, Newspaper Editor, Young Wife)03:36
Walters, Mark (baritone)
Sherman, Faith (mezzo-soprano)
Tuell, Matthew (tenor)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
6Interlude No. 100:29
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
7Part II: Being Small (Reuben Lark)03:03
Moreno, Kevin (baritone)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
8Part II: Making Maps (Jed Hotchkiss)04:18
Walters, Mark (baritone)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
9Part II: I Seen Snow (Travis Bledsoe)06:23
Tuell, Matthew (tenor)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
10Part II: Rappahannock (Two Newly Freed Slaves)03:08
Moreno, Kevin (baritone)
Moore, Aundi Marie (soprano)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
11Part III: I Listen (Violet Fitzsimmons)05:10
Sherman, Faith (mezzo-soprano)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
12Part III: Bound to Be (Joe Harris)04:02
Moreno, Kevin (baritone)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
13Part III: All I Ever Known (Lily Quinn)03:31
Moore, Aundi Marie (soprano)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
14Part III: The Good Death (John Smith)04:13
Walters, Mark (baritone)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
15Interlude No. 200:32
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
16Part IV: In Their Eyes (Cornelia MacDonald)05:07
Sherman, Faith (mezzo-soprano)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
17Part IV: A Fine Solution (Silas MacDuffie)04:03
Tuell, Matthew (tenor)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
18Part IV: Hallie-Ann (Grace Beaufort)04:48
Moore, Aundi Marie (soprano)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
19Part IV: For Love of Country (Elias Leggett)05:10
Walters, Mark (baritone)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
20Part IV: I Walk Away (Joshua Barnes)02:46
Moreno, Kevin (baritone)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
Disc 2
1Interlude No. 300:36
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
2Part V: This Was Our House (Susan Johnson and Family)03:00
Walters, Mark (baritone)
Sherman, Faith (mezzo-soprano)
Tuell, Matthew (tenor)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
3Part V: Jumping the Broom (Dorothea Henry, Jones Henry)03:30
Moreno, Kevin (baritone)
Moore, Aundi Marie (soprano)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
4Part V: Finale: April Will Return Again/Rappahannock (All)05:02
Walters, Mark (baritone)
Sherman, Faith (mezzo-soprano)
Tuell, Matthew (tenor)
Moreno, Kevin (baritone)
Moore, Aundi Marie (soprano)
Virginia Arts Festival Orchestra (Orchestra)
Fisher, Rob (Conductor)
Gordon, Ricky Ian
Kenyon, Jane - Lyricist
Valentine, Jean - Lyricist
Howe, Marie - Lyricist
Lattimore, Margaret (mezzo-soprano)
Gordon, Ricky Ian (piano)
5I. Otherwise02:52
Lattimore, Margaret (mezzo-soprano)
Gordon, Ricky Ian (piano)
6II. Willi, Home02:45
Lattimore, Margaret (mezzo-soprano)
Gordon, Ricky Ian (piano)
7III. "X"04:23
Lattimore, Margaret (mezzo-soprano)
Gordon, Ricky Ian (piano)
8IV. Just Now03:13
Lattimore, Margaret (mezzo-soprano)
Gordon, Ricky Ian (piano)
9V. What the Living Do06:03
Lattimore, Margaret (mezzo-soprano)
Gordon, Ricky Ian (piano)
10VI. Let Evening Come05:06
Lattimore, Margaret (mezzo-soprano)
Gordon, Ricky Ian (piano)

Total Playing Time: 01:53:06