JOSÉ ANTÔNIO REZENDE
DE ALMEIDA PRADO (1943–2010)

COMPLETE CARTAS CELESTES • 4

CARTAS CELESTES NOS. 13 AND 16–18

ALEYSON SCOPEL

José Antônio Rezende de Almeida Prado referred to his vast set of 18 Cartas Celestes as an “incredible journey”, and the final three were completed just months before his death. Following the luminous Brazilian night skies of No. 13, the poetic references of the final trilogy refer to constellations named after animals, Grecian and Egyptian mythology, and one last homage to a pivotal figure in Brazilian literature. The is the final volume of Aleyson Scopel’s world première recording of the 15 Cartas Celestes for solo piano.

Listen to an excerpt from
Cartas Celestes No. 18, “The Sky of Macunaíma”
PRADO, J.A.R. de A.: Cartas Celestes, Vol. 4 - Nos. 13 and 16-18
GP747
José Antônio Rezende
JOSÉ ANTÔNIO REZENDE
DE ALMEIDA PRADO
(1943–2010)

About this Recording

Almeida Prado’s vast cycle of Cartas Celestes (Celestial Charts) depicts the celestial bodies visible in the Brazilian night sky during the four seasons of the year. As the cycle evolves so does Almeida Prado’s sound world and colour palette, reaching a highly transcendent and poetic view of the universe with an ever-evolving harmonic language that includes the composer’s own invented “transtonality”. The composer himself described Aleyson Scopel’s performances on Volume 1 [GP709] as “straight from heaven!”

1
CARTAS CELESTES NO. 13 (2001) (22:09)
Cometa Honda-Mrkos Pajdusakova (Honda-Mrkos Pajdusakova comet) (00:00)
Constelação de Taurus (Constellation of Taurus) (02:12)
As Plêiades (The Pleiades) (06:48)
Nebulosa do Carangueijo NGC 1952=M1 (Crab Nebula NGC 1952=M1) (10:00)
Constelação de Perseus (Constellation of Perseus) (12:45)
Galáxia NGC221=M32 (Galaxy NGC221=M32) (15:22)
Constelação de Grus (Constellation of Grus) (19:08)
2
CARTAS CELESTES NO. 16 ”MAGICAL ANIMALS” (2010) (14:47)
Nebulosa Planetária NGC 3132 do anel do sul
(The Southern Ring Nebula NGC 3132) (00:00)
Constelação do Camaleão (Constellation of the Chamaeleon) (01:33)
Nebulosa da Rosetta – Aglomerado NGC 2244
(Rosette Nebula – Open cluster NGC 2244) (03:42)
Constelação da Águia (Constellation of the Eagle) (05:54)
Nebulosa Planetária “Olho do gato” NGC 6543
(The Cat’s Eye Nebula NGC 6543) (07:48)
Constelação do Dragão (Constellation of the Dragon) (09:45)
Aurora Austral (Aurora Australis) (13:06)
3
CARTAS CELESTES NO. 17 “CELESTIAL EGYPT AND GREECE” (2010) (11:14)
Constelação Cabeleira de Berenice (Constellation of Coma Berenices) (00:00)
Galáxia do Olho Negro M 64 (Black Eye galaxy M 64) (02:58)
Aglomerado Estrelar de Coma (Coma Galaxy cluster) (05:17)
Constelação Coroa Boreal (Constellation of the Corona Borealis) (07:56)
Cometa Ikeya-Seki 24 (Comet Ikeya-Seki 24) (09:42)
4
CARTAS CELESTES NO. 18 “THE SKY OF MACUNAÍMA” (2010) (13:43)
Galáxia do Redemoinho M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy M51) (00:00)
Constelação do Índio (Constellation of Indus) (02:27)
Nebulosa da Coruja M97 (Owl Nebula M97) (06:02)
O sol e a lua (The Sun and the Moon) (08:02)
Constelação Ursa Maior – Macunaíma (Constellation of Ursa Major – Macunaíma) (10:56)
WORLD PREMIÈRE RECORDINGS

TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 62:10

Aleyson Scopel

ALEYSON SCOPEL

Brazilian pianist Aleyson Scopel has performed worldwide in solo, chamber and concerto settings. A recipient of the Nelson Freire and Magda Tagliaferro awards, he has also won numerous prizes in international competitions such as the William Kapell, Villa-Lobos, Corpus Christi, Kingsville and Southern Highland International piano competitions. His performance of the first set of Cartas Celestes by Almeida Prado was thus received by the composer: “It came straight from heaven! Meteor Showers, radiant constellations, glowing nebulae and a transcendental vitality marked the genial interpretation of this colossal pianist.” Prado would later dedicate to Scopel the fifteenth set of the series.

www.aleysonscopel.com
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