Myth and Music

ACHILLES
Deidamia (1741), 181:00), Handel, George Frideric (1685-1759).
An opera recounting Achilles'stay on the island of Scyros and his love affair there with Deidamia.
o ALBANY 460 (3), VIRGIN 45550 (3)

Achilleus (1885), Bruch, Max (1838-1920).
A secular oratorio for soloists, chorus, and orchestra inspired by the Iliad and dealing especially with three episodes - the death of Patroclus, Achilles’ revenge on Hector, and his meeting with Priam.
o PREISER 89210 (with his Odysseus)

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ADONIS
Der Geliebte Adonis (1697), 217:30, Keiser, Reinhard (1674-1739).
An opera on the familiar myth found in Book 10 of Ovid's Metamorphoses, but with Ares as a jealous lover who turns himself into the wild boar that kills Adonis.
o CPO 999636 (3)

AENEAS
Didone Piangete (before 1641), 8:30, Savioni, Mario (1606/8-1685).
A chamber cantata on Francesco Melosi’s poem with a background introduction, a sarcastic and satirical lament of Dido filled with curses over her abandonment by Aeneas, and a description of her death.
o MUSIC AND ARTS 1034 ("Musica da Camera")

La Morte di Didone (1811), 21:30, Rossini, Gioacchino (1792-1868).
A work for soprano and orchestra in which Dido laments her fate and vents her anger.
o BONGIOVANNI 2524, LONDON 458843 ("Cantatas, vol. 1)

Aeneas (1935), 40:00, Roussel, Albert (1869-1937).
Music for a ballet based on a work by J. Weterings.
o ERATO 24240 (2) (with his Bacchus et Ariane)

Dido (1967), 37:00, Novak, Jan (1921-1984).
A cantata based on Book 4 of Vergil's Aeneid.
o AUDITE 97457

Aeneas in Strophades (1990), 9:30, Rush, Stephen (1958-).
A serious pop work for four harps and tape, punning on the Harpies and echoing progressive-rock music of the late 60s.
o MMC 2056

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AEOLUS
Phoenix Aeolis: Re-Variations, 20:30, Rogers, David W. (1967-).
A work of tape and acoustic sounds.
o BMF 047 ("Bonk")

AGAMEMNON
Introduzione all'Agamennone di Eschile (1930), 21:00, Pizzetti, Ildebrando (1880-1968).
Incidental music to accompany Aeschylus’ play.
o MONDO MUSICA 10201 (2) (with Donizetti's Messa di Requiem)

ALCESTIS
Admeto, Re di Tessaglia (1727), 217:00, Handel, George Frideric (1685-1759).
An opera which starts with the basic plot, but adds a new lover for Admetus when Heracles is to thought to have failed in his mission to rescue Alcestis, only to have Alcestis re-appear.
o VIRGIN 61369 (3)

Alkeste (1773), 134:00, Schweitzer, Anton (1735-1787).
An opera on the familiar story based on a text by Christoph Wieland.
o MARCO POLO 8.225261 (2)

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ALPHEUS AND ARETHUSA
Arethusa (1988), 15:30, Dinescu, Violeta (1953-).
A work for solo violin.
o CUE 2532, GEDOK 5235 ("Tautropfen")

AMAZONS
Amazon Quadrille (1862), 6:00, Strauss, Josef (1827-1870).
A work composed for a costume ball where the female dancers wore the costume of an Amazon.
o MARCO POLO 8.223562 (with his Diana)

Amazon Polka Mazurka (1858), 7:00, Strauss, Josef (1827-1870)
A polka mazurka in honor of the liberated ladies of his time who took the Amazons as their models.
o MARCO POLO 8.223568 (with his Sylph Polka)

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AMPHITRYON AND ALCMENE
Amor es Todo Invencion (Jupiter y Amphitrion) (1721), 192:00, Facco, Giacomo (1676-1753).
A comic opera based on one of the best-known sexual escapades of Zeus.
o PAVANE 7446 (3)

APHRODITE
Venere ed Amore (c.1695), 38:30, Scarlatti, Alessandro (1660-1725).
A serenata for two voices and instruments about Venus’ search for her son in the city upon finding him, listens as he sings of his successes.
o HUNGAROTON 32101

Cytherea Quadrille (1844), 6:00, Strauss II, Johann (1825-1899).
His first work inspired by a classical mythical figure, Aphrodite.
o MARCO POLO 8.223202

La Naissance de Venus (1895), 23:00, Fauré, Gabriel (1845-1924).
A work for soloists, chorus, and orchestra celebrating the birth of Venus and her welcome into Olympus by Zeus.
o CHANDOS 10113

La Nouvelle Cythère (1929), Tailleferre, Germaine (1892-1983).
Uncompleted music for a ballet on Louis-Antoine de Bougainville’s Voyage Autour du Monde.
o ELAN 82278

Naissance de Vénus (1949), Milhaud, Darius (1892-1974).
A cantata for mixed a capella choir on a poem by Jules Supervielle.
o PHOENIX 139 ("French 20^th Century")

Anadyomene (Adoration of Aphrodite) (1968), 12:00, Rautavaara, Einojuhani (1928-).
An orchestral homage to Aphrodite, goddess of love, born of the sea foam.
o ONDINE 921

Sappho: Lyrical Fragments (1980), 14:30, Tavener, John (1944-).
A work for two sopranos on a series of fragments from Sappho calling upon Aphrodite to be her ally.
o HARMONIA MUNDI 907231 ("Eternity’s Sunrise")

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APOLLO
Le Mont Aon de Thrace (late 14^th cent.), 11:00, anon.
A ballade from the Chantilly codex comparing the court of the Count of Foix and its entertainments to those of Apollo and the Muses.
o ARCANA 32 ("Balades a III Chans", with John Roberts’ Se Alixandre et Hector and Se Zephirus, Phebus, et Leur Lignie)

Phöbus Jagt mit Seinen Pferden (between 1638 and 1651), 5:00, Albert, Heinrich (1604-1651).
A song (3.13) for three voices about Apollo going hunting from his song collection Arien.
o DHM 77245 (with his Galathe)

Raise, Raise the Voice (c.1685), 12:30, Purcell, Henry (1659-1695).
An ode about Apollo's approving presence at the music festival for St. Cecilia's Day.
o HYPERION 66494, NAXOS 8.553444, TELDEC 95068

Pindar's Ode (1744), Boyce, William (1711-1779).
A revised version of a symphonic work inspired by selections from Pindar's First Pythian Ode extolling Apollo and the power of music and describing other mythical characters, especially Typhoeus.
o ASV 232

Der Abend (1898), 10:00, Strauss, Richard (1864-1949).
A song from his Zwei Gesänge describing a sunset in terms of Phoebus falling into the arms of Thetis.
o COLLINS 14952 (with his An den Baum Daphne)

Schwanengesang an Apollo (1984), 16:30, Rabinovitch, Alexandre (1945-).
A work for piano, amplified celeste, and violin to capture the feeling of purification rites for Apollo’s followers.
o MEGADISC 7831(with his La Belle Musique no. 3)

The Oracle of Apollo (1988), 4:00, Vangelis (Papathanassiou, Evangelos) (1943-).
A New Age acoustic/electronic work by the Greek composer/performer.
o ARISTA 8545, ATLANTIC 8545 ("Direct")

Helios (1995), 17:00, Musgrave, Thea (1928-).
A work for oboe and chamber orchestra, calling to mind Helios’ (oboe) ride across the sky.
o COLLINS 15292, NMC 074

Hyacinth from Apollo (1998), 11:00, Samuel, Gerhard (1924-).
A work for tenor, saxophone, bass, and percussion.
o VIENNA MODERN MASTERS 3046 ("The Orpheus Oracle" with his Remembering Orpheus and Darrell Handel's Orpheus Left His Heart and Orpheus Oracle)

Oracle at Delphi, 9:30, Constantinides, Dinos (1929-).
A work for trio to recreate musically a visit to the oracle at Delphi.
o CRYSTAL 941.

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ARES
Altri Canti d'Amor (1638), 9:00, Monteverdi, Claudio (1567-1643).
Music for a poem of an unknown poet in honor of the god Ares from Madrigali Guerrieri et Amorosi.
o EMI 54333 (with his Chi Voi Haver Felice e Lieto il Core [Eros] and Ninfa Che Scalza il Piede e Sciolto il Crine), ERATO 88868, HARMONIA MUNDI FRANCE 901068, VIRGIN 91156, 91157

Mars + Venus (1993), 14:30, Finnissy, Michael (1946-).
An abstract work for chamber ensemble inspired by Rubens’ painting Mars and Venus in the Palazzo Bianco in Genoa, which suggests that the forces of war and love are present in ordinary people.
o NMC 043

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ARIADNE
Ariadne Musica (1702), 41:30, Fischer, Johann Kasper (?c.1670-1746).
Twenty preludes and fugues for organ.
o GEMM 9124, HARMONIA MUNDI FRANCE 901026, NAXOS 8.550964

Ariana (1726), 184:00, Marcello, Benedetto (1686-1739).
An opera on the familiar story of Ariadne's abandonment and rescue by Bacchus.
o CHANDOS 0656 (3)

The Minotaur (1968), 7:30, Hyman, Dick (1927-).
A jazz sonata for piano and violin adapted from music originally composed for Moog synthesizer and drum machine.
o ANGEL 55061 ("Jazz Sonatas")

Laberinto (1971), 23:00, Montsalvage, Xavier (1912-2002).
A three-movement symphonic suite inspired by the myth of Ariadne, Theseus, and the Minotaur.
o ASV 1060

Ariadne Music (1984), 15:00, Hovda, Eleanor (1940-).
A work for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, double bass, piano, and percussion inspired by Ariadne’s unwound ball of thread leaving a trail for Theseus’ escape from the labyrinth just as the musical sounds , spun into a resonant thread, are uncoiled.
o OO 46

Ariadne's Lament (1993), 8:00, Leach, Mary Jane (1949-).
One of four works in a project based on the myth of Ariadne, this one for female chorus drawing upon isolated fragments from Monteverdi.
o NEW WORLD 80525 (with her Tricky Pan)

Ariadne's Thread (1994), 16:00, Reynolds, Roger 91934-).
A work for string quartet and computer-generated sound.
o MONTAIGNE 782083 (2)

Song of Sorrows (1995), 8:00, Leach, Mary Jane (1949-).
A second work on Ariadne, for mixed chorus, expressing her helplessness.
o NEW WORLD 80525 (with her Tricky Pan)

O Magna Vasti Creta (1997), 9:30, Leach, Mary Jane (1949-).
A third work, for women’s chorus and string quartet, to her as queen, with quotes from Euripides and Seneca.
o NEW WORLD 80525 (with her Tricky Pan)

Call of the Dance (1997), 10:00, Leach, Mary Jane (1949-).
A fourth work, for soprano and a capella women’s chorus, with quotes from Homer, Timocreon, Corinna, Euripides, and Alcman.
o NEW WORLD 80525 (with her Tricky Pan)

Lamenting with Ariadne, (1999), 16:00, Musgrave, Thea (1928-).
A concerto for viola and chamber orchestra on Ariadne's fate.
o ALBANY 607

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ARTEMIS
La Diane de Fontainebleau (1686), 51:00, Desmarest, Henri (1661-1741).
A succession of scenes without any real dramatic action and with three groups of characters (Diana and her nymphs, the hunters, and Sleep and his attendants) welcoming King Louis XIV of France to a hunt at Fontainebleau.
o ASTRÉE 8633

With Horns & with Hounds (1700), 1:30, Purcell, Daniel (c.1660-1717).
Music for a song about Artemis preparing for the hunt from John Dryden’s The Secular Masque.
o MUSICA OSCURA 070979 ("Sound the Trumpets from Shore to Shore", with Eccles’ Ah, How Lovely, Sweet and Dear [Galatea], and excerpts from his, Eccles’, Finger’s and Weldon’s music for Congreve’s The Judgment of Paris)

Diana Cacciatrice (1707), Handel, George Frideric (1685-1759).
A cantata for solo voice, instruments, and continuo celebrating hunting and the goddess of the hunt.
o EUFODA 1297

Diana (1860), 3:00, Strauss, Josef (1827-1870).
A French polka to inaugurate the opening of a winter garden at Dianabad, named after the goddess.
o MARCO POLO 8.223562 (with his Amazon Quadrille)

Aubade (Diane) (1929), 19:00, Poulenc, Francis (1899-1963).
A concerto for piano and instruments on Diana's rebellion against the law condemning her to eternal chastity.
o AS DISC 333, ERATO 88140, MUSIC AND ARTS 649 ("Salute to France"), NEWPORT CLASSIC 60087

Mirror of Diana (1991), 7:30, Winslow, Walter (1947-1998).
A work for solo clarinet inspired by a visit to the Nemus Dianae at Nemi and the story of her priests.
o CRI 842 (with his A Voice from Elysium)

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ATALANTA
Toccata Athalanta (1602), 3:00, Bonelli, Aurelio (c.1569-c.1620).
A work for eight part brass choir from his first book of Ricercari et Canzoni.
o AMBITUS 97975 ("Windsbach Brass Ensemble")

Atalanta (Acts of Gods) (1985), 133:30, Ashley, Robert (1930-).
An opera based on the Atalanta/Hippomenes story, but situated centuries later as Atalanta is re-incarnated as the Odalisque wooed by three extraordinary suitors, Max Ernst the artist representing image, Willard Reynolds the storyteller representing narrative, and Bud Powell the jazz composer representing music.
o LOVELY MUSIC 3301

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ATHENE
Trionfo della Dea Minerva (late 15^th cent.), 2:00, anon.
An instrumental version of a song about the goddess, sung as part of the May carnival in Florence during the reign of Lorenzo de Medici (1469-1492).
o IMP 825 ("A Florentine Carnival"), MCA 5953 (same recording)

Minerva Polka Mazurka (1859), 4:30, Strauss, Josef (1827-1870)
A work written for the ball of an artists’ group named after the patroness of the arts.
o MARCO POLO 8.223567 (with his Hesperus-Bahnen)

ATREUS
The House of Atreus Act I (1999), 74:00, Defeis, David.
The re-creation of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon in heavy metal rock music.
o NOISE 0042

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BACCHANALIA
Bacchanal, Dahl, Adrian (1864-1935).
A song.
o BLUEBELL 016

Bacchic Song (1912), 3:30, Glazunov, Alexander (1865-1936).
A work for chorus and orchestra on lyrics by Aleksandr. Pushkin.
o PEARL 9111, RCD 16004 ("Russia and Fiodor Ivanovich Shalyapin")

Dance of the Bacchae, Holm, Kristin (1965-).
A piano work expressing the primitiveness of the Bacchae.
o CLASSICO 165

Bacchantic Dance Scenes (1983), 11:30, Denhoff, Michael (1955-).
A chamber work in two movements for four percussions, originally for a ballet project on Euripides’ Bacchae.
o KOCH SCHWANN 312342

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BELLONA
Bellona (1860), 2:30, Strauss, Josef (1827-1870).
A polka mazur heralding a feeling of new beginnings following Austrian defeats in Italy in 1859.
o MARCO POLO 8.223574

BOREAS
Zéphire et Flore (1716), 14:30, Clérambault, Louis-Nicolas (1676-1749).
A cantata about Zephyr’s pursuit of the nymph Chloris and her transformation into Flora.
o MERIDIAN 84182 (with his Léandre et Héro and Orphée)

Zéphire (1753), 41:30, Rameau, Jean-Philippe (1683-1764).
An opera-ballet about Zephyr’s amorous pursuit of the nymph Chloris.
o ERATO 85774 (2)

Zéphyr et Flore (1925), 41:00, Dukelsky, Vladimir (Vernon Duke) (1903-1969).
Music for a ballet about brother wind gods fighting for the attention of the goddess of flowers.
o CHANDOS 9766

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CASSANDRA
Cassandra (1795), 57:00, Bach, Johann Cristoph Friedrich (1732-1795).
A cantata in which Trojan heroine reflects upon the events leading up to the Trojan War and prophesizes Troy's destruction, based on a poem by Antonio Conti.
o CPO 999593

Kassandra (1898), 9:30, Schillings, Max von (1868-1933).
A song on Friedrich Schiller’s poem in which Cassandra foresees the ill-fated union of Achilles and Polyxena.
o MARCO POLO 8.223660 (with his Das Eleusische Fest)

Visages Mycéniens (1983), Chaynes, Charles (1925-).
A two- section work for orchestra inspired by Greek tragedy with the first section depicting Cassandra's rage over her captivity and the second depicting Electra's hatred.
o MFA 216024

Eyes of Cassandra, Ghezzo, Dinu (1941-).
A work for synthesizer, tape, and live instruments.
o CAPSTONE 8658 ("Cassandra")

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CENTAURS
Imaginary Creatures: A Bestiary for the Credulous (1981), 21:00, Sapp, Allen (1922-1999).
A five-part work for harpsichord and chamber orchestra with one part dealing with Centaurs, in which hybrid musical language is inspired by hybrid half-man/half-animal characters from classical myth.
o CRI 765 (with his The Women of Trachis)


CIRCE
Le Balet Comique de la Royne (1581), 60:00, Beaulieu, Lambert de (16^th cent.).
A musical-theatrical extravaganza of Circe's defeat by Jupiter and Minerva.
o K617 080

CRONOS/SATURN
Saturn Returns (1998), 3:30, Guettel, Adam.
A song from material from an off-Broadway production called Saturn Returns: a Concert, a sort of modern-day song cycle, this one about the return of the ideal past.
o NONESUCH 79530 ("Myths and Hymns")

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DAPHNE
When Daphne from Fair Phoebus Did Fly (16th cent.), anon.
An arrangement for harp from the English ballad.
o HYPERION 66307

Down from Above Falls Jove (1604), 1:30, Bateson, Thomas (?1570-1630).
o ACCANTO 105 (with Dowland’s When Phoebus First Did Daphne See)

Come, My Daphne, Come Away, 1:30, Lawes, William (1602-1645).
A song.
o EMI 54311 ("Reflexe")(with his Haste You Nymphs and Johnson’s Charon, Oh Charon, Orpheus I Am and The Satyrs’ Masque)

Daphne, Farnaby, Giles (c.1563-1640).
A work for mixed consort of period instruments.
o SIGNUM 009 ("The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book")

3 Variations on "Daphne" (c.1650), 4:30, anon.
An organ work from the Camphuysen Ms.
o SONY 53371 ("North German Organ Music")

Gli Amori di Apollo e di Dafne (1640), Cavalli, Pier Francesco (1602-1676).
An opera on the familiar story.
o DYNAMIC 254

Der Beglückte Florindo/Die Verwandelte Daphne (1705/6), 16:00, Handel, George Frideric (1685-1759).
An orchestral suite recreated from a keyboard manuscript of two lost early operas.
o HYPERION 67053

Daphne (1932), 3:30, Walton, William (1902-1983).
The first song from Songs after Edith Sitwell about the ill-fated nymph.
o CHANDOS 8824

Daphne (1936), 3:00, Maurice, Pierre (1868-1936)
An orchestral prelude.
o STERLING 1053 (with his Persephone)

Daphne, Sergeyeva (1951-).
A work for saxophone, cello, and piano describing the attraction of Apollo for Daphne.
o BOHEME 1123

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DEMETER
Das Eleusische Fest (1898), 13:30, Schillings, Max von (1868-1933).
A song on Friedrich Schiller’s poem in which he uses the story of Demeter and the establishment of her cult as a means to develop the subject of mankind’s progress.
o MARCO POLO 8.223660 (with his Kassandra)

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DIONYSUS
The Triumph of Bacchus (1449-1492), anon.
A song.
o ÁSTRÉE 8626 ("Lorenzo il Magnifico: Trionfo di Bacco")

Great Bacchus, 2:30, Webbe, Samuel (1740-1816).
o ACCANTO 106 ("Breathe Softly, Ye Winds")

Dionys Overture (1836), 12:00, Burgmüller, Norbert (1810-1836).
The overture of an opera, unfinished at the time of the composer's death, about the Greek god.
o MD+G 3350817

Bacchus-Polka (1847) 2:30, Strauss II, Johann (1825-1899).
A work for a "Festival in the Halls of Bacchus" in which the members of the orchestra sang the praises of the god.
o MARCO POLO 8.223207

DIOSCURI
Dioscore-Quadriile (1857), 5:00, Strauss, Josef (1827-1870).
A work perhaps suggesting the musical success of the brothers Josef and Johann Jr.
o MARCO POLO 8.223571

Dioscures (1984), 15:00, Prin, Yves (1933-).
A revision of a 1977 work for flute, violin, clarinet, and chamber orchestra inspired by the mythical twins.
o NAXOS 8.555347 (with his Le Souufle d'Iris)

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ENDYMION
Diana Amante (1717), 114:00, Leo, Leonardo (1694-1744).
A serenata about Eros' and Proteus' efforts to bring Endymion and Artemis together.
o BONGIOVANNI 100119/20 (2)

Endimione (1772), 106:00, Bach, Johann Christian (1735-1782).
A serenata about an angry Cupid causing Diana to fall in love with Endymion who scorns a potential lover for a life of hunting, but responds to Diana’s amorous advances.
o DEUTSCE HARMONIA MUNDI 77525 (2)

EOS
Il Nascimento dell'Aurora (c.1710), 115:00, Albinoni, Tomaso (1671-1751).
A stage work called a festa pastorale in which the gods, especially Daphne and Apollo, Zephyr and Flora, and Peneus come to celebrate the birth of Eos in the vale of Tempe.
o ERATO 96374

Aurora Galop, Böhner, Johann (1787-1860).
Dedicated to Johann Strauss, Jr.
o ESDUR 2030

L'Aurore (1912), 12:00, Contant, Alexis (1858-1918).
A symphonic poem.
o CBC 5090

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EROS
Einstmals das Kind Cupido Klein (1617), Friderici, Daniel (1584-1638).
A choral song.
o CHRISTOPHORUS 74602

Chi Voi Haver Felice e Lieto il Core (1638), 2:00, Monteverdi, Claudio (1567-1643).
Music for Giambattista Guarini's poem about the fickle Amor from Madrigali Guerrieri et Amorosi.
o EMI 54333 (with his Altri Canti d'Amor [Ares] and Ninfa Che Scalza il Piede e Sciolto il Crine)

Masque of Cupid (1690), 40:00, Purcell, Henry (1659-1695).
An extended sequence of songs and dances having almost nothing to do with the plot, but concluding Act V of Thomas Betterton's adaptation of Fletcher and Massinger's The History of Dioclesian in which the power of Cupid is extolled.
o CHANDOS 0558, ERATO 45327

Masque of Cupid (1695), 18:00, Purcell, Henry (1659-1695).
A masque about Cupid and Bacchus vying for attention, inserted into Act II of Thomas Shadwell's adaptation of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens.
o CHANDOS 0558, ERATO 45327

Hin und Wieder Fliegen die Pfeile (1815), 1:30, Schubert, Franz (1797-1828).
A song about Cupid's power, inspired by lyrics of Wolfgang von Goethe.
o HYPERION 33009 ("Hyperion Schubert Edition 9", with his Didone Abbandonata )

Cupid's Nightmare, 5:30, Redman, Don (1900-1964).
A jazz arrangement made popular by Cab Calloway and his orchestra.
o EPM MUSIQUE JA157322 ("Jumpin’ Jive"), JAZZ CLASSICS 614 ("Cab Calloway and his Orchestra 1940), JAZZ UNLIMITED 2027(same as JAZZ CLASSICS 614), PEARL 1010 ("Cruisin’ with Cab 1930-1943"), STORYVILLE 2027 ("Cab Calloway and his Orchestra: the Radio Years 1940-45"), TOPAZ 1010 (same as PEARL 1010)

Cupid's Dead (1992), 6:00, Bettencourt, Nuno (1966-) & Cherone, Gary (1961-).
A song for the heavy metal group Extreme with the dead Cupid as a symbol for a broken love affair.
o A&M 27, 540006, 540027

Europa, Blumenfeld, Harold (1923-).
One of three sections of a vocal work inspired by three poems of Derek Walcott.
o ALBANY 443