Myth and Music

 

 

Additions to Original List Composers List Complete Updated List

 

GALATEA
Galathe, Wo Bist Du Doch Gewesen
(between 1638 and 1651), 5:30, Albert, Heinrich (1604-1651).
A song (2.12) of dialogue between Corydon and the Nereid Galatea from his song collection Arien.
o DHM 77245 (with his Phöbus)

Acis & Galatea (1686), 107:00, Lully, Jean-Baptiste (1632-1687).
An entertainment for the Dauphin with double love affairs, Polyphemus killing Acis, Acis being restored to life through Galatea’s intercession to Neptune, and Acis transformed into a stream.
O ERATO 25505

Chaconne de Galatée (c.1686), 3:00, Lully, Jean-Baptiste (1632-1687).
Music on French theorbo for a dance from the opera.
o GLOSSA 920106 ("Pièces pour Theorbes Francaises")

Ah, How Lovely, Sweet and Dear (1700), 3:30, Eccles, John (c.1668-1735).
A masque with vocal dialogue between Acis and Galatea in Peter Motteux’s opera The Mad Lover.
o MUSICA OSCURA 070979 ("Sound the Trumpets from Shore to Shore", with Daniel Purcell’s With Horns & with Hounds [Artemis] and excerpts from his, Finger’s, Weldon’s, and D. Purcell’s music for Congreve’s The Judgment of Paris)

Poliphème (1710), 15:00, Clérambault, Louis-Nicolas (1676-1749).
Polyphemus' expression of love for Galatea, an account of his killing of Acis, and a moral.
o NAXOS 8.553743 (with his La Mort d'Hercule)

Aci e Galatea (1801), 107:00, Naumann, Johann (1741-1801).
An opera based on the traditional story, but with a happy ending.
o ORFEO 222022 (2)

Polyphème (1922), 160:00, Cras, Jean (1879-1932).
An opera based on Albert Semain's play about the love of Polyphemus for Galatea.
o TIMPANI 3078 (3)

(back to Index)

HADES

O Di Cocito Oscure Deità
(1668), 8:30, Stradella, Alessandro (1639-1682).
A prologue for four voices and instruments on a text by Giovan Apolloni as Hades and Persephone pray to the Erinyes to destroy the world with wars.
o BONGIOVANNI 2164

Elysium (1817), 8:30, Schubert, Franz (1797-1828).
A song on Friedrich von Schiller’s poem describing Elysium as a happy place.
o HYPERION 33011 ("Hyperion Schubert Edition 11", with his Dithyrambe and Lied de Orpheus)

Elysium (1914), 2:00, Burleigh, Harry T. (1866-1949).
A love song for solo voice on James Weldon Johnson’s poem about what Elysium would be for two lovers.
o CENTAUR 2252

Voices from Elysium (1979), 12:00, Gideon, Miriam (1906-1996).
A song cycle based on seven ancient Greek poems reflecting on life and death for tenor and instruments.
o NEW WORLD 80543 ("Voices from Elysium")

Portrait of a Man in Elysian Fields (1989), Rea, John (1944-).
A work for piano in homage to Morton Feldman upon his death.
o CENTREDISCS 6298, 7194 ("The View from Here")

Crossing Styx (1995), 21:30, Nielsen, Svend Hvidtfelt (1958-).
A chamber work for wind quintet, exhibiting elements of ritual and drama as one encounters all sorts of horrors crossing the river.
o DA CAPO 8.224079

Elysium (1995), 14:00, Ocker, Marshall (1926-).
An orchestral work of the beautiful sounds rising out of orchestral tune-ups, inspired by that far-off, peaceful place.
o VIENNA MODERN MASTERS 3040 ("Music from Six Continents 1997 Series")

A Voice from Elysium (1995), 13:30, Winslow, Walter (1947-1998).
A work for soprano and instruments, inspired by an inscription on a Roman tomb and sung in Latin, taking the form of a dialogue between a recently deceased young woman and her survivor husband with a passing traveler who comments briefly after reading the inscription.
o CRI 842 (with his Mirror of Diana)

Styx (1999), 34:00, Kancheli, Giya ((1935-).
A work for viola, mixed chorus, and orchestra depicting a journey along this river of the underworld.
o DG 471494

Elysian Fields, 5:00, Tingstad, Eric.
Music for guitar and woodwinds.
o NARADA LOTUS 61061 ("Pastorale")

(back to Index)

HEBE

Hébé
(1879-82), 2:00, Chausson, Ernest (1855-1899).
A song (op. 2/6) on Louise Ackermann’s poem reflecting upon Hebe’s role of bringing the drink of immortality to the gods.
o DG 459682, TIMPANI 2028 (2)

(back to Index)

HELEN

Hymn to Thais
(1909), 2:00, Sibelius, Jean (1865-1957).
Music for Arthur Borgström's text addressed to Helen in her Egyptian re-incarnation.
o BIS 657

Faust et Hélène (1913), 30:00, Boulanger, Lili (1893-1918).
A choral work for the Prix de Rome competition on Eugène Adénis’ "lyric episode", mistakenly believed to be based on Goethe’s Faust, on the ill-fated love between Faust and Helen who is reclaimed by the shades of the dead warriors of Troy.
o CHANDOS 9745

Helen of Troy (1955), Steiner, Max (1888-1971).
Selections from the score of the movie based on Homer’s Iliad.
o SILVA 1035

A Hélène (1977), 11:30, Xenakis, Iannis (1922-).
A choral work on based on lines 1107-1164 and 1494-1511 of Euripides’ play.
o CHANDOS 9663 ("Pupils of Messiaen"), COL LEGNO 20030 (2)

(back to Index)

HERACLES

Lamento di Iole, Peri, Jacopo (1561-1633).
A lament by Iole as she is deserted by Heracles.
o ALIA VOX 9815 ("Battaglie & Lamenti")

Hercules (1956), Hovhaness, Alan (1911-2000).
A work for soprano and violin based on the composer’s own text about the famous hero.
o VAI 1202 ("Songs My Father Taught Me")

Overture to The Women of Trachis (1960), 13:00, Sapp, Allen (1922-1999).
A work for chamber orchestra in three sections, the first evoking Deianeira’s lament over her loss of Heracles, the second recalling the deceptions of Heracles and Deianeira, and the last suyggesting Heracles’ cursing of Zeus..
o CRI 765 (with his Imaginary Creatures [centaurs])

the CIVIL warS (Rome Section) (1983), 77:37, Glass, Philip (1937-) & Wilson, Robert (1941-).
A vocal and orchestral work intended for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games using, among others things, excerpts from Seneca’s two tragedies about Heracles.
o NONESUCH 79487


HERO

Hero and Leander
(1660), Lanier,Nicolas (1588-1666).
A recitative about the ill-fared pair of lovers by the Master of the King’s Musick to England’s Charles I.
o METRONOME 1027

Hero and Leander (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 a lover comparing himself and his beloved to the mythical couple.
o NONESUCH 79530 ("Myths and Hymns")

(back to Index)

HESPERUS

Hesperus-Ländler
(1867), 6:00, Strauss, Josef (1827-1870).
A work for the ball of the same group.
o MARCO POLO 8.223575

Hesperus-Bahnen (Hesperus’ Path) (1870), 10:00, Strauss, Josef (1827-1870).
A waltz for the ball of the renowned Vienna Artists’ Association Hesperus.
o MARCO POLO 8.223567 (with his Minerva Polka)


HYPERION

Hyperion
(1977), 20:00, Hamilton, Iain (1922-2000).
A work for piano, clarinet, horn, violin, and cello on John Keats’ The Fall of Hyperion about this Titan’s final attempt to defend the Titans from the the Olympians.
o NEW YORK PHILOMUSICA 3 (2) ("Our Living Composers vol. 1")

Hyperion (1992), 49:30, Crispell, Marilyn (1947-), Brötzmann, Peter (1941-), Drake, Hamid.
A free jazz improvisation inspired by the Titan and radiant sun.
o MUSIC AND ARTS 852

(back to Index)

ICARUS

Icare (1943), Markevitch, Igor (1912-1983).
A reworking of his 1932 work.
o MARCO POLO 8225076

I
carus
(1975), 25:00, Gutchë, Gene (1907-).
An orchestral suite in four movements in which Icarus is a symbol for Columbus facing obstacles from the sea and triumphing over them as he finds a new continent.
o CRI 838

Icarus Ascending (1984), Ford, Andrew (1957-).
A work for solo violin inspired by Icarus' difficulties in beginning his flight.
o TALL POPPIES 150 ("Icarus Pieces" with his Chamber Concerto 3: In Constant Flight, Parabola, and Icarus Drowning)

Chamber Concero 3: In Constant Flight (1988), Ford, Andrew (1957-).
A reworking of his Icarus Ascending for violin and chamber ensemble.
o TALL POPPIES 150 ("Icarus Pieces" with his Icarus Ascending, Parabola, and Icarus Drowning)

Parabola (1989), Ford, Andrew (1957-).
A theater piece for voices, bass clarinet, piano, and percussion inspired by Icarus' fall.
o TALL POPPIES 150 ("Icarus Pieces" with his Icarus Ascending, Chamber Concerto, and Icarus Drowning)

Icarus Drowning (1998), Ford, Andrew (1957-).
A work depicting Icarus' last moments.
o TALL POPPIES 150 ("Icarus Pieces" with his Icarus Ascending, Chamber Concerto, and Parabola)

Icarus (1998), 6:00, 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 relationship between father and son.
o NONESUCH 79530 ("Myths and Hymns")

Icarus Wept, Mobberly, James ().
A humorous musical work for trumpet, organ
, and musique concrete tape.

o GOTHIC 49127 ("New Vintage")

IRIS
Le Souffle d'Iris
(1992), 20:30, Prin, Yves (1933-).
A revision of a 1986 concerto for flute and orchestra inspired by the messenger goddess.
o NAXOS 8.555347 (with his Dioscures)


LAMIA

Lamia
(1974), 19:30, Druckman, Jacob (1928-).
A work for soprano and orchestra celebrating the powers of the mythical sorceress.
o NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC 9913 ("An American Celebration vol. 2")


LEDA

Leda and the Swan
(1939), 11:00, Gade, Jacob (1879-1963).
Music for a ballet on the familiar story.
o DA CAPO 8.224090

(back to Index)

MARSYAS

Marsyas
, 7:30, Houle, François ().
A work in four parts for clarinet and piano.
o RED TOUCAN 9305


MEDEA

Medea
(1967), 23:00, Xenakis, Iannis (1922-).
Incidental music for men's chorus and instrumental ensemble based on lines 105, 110-1, 301-36, 340-79, 668-9 of Seneca's play.
o HYPERION 66980 (with his A Colone)

Medea-Material (1989), 24:00, Liebermann, Rolf (1910-1999).
A cantata for soprano, female chorus, and orchestra based on Freispruch für  Medea by Ursula Haas presenting Medea as a victim of a male-dominated Greek society.
o NAXOS 8.5555884

Medea (1989), 12:30, Workman, Reggie (1937-).
A jazz work for the Reggie Workman Ensemble and vocal chorus, capturing the action of Euripides’ tragedy.
o MUSIC & ARTS 634

Medea, Kavasch, Deborah ().
A vocal work based on the text of poet Linda Bunney-Sarhad.
o TNC 1429

(back to Index)

MUSES

The Teares of the Muses (1599), Holborne, Anthony (d. 1602).
o ALIA VOX 9813

Sing Ye Muses
(1700), 3:30, Blow, John (1649-1708).
A work for four voices calling upon the Muses to sing of the glories of nature.
o HYPERION 66658

Musicalischer Parnassus (1738), Fischer, Johann Caspar (c.1670-1746).
Nine suites for keyboard, each named after one of the Muses.
o HARMONIA MUNDI FRANCE 901026, MD+G 605 0977, NAXOS 8.554216 (1-6), 8.554446 (7-9)

Il Parnaso Confuso (1765), 73:00. Gluck,Christoph Willibald (1714-1787).
A serenata teatrale (opera) in which Apollo calls upon some of the Muses to develop music for a royal wedding and they spendthe time trying to develop certain ideas.
o ALBANY 655

Thalia (1883), Chadwick, George W. (1854-1931).
A short overture in honor of the Greek muse of comedy.
o NAXOS 8.559117 (with his Aphrodite, Euterpe, and Melpomene)

Invocation à la Muse (1896), 4:00, Leoncavallo, Ruggiero (1857-1919).
A work for piano and voice inspired by a muse, from A. de Musset’s La Nuit de Mai.
o BONGIOVANI 5599, NUOVA ERA 32

Kampen med Muserne (The Struggle with the Muses) (1897), 13:30, Horneman, Christian (1840-1906).
A four-movement orchestral suite taken from music intended to accompany a satiric work by Karl Gjellerup about Thamyris the poet, a grandson of Apollo, who is transformed into Homer.
o BIS 749

Talia (1942), 4:00, Turina, Joaquin (1882-1949).
One section of Las Musas de Andalucía for double bass and piano.
o NIMBUS 5570

Chansons de Melpomène (1943), 4:30, Ibert, Jacques (1890-1962).
Two songs for soprano and piano from his radio opéra bouffe Barbe-bleu on texts of William Aguet.
o PMP 7

Terpsichore (1981), Iannacone, Richard (1943-).
The second part of a work for wind ensemble entitled Images of Song and Dance. (1st part Orpheus).
o ALBANY TROY 280

Ballade de la Fontaine aux Muses, 5:00, Langevin, Claude (1928-).

A work for violin and cello evoking the peaceful place, dedicated to the Muses, where the composer does his work.
o EMPIRE 97002

L'Ode à Muse, 4:30, Wilbaux.
A jazz rendition by Ali Ryerson.
o RED BARON 57330 ("I'll Be Back")

(back to Index)

NARCISSUS

Non Piu 'nfelice, Paolo da Firenze (c.1355-c.1436).
A madrigal inspired by Narcissus' self-centered musings.
o HARMONIA MUNDI 901732

Narcisse et Echo (1911), 53:00, Tcherepnin, Nikolai (1873-1945).
Music for a ballet about Echo’s love for Narcissus, but his falling in love with himself.
O CHANDOS 9670

Mythes Narcisse, Szymanowski, Karol.
A work for two pianos.
o LIVE 192 ("Oleg Kagan, Vol.20")

Narcissus (1987), 15:30, Musgrave, Thea (1929-).
A work for solo flute with digital delay (electronic "echo system") recalling Narcissus’ seeing his reflection in a pool of water.
o CAPSTONE 8607 ("Electric Clarinet"), NEUMA 450-95 (with her Kairos [Odysseus] and Orfeo 1)

Cho (1992), Hauksson, Þorsteinn (1949-).
A work for flute and tape inspired by the story of Echo.
o AC 8-99022-1 ("Implosions", with Ferneyhough’s Mnemosyne and Hallgrimsson The Flight of Icarus)

Concerto - Echo, 23:30, Schneider, Enjott (1950-).
The opening of a three-part piece for organ and string orchestra inspired by the Narcissus/Echo myth.
o GUILD 7264 ("Works for organ and Orchestra")

(back to Index)

NYMPHS

Ninfa Che Scalza il Piede e Sciolto il Crine
(1638), 5:00, Monteverdi, Claudio (1567-!643).
Music for a poem in which an unknown poet asks a nymph to stay with him.
o EMI 54333 (with his Altri Canti d'Amor [Ares] and Chi Voi Haver Felice e Lieto il Core [Eros])

Rest Sweet Nimphes (1605), 4:00, Pilkington, Francis (c.1570-1638).
A song in which the poet bids the nymphs to sleep as he keeps watch.
o BAYER 100130 ("A Gardin for Delights"), BIS 257, GOTHIC 49078 ("Westminster Choir at Spoleto Festival U.S.A."), HYPERION 66003 ("English Ayres and Duets"), KOCH INTERNATIONAL 7265 ("The Peaceful Western Wind"), PIERRE VERANY 787092 ("Airs & Danses au Temps de Shakespeare"), VANGUARD 8103

Haste You Nymphs, 2:00, Lawes, William (1602-1645).
A song.
o EMI 54311 ("Reflexe")(with his Come, My Daphne, Come Away and Johnson’s Charon, Oh Charon, Orpheus I Am and The Satyrs’ Masque)

La Danse de Naïdes (1897/8), 3:30, Ferrer, José (1835-1916).
A mazurka for guitar.
o CHANDOS 8512 ("Guitar Music of Ferranti and Ferrer")

The Hamadryad (1912), Mukle, May (1880-1963).
A short work for cello and piano.
o ASV 6245 ("British Women Composers for Cello")

Océanides (1986), 6:00, Brenet, Thérèse (1935-).
A piano work for left hand creating the impression of a sense of tragedy as all the terrible forces of the sea explode.
o ANALEKTA 3080 (2)("An Anthology for the Left Hand")


Les Nymphes - Rondeau (), Banlaky, Akos.
A work for twelve cellos.
o HUNGAROTON 32108

(back to Index)

ODYSSEUS

Odysseus
(1872), 107:00, Bruch, Max (1838-1920).
A choral work for soloists, chorus, and orchestra on Odysseus’ adventures throughout the Odyssey.
o KOCH SCHWANN 6557 (2), PREISER 89210 (with his Achilleus)

Sommeil d’Ulisse (1710), Jacquet de la guerre (1659/67-1729.
A cantata describing Odysseus’ brief rest after escaping Neptune and making his way home.
o CENTAUR 2670

From Odysseus' Voyages (1905), 56:00, Boehe, Ernst (1880-1938).
The first three parts of an orchestral work closely following Homer.
o CPO 999875

Lied der Circe (1939), 3:30, Zemlinsky, Alexander (1871-1942).
An aria from an uncompleted opera based on the Odyssey in which Circe states her preference to live without men.
o THOROFON 2376

Ulysses Departs from the Edge of the World (1971), 6:30, Partch, Harry (1901-1974).
o INNOVA 405 (3) (with his King Oedipus}

Ulysses Awakes
(1989), Woolrich, John (1954-).
A "recomposition" of music from Monteverdi's Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria for viola and ten strings in which Ulysses is represented by the viola..
o ASV 1049

Kairos (1991), 16:00, Musgrave, Thea (1929-).
A work for flute, computer, and effects processing representing the most propitious moment for Odysseus to set out on his journey as both Odysseus and the music venture into a new medium.
o NEUMA 450-95 (with her Narcissus and Orfeo 1)

...Between Scylla and Charybdis (1993), 5:30, Argersinger, Charles (1951-).
A work for piano suggesting the dangerous alternatives of these sea monsters from the Odyssey.
o ARIZONA UNIVERSITY 9301(with his Psyche)

Seven Sketches for Saxophone & Orchestra (1995), 36:30, Roumanis, George ().
An orchestral work inspired by seven different episodes of the Odyssey.
o CAPRI 75003

The Odyssey, 4:30, LoPresti, Joseph.
A New Age work for the group Midnight Skye.
o SOUND DESIGNS OF ARIZONA 1006 ("The Odyssey")

(back to Index)

OEDIPUS

Tre Preludii Sinfonici per L’Edipo Re
(1904), 17:30, Pizzetti, Ildebrando (1880-1968).
Three preludes composed for a performance of Sophocles’ tragedy, mood pictures heralding the Sphinx, Oedipus wrestling with her riddle, and the tragic departure of the blind Oedipus from Thebes.
o HYPERION 67084

Overture to a Greek Tragedy (1911), 17:30, Bantock, Granville (1868-1946).
An orchestral work inspired by Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus.
o HYPERION 67395

King Oedipus (1951), 89:30, Partch, Harry (1901-1974).
A musical drama based on W. B. Yeats’ translation of Sophocles, but with Partch’s own text for the recording.
o INNOVA 405 (3) (with his Ulysses Departs from the Edge of the World)

A Colone (1977), 10:00, Xenakis, Iannis (1922-).
A work for chorus and instrumental ensemble on lines 668-719 from Sophocles' play.
o HYPERION 66980 (with his Medea)

(back to Index)

OLYMPIANS

Hymns to various Greek divinities based on ancient Greek musical fragments.
o PAIAN 606, 607, 653, HARMONIA MUNDI FRANCE 1901015 ("Musique de la Grèce Antique")

Se Zephirus, Phebus, et Leur Lignie (late 14th cent.), 4:30, anon.
A ballade in which the singer states that the Greek gods would be unable to comfort him if he could not look upon his lady.
o ARCANA 32 ("Balades a III Chans", with Le Mont Aon de Thrace and John Roberts’ Se Alixandre et Hector)

Diletti Pastorali (1624), 55:00, Schein, Johann Hermann (1586-1630).
A number of madrigals about the gods, especially Cupid and Venus, watching out for Corydon and his beloved Phyllis.
o DEUTSCHE HARMONIA MUNDI 77088

The Secular Masque (1745), 53:30, Boyce, William (1711-1779).
Music for an allegory by John Dryden about the Stuart era as each king is represented by some god, James I by Diana, Charles I by Mars, Charles II and James II by Venus.
o ASV 176

Dithyrambe(1826), 2:30, Schubert, Franz (1797-1828).
A song on Friedrich von Schiller’s poem in which a poet asks the Greek gods to give him immortality so that he can enjoy the pleasures of Olympus.
o HYPERION 33011("Hyperion Schubert Edition 11", with his Lied de Orpheus and Elysium)

The Sanguine Fan (1917), 18:30, Elgar, Edward (1857-1934).
Music for a ballet about the encounter of flirtatious 18th century mortals and malicious Greek gods, based on a fan design featuring Pan and Echo and couples in Louis XV dress.
o NAXOS 553879

Three Olympians for String Orchestra (2000), 14:30, Boyer, Peter (1970-).
Three short portraits of Apollo, Aphrodite, and Ares.
o KOCH 7523 (with his Ghosts of Troy)

Mythologia (), 72:00, Vine, Carl (1954-).
A dance score accompanyin the depiction of the carefree life of the Olympians.
o TALL POPPIES 149

(back to Index)

ORESTES

Electre
(c.1890),104:00, Gouvy, Théodore (1819-1898).
A cantata for four soloists and chorus based on the ancient Greek dramas.
O K617 092 (2)

Prelude to the Eumenides (1893), 10:30, Wallace, William (1860-1940).
A concert work based on Aeschylus' last play of the Oresteia trilogy.
o HYPERION 66987

Electra (1996), 155:30, Theodorakis, Mikis (1929-).
An oratorio-like opera based closely on Sophocles’ tragedy.
o INTUITION 3312 (2)

ORION
L'Orione (1653), 156:00, Cavalli, Piero Francesco (1602-1676).
An opera based on Ovid's Fasti introducing an elementof humor into the story.
o MONDO MUSICA 22249 (3)


Orione
(1763), 10:00, Bach, Johann Christian (1735-1782).
An orchestral overture for his first London opera at King’s Theater.
o CPO 999488

Orion, 4:00, Bennett, Malcolm (1955-).
A work for trumpet creating images of the mythical hunter.
o ASV 2109 ("Cantabile")

Orion Machine (Trombone Concerto) (1993), 22:00, Yoshimatsu, Takashi (1953-).
A five-movement trombone concerto representing, in the composer's words, "the galactic hunter Orion amusing himself with a wondrous machine called a trombone."
o CHANDOS 9960

(back to Index)