“The three pieces we have chosen for this recording all tell mythic tales. The poet, the lover, and the musician take us on a voyage through madness, darkness, joy beauty and ecstasy. Pierrot, the Cinnamon Peeler and Orpheus all love intensely, sometimes compulsively, and the three works leave no aspect of love’s expression unexplored. This daring honesty mirrors our approach to working together – preparing the performances and recording this music has been an exciting voyage.”

“The music [of The Cinnamon Peeler] is cast in a single-movement dramatic scene. While composing the piece, I imagined it might be sung by candle light, or by campfire, with a few strums on the cello to set the mood. The Cinnamon Peeler was composed in April – September 1993.” – Donald Crockett

In its wish to be a kind of operatic scene albeit without words, or perhaps a balletic pas de deux, Les Blues d’Orphée tells the story of Orpheus. Orpheus, the great mythological singer and musician whose bewitching power was such that he could produce even more beautiful music with his lyre than the Sirens, failed in his attempt to lure his wife Eurydice (here in the composition personified by the flute) away from the underworld. Les Blues d’Orphée was written by John Rea in Montreal in 1981.

ARNOLD SCHOENBERG

Pierrot lunaire Op. 21

1-7. I Teil

8-14. II Teil

9-15. III Teil

DONALD CROCKETT

16. The Cinnamon Peeler

JOHN REA

17. Les Blues d’Orphée