Available through www.josephcuriale.com
and other sources.
The wonder of the digital
age is that just about anyone can produce
a recording of professional quality
for relatively little money and via
the internet, market that recording
and sell it with very little overhead.
This phenomenon has
led to a burgeoning cottage industry
of independently produced recordings
of music that ranges in quality from
absolute dreck to pretty sublime stuff.
The problem for listeners is that it
takes some time and patience to wade
through all the offerings to discover
the gems. It always gives me a great
amount of satisfaction when I do find
something truly worthwhile, and I am
happy to announce, that although this
recording has been around for a while,
I have just discovered some splendid
music for the first time in the works
of Joseph Curiale.
It has been my experience
that much contemporary music falls into
two categories: academic noise and populist
drivel. It seems that the days are gone
when genius is inspired to create works
of art that are not only masterfully
crafted and original, but are also pleasing
to the eye or ear. What a pleasant surprise
it was then to discover the melodically
prolific and architecturally skilled
Mr. Curiale.
Much of the music on
this disc is the by-product of real
experiences, either that of the composer
himself, of people close to him or of
figures from history. Hence, Gates
of Gold, a musical depiction of
the hopes and fears of Chinese immigrants
during the gold rush of the 1890s. Lush
in orchestration and lyrical, Curiale
combines traditional American sounds
à la Aaron Copland with eastern
melodic devices and traditional Chinese
instruments. From these strands he weaves
a beautiful emotional tapestry, artfully
representing the excitement of discovering
a new land, and nostalgia for a forsaken
home.
Awakening is
a cathartic work, a reflection on the
composer’s recovery from a near-death
experience. Cast in three movements,
the first two, Compassion and
Forgiveness are serene and tranquil.
Joy bursts forth with energy
and excitement, hailing the dawn of
a new day with its dance-like infectious
rhythms.
Adelina de Maya
is a deeply personal work, written
in tribute to the composer’s sister.
The influence of Latin American music
is quite evident, and the composer uses
the rhythms and melodic contours of
Latin music to depict his sister’s love
for the region and its music.
The Multiples of
One is the only chamber work on
the program. Somewhat minimalistic in
nature, the composer notes that the
work was meant to be a mantra of sorts,
a prayer of thanksgiving and celebration
for the diversity of people and the
variety and scope of life itself. It
borders on the new-agey, but then again,
I shamelessly like New Age music and
the serenity and peacefulness that it
promotes, so this trait was not a problem
for me.
The disc contains a
bonus track featuring famed trumpeter
Doc Severinsen. Rather reminiscent of
Copland’s Quiet City, Blue Windows
was written as a showcase for Severinsen’s
unique and colorful playing. A compact
work, it combines what is best in a
number of sound-worlds to make a pleasurable,
even profound, ending to a disc of extremely
pleasing music.
If you are looking
for the kind of raucous flailing and
washes of orchestral blather that many
composers are splatting across symphony
halls, you won’t find that here. Neither
will you find trivial populist candy.
Joseph Curiale is a composer who is
serious about his beliefs, deep in his
thoughts and emotions and careful about
what he puts down on the staff. He says
what he means and means what he says,
and is refreshingly unabashed about
his desire to create beauty, and in
his efforts to uplift the human state.
This is, quite simply
put, an hour of beautiful music, beautifully
played by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
and others. Add this one to your collection.
Sit down in some quiet place where you
won’t be disturbed, and let this wash
of beauty bring you a moment or two
of repose.
Kevin Sutton
Doc Severinsen, trumpet 
