Radiance in Motion Album

Deon Nielsen Price: Radiance in Motion. Darryl Taylor. countertenor; Roland Kato, viola; LimorToren-lmmerman, Lisa Gregory, violin; Chika Inoue, M. Kent Gregory, saxophone; Berkeley A. Price, clarinet; David Grimes, GregoryNewton, guitar; Deon Nielsen Price, piano.

Deon Nielsen Price (b.1934), a Utah native and Brigham Young University graduate who has carved out commendable legacy for herself as a composer, educator, and champion of new composers, with a special focus on women composers.  A past president of both the International Alliance for Women in Music and the National Association of Composers USA, Price has clearly demonstrated a sincere devotion to new music beyond her own. She is also well known for her book, Accompanying Skills for Pianists, which has been utilized by colleges and universities across the country. Price has every right to be proud of her career, and it’s a career that is not over; she is still composing music as she enters her late eighties.

Radiance in Motion is a recording that includes both chamber music and art songs by Price. Journal of Singing readers naturally will be most interested in the songs, but the chamber pieces are fascinating for the way which they reveal the composer’s flare for the dramatic. This is especially evident in “Watts 1965—A Remembrance,” a potent duo for saxophone and piano that demonstrates the capacity for wordless instrumental music to vividly paint picture or convey a narrative. The chamber pieces also include two sets of guitar duos that are exquisitely crafted and worth hearing.

The songs contained herein spring from the rich artistic collaboration that Ms. Price has enjoyed for more than thirty years with singer Darryl Taylor. Price has written a plethora of songs for Taylor, including some from when he had not yet made the transition from tenor to counter tenor. One can sense in the songs on this disk that Price understands the unique beauty of Taylor’s voice and artistry and has crafted songs that suit him perfectly. The most immediately striking of the works contained here is Two Songs for Voice and Viola, which feature texts by Walt Whitman. This particular combination of timbres is breathtakingly beautiful, and the interweaving of the instruments is done in most innovative ways. One might only wish that Price’s setting of these texts allowed Whitman’s words to be more easily and clearly understood. Love Songs features lovely, thoughtful texts by Robert T, Bowen, and Price’s treatment of the words is more effective. Four Medieval Songs are actually arrangements rather than original compositions; Price has taken four melodies and crafted harpsichord accompaniment. For whatever reason, these performances seem a bit uneasy, but the music is lovely. Rounding out the vocal offerings is Spiritual Songs, three pieces that cover a wide expressive palette.

The third of the songs combines the familiar words “Nobody knows the trouble seen” with an entirely new melody by Price. There is something quite invigorating about hearing these time-worn words wed to brand new music.

Darryl Taylor is in rich, secure voice for most of this recording, singing with exceptional sensitivity and musicality. There are moments when we hear hints of the great Janet Baker, both in the opulent warmth of his sound as well as the unerring artistry with which he shapes phrases and renders text. One can easily understand how Taylor has been such powerful inspiration for Price (and for other composers as well) over the years. Needless to say, it is great to have the composer herself at the piano, playing with ease and assurance at every turn. Roland Kalb also deserves acknowledgment for being such sensitive partner with Taylor in Two Songs for Voice and Viola.

The Listeners Gallery

Gregory Berg

March/April 2022

National Association of Teachers of Singing (nats.org)