Album

Naxos' album devoted to Carson Cooman's instrumental works, including symphonies, chamber music, and solos, represents an infinitesimal portion of his output; his opus numbers were in the 700s before he was out of his mid-twenties, and include pieces written in virtually every genre of Western music. Inevitably, there are some areas in which he will be stronger than others. His choral music is especially compelling: well written for the voice, with excellent text setting in a style that is not simple, but is also immediately engaging. The works on this CD, while for the most part securely executed, don't consistently have the substance of his choral music. Some of the pieces have strong appeal; Vision, for violin and organ, is hauntingly lovely, and the Sonata for violin and organ, the longest piece on the CD, is striking in its melodies and sonorities; this is evidently an instrumental combination that triggers some of Cooman's most expressive music, sometimes rhapsodic, sometimes meditative, sometimes exuberant. The two Symphonies No. 2 and No. 3, and the piano concerto lack an obvious structural coherence, and their motivic material isn't particularly memorable, or very fully developed. The brooding orchestral piece Songlines, Sun Dreaming, is more successful because its development feels organic, and it is clearer and more direct in its emotional appeal. Violinist Rachel Gough and organist Rupert Gough play Vision and the sonata with warmth and deep feeling. Kirk Trevor coaxes barely adequate performances from the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra in the symphonies and piano concerto.

© Stephen Eddins, All Music Guide

CD 1
Carson Cooman Composer Symphony No.2, 'Litanies of Love and Rain', Op.574 Work Recorded 2005 Kirk Trevor Conductor, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava Orchestra
1	Symphony No.2, 'Litanies of Love and Rain', Op.574	10:26			$1.99
Carson Cooman Composer Partita for baroque flute, Op.526 Work Recorded 2005 6:05 Stephen Schultz Flute (Baroque)
2	Cantus	3:27			$0.99
3	Ludus	2:38			$0.99
Carson Cooman Composer Piano Concerto, Op.649 Work Recorded 2005 Kirk Trevor Conductor, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava Orchestra, Nora Skuta Piano
4	Piano Concerto, Op.649	8:41			$1.49
Carson Cooman Composer Vision, for violin and organ, Op.646 Work Recorded 2006 Rachel Gough Violin, Rupert Gough Organ
5	Vision, for violin and organ, Op.646	3:38			$0.99
Carson Cooman Composer Symphony No.3, 'Ave Maris Stella', Op.650 Work Recorded 2005 16:34 Kirk Trevor Conductor, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava Orchestra
6	Pentimento	9:36			$1.49
7	Interrupted Motet	6:58			$0.99
Carson Cooman Composer Songlines, Sun Dreaming, for orchestra, Op.301 Work Recorded 2001 Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Kirk Trevor Conductor
8	Songlines, Sun Dreaming, for orchestra, Op.301	6:53			$0.99
Carson Cooman Composer Sonata for violin & organ, Op.573 Work Recorded 2006 21:24 Rachel Gough Violin, Rupert Gough Organ
9	Telescope	9:27			$1.49
10	Ballade for Max	6:54			$0.99
11	Keep on Shining!	5:03			$0.99