Uploaded March 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Composer James Weeks writes in the program notes about his piece for SATB choir and mixed ensemble, "The Freedom of the Earth":
"The Freedom of the Earth is a setting of texts taken from manifestoes and pamphlets by Gerard Winstanley, leader of the Diggers. The Diggers were a group of landless poor who, led by Winstanley, occupied common land on St George’s Hill, near Weybridge in Surrey in 1649, attempting to become self-sufficient by growing crops in the meagre soil: ‘working together, and eating the fruits of their own labours’. Winstanley’s ideal, articulated in the pamphlet ‘The Law of Freedom in a Platform, or True Magistracy Restored’, which he dedicated to Cromwell in the hope that he would take note, was of a society in which all are equal and free, buying and selling are outlawed, land is owned and cultivated in common, and society so organised that all who contribute to it are given an equal share in its fruits. The beauty and justice of these ideas are as urgent now as ever."
COMPOSER: James Weeks
CONDUCTOR: James Weeks
ENSEMBLE: London Sinfonietta
CHOIR: New London Chamber Choir
TRACKLIST:
0:00 - Part I
12:53 - Part II
Please be aware that all of the music (and images) featured in this video belong to their respective owners, and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. I upload these solely for archiving purposes, and for the sharing and enjoyment of great music. Monetization is not enabled. If you are the rightful owner of copyrighted material used and would like the video removed from YouTube, please, instead of reporting/striking my channel, leave a comment below with your statement and I will take the video down effective immediately.
Composer James Weeks writes in the program notes about his piece for SATB choir and mixed ensemble, "The Freedom of the Earth":
"The Freedom of the Earth is a setting of texts taken from manifestoes and pamphlets by Gerard Winstanley, leader of the Diggers. The Diggers were a group of landless poor who, led by Winstanley, occupied common land on St George’s Hill, near Weybridge in Surrey in 1649, attempting to become self-sufficient by growing crops in the meagre soil: ‘working together, and eating the fruits of their own labours’. Winstanley’s ideal, articulated in the pamphlet ‘The Law of Freedom in a Platform, or True Magistracy Restored’, which he dedicated to Cromwell in the hope that he would take note, was of a society in which all are equal and free, buying and selling are outlawed, land is owned and cultivated in common, and society so organised that all who contribute to it are given an equal share in its fruits. The beauty and justice of these ideas are as urgent now as ever."
COMPOSER: James Weeks
CONDUCTOR: James Weeks
ENSEMBLE: London Sinfonietta
CHOIR: New London Chamber Choir
TRACKLIST:
0:00 - Part I
12:53 - Part II
Please be aware that all of the music (and images) featured in this video belong to their respective owners, and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. I upload these solely for archiving purposes, and for the sharing and enjoyment of great music. Monetization is not enabled. If you are the rightful owner of copyrighted material used and would like the video removed from YouTube, please, instead of reporting/striking my channel, leave a comment below with your statement and I will take the video down effective immediately.
![Maurice Ravel — Gaspard de la nuit (1908) (Szuyu Su, piano) [w/ score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Le9unM1ansU/mqdefault.jpg "Maurice Ravel — Gaspard de la nuit (1908) (Szuyu Su, piano) [w/ score]
One of Maurice Ravel’s most famous and virtuosic masterpieces, “Gaspard de la nuit” (Treasurer of the Night), and its subtitle “Trois poèmes pour piano daprès Aloysius Bertrand” (Three Poems for Piano By Aloysius Bertrand), takes from Aloysius Bertrand’s collection of poems of the same name. The three poems Ravel chose from this collection depict dark and foreboding imagery, such as the evil seduction of a water spirit, the grotesque world surrounding a hanging corpse, and the terror induced by a menacing gremlin. With exceedingly complex use of rhythm and intricate phrases, ingenious harmonies and colors, and profound structure, Gaspard de la nuit has been famously called one of the most difficult pieces in the entire piano repertoire. In particular, the third movement “Scarbo” is a ferocious technical achievement. Ravel quotes about this piece, “I wanted to make a caricature of romanticism. Perhaps it got the better of me.”
My personal favorite recording of this piece that I’ve heard, this recording was brilliantly performed by Taiwanese pianist Szuyu Su at her Spring 2021 Graduation Recital with the Curtis Institute of Music, which premiered on 4/23/2021. (Original full recital video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nuu2tZWm6U4)
COMPOSER: Maurice Ravel
PIANO: Szuyu Su
TRACKLIST:
0:00 - Introduction
0:07 - I. Ondine
6:34 - II. Le Gibet
13:13 - III. Scarbo
Please be aware that all of the music (and images) featured in this video belong to their respective owners, and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. I upload these solely for archiving purposes, and for the sharing and enjoyment of great music. Monetization is not enabled. If you are the rightful owner of copyrighted material used and would like the video removed from YouTube, please, instead of reporting/striking my channel, leave a comment below with your statement and I will take the video down effective immediately.
#scorefollower #contemporaryclassical #classicalmusic")
