Annelies

Product Description

The first major choral setting of The Diary of Anne Frank takes the teenager’s remarkable and
penetrating observations, written whilst hiding in an Amsterdam attic, as the basis of its extraordinary
and moving libretto. Whitbourn’s music for this work has been described as ‘woundingly beautiful’
(The Daily Telegraph). He reflects sounds of the Westerkerk bells and tunes heard on the radio in the
Annexe, along with representations of Anne Frank’s Jewish and German heritage, details that add to a
score ‘whose respectful understatement is its greatest strength’ (The Times).

Review

British composer and conductor James Whitbourn breaks new ground on a familiar subject. Whitbourn is the first to compose a major choral setting of the Diary of Anne Frank. It is a seminal work called Annelies, which is the full name of the brave young, Anne. The work is a relatively recent composition and this is a new recording on the Naxos label. The work is scored for choir, soprano and chamber orchestra all which work together to produce a profound musical and personal experience. In the liner notes, Whitbourn explains, ‘all the instruments are associated with the Jewish tradition and culture and while there is no actual quote of traditional Jewish melody,within Annelies, I have often drawn on the melodic contours and expressions in my phrases.’ –WQXR Radio, January 27, 2013

The story of the Jewish family that hid itself away for almost the whole of the Second World war was encapsulated in the book The Diary of Anne Frank. To a libretto of Melanie Challenger using words from Annelies’s diary, James Whitburn has created a choral setting here recorded for the first time in its chamber version. In fourteen sections it is, in effect, an abridged version of the book from the time they go into hiding, to the capture and the concentration camp. To give this message of hope widespread circulation, Whitbourn has opted for music that could be described as a ‘pop’ classical cantata. It will thus appeal to a very wide audience. Using a range of musical styles from religious chant through to popular song, it bridges the worlds of the church and the concert hall. Originally scored for full orchestra and premiered as part of the UK’s National Holocaust Day, this first appearance on disc was recorded in the United States using, in place of the orchestra, a clarinet, piano, violin and cello. As the composer states, it is the same quartet as used by Messiaen when writing his Quatuor pour la fin du temps. It too was written in his prison camp, though musically the similarity ends there. Whitbourn was the disc s producer and he must have been pleased by the elegant playing of The Lincoln Trio and the singing – in many modes – from the Westminster Williamson Voices, while the ethereal quality of the soprano, Arianna Zukerman, is an ideal choice for the solo role that brings the work to its peaceful conclusion. The sound quality is very good. –David’s Review Corner, David Denton