HORATIO PARKER (1863-1919): Cahál Mór of the Wine-Red Hand, JOHN ALDEN CARPENTER (1876-1951): Water-Colors, CHARLES TOMLINLSON GRIFFES (1884-1920): 5 Poems of Ancient China and Japan, Op. 10, VIRGIL THOMSON (1896-1989): The Feast of Love, ROY HARRIS (1898-1979): Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun.

Description: Carpenter (1916) and Griffes (1917) both handle "oriental" texts but the former is very American, even jazzy in his orchestration while the latter quite Impressionistic. Parker (1893) is the most Romantic, a little Wagnerian even while the most powerful work is Harris' from 1959. This is a "big-shouldered" work with a large orchestra and prominent piano and Harris uses a broad and vibrantly colorful orchestral palette. Thomson (1964) is suitably energetic in his setting of the lubricious Pervigilium Veneris, playful, lithe and athletic in his rhythms. Texts included. Patrick Mason (baritone), Odense Symphony Orchestra; Paul Mann.