Dominick Argento (1927- )
American
composer Dominick Argento is best known as a leading composer of
lyric opera and choral music. Among his most prominent pieces are the
operas Postcard from Morocco (1971), Miss Havisham’s Fire (1979), and The Masque of Angels (1963), and the song cycles Six Elizabethan Songs (1957) and From the Diary of Virginia Woolf (1974),
the latter of which earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Music in
1975. Argento has written fourteen operas as well as major song
cycles,
orchestral works, and many choral pieces for small and large forces. In
a predominantly tonal context, his music freely combines tonality,
atonality and a lyrical use of twelve-tone writing, though none of
Argento’s music approaches the experimental avant garde fashions of the
post World War II era. He is particularly well-known for sensitive
settings of complex, sophisticated texts. As a student in the 1950s,
Argento divided his time between America and Italy, and his music is
greatly influenced both by his teachers in the United States and his
personal affection for Italy, particularly the city of Florence, where
he spends part of every year and where many of his works were written.
He has been a professor (and, more recently, a professor emeritus) at
the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and he frequently remarks
that he finds that city to be tremendously supportive of his
work. Commissions of his work have come from the New York
City Opera, the Minnesota Opera, Washington Opera, and the
Baltimore and St. Louis Symphonies, among others. He has also developed
close professional relationships with several prominent singers,
notably Frederica Von Stade, Janet Baker, and Håkan Hagegård, and some
of his best-known song cycles were tailored to their talents. In the
mid-1970s he also began writing choral works, eventually penning
major pieces for the Dale Warland Singers, The Buffalo Philharmonic
Orchestra and Buffalo Schola Cantorum, and the Harvard and Yale
Glee Clubs.- American Choral Directors Association
COMPOSITIONS Argento Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Argento on Argento
Songs About Spring (5 songs), soprano and piano (1950-55) [text: e.e. cummings] [3 songs, 1950; 2 songs, 1955; orchestrated 1960]
Sicilian Limes, opera in one act (1953, withdrawn) [student work]
The Temptation of Saint Joseph, oratorio (1954, withdrawn) [student work]
Divertimento, piano and string orchestra (1954)
The Resurrection of Don Juan, ballet (1955) [also suite for orchestra]
String Quartet (1956) [student work]
Ode to the West Wind, "concerto" for soprano and orchestra (1956) [text: Shelley]
The Boor, opera buffa in one act (1957)
- Overture to the opera "The Boor, chamber orchestra (1957)
Six Elizabethan Songs (6 songs), high voice and piano (1957) [arr. 1962 for voice, flute, oboe, violin, cello and harpsichord]
Colonel Jonathan the Saint, opera (1960; fp. 1971, withdrawn) [student work]
- From the Album of Allegra Harper, 1867, orchestra [suite from the opera "Colonel Jonathan the Saint, 1960]
- From the Album of Allegra Harper, 2 pianos (1962) [arr. of dance suite from "Colonel Jonathan the Saint", 1960]
Christopher Sly, opera in two scenes and an interlude (1962) [text: Olon-Scrymgeour; based on "The Taming of the Shrew"]
The Masque of Angels, opera (1963) [text: John Olon-Scrymgeour]
- The Masque of Angels - Suite, chorus and chamber orchestra (1963) [Processional, Sanctus and Gloria from the opera]
- Gloria, chorus and piano or organ [from "The Masque of Angels", 1963]
- Sanctus, double chorus and piano or organ [from "The Masque of Angels", 1963]
Royal Invitation (Homage to the Queen of Tonga), ballet (1964) [also suite for chamber orchestra]
St. Joan, incidental music (1964) [for play by Shaw]
Volpone, incidental music (1964) [for play by Jonson]
Variations for Orchestra (The Mask of Night), orchestra, w/soprano in last mvt (1965)
The Revelation of St. John the Divine, cantata, tenor, male chorus, brass and percussion (1966)
- They Shall Hunger No More, male chorus and piano [from "The Revelation of St. John the Divine",1966]
S.S. Glencairn, incidental music (1966) [for play by O'Neill]
The Shoemaker's Holiday, a ballad opera (1967) [text: John Olon-Scrymgeour; based on a play by Thomas Dekker]
Oresteia, incidental music (1967) [for play by Aeschylus]
A Nation of Cowslips, 7 bagatelles, chorus (1968) [text: Keats]
Letters from Composers (7 songs), high voice and guitar (1968) [text: letters written by Chopin, Puccini, and others]
Bravo Mozart!, an imaginary biography, violin, oboe, horn and chamber orchestra (1969)
Tria Carmina Paschalia, female chorus, harp and guitar or harpsichord (1970)
Postcard from Morocco, opera in one act (1971) [text: Jon Donahue]
A Ring of Time, preludes and pageants, orchestra and bells (1972)
Jonah and the Whale, oratorio, tenor, bass, narrator, chorus, 3 trom, timp, perc, harp, piano and organ (1973)
To Be Sung Upon the Water (7 songs), song cycle, voice, clarinet/bass clarinet and piano (1973) [text: Wordsworth]
From the Diary of Virginia Woolf (8 songs), song cycle, medium voice & pf (1974) [text: V. Woolf] - Pulitzer Prize winner
A Water Bird Talk, a monodrama in one act (1974-76) [text: Chekov; and passages from Audubon's "Birds of America"]
The Voyage of Edgar Allan Poe, opera in two acts (1975-76) [text: Charles Nolte]
- Le Tombeau d'Edgar Poe, orchestra, with voice (arr. 1985) [suite from the opera "The Voyge of Edgar Allen Poe", 1976]
In Praise of Music, a set of "songs", orchestra (1977)
Miss Havisham's Fire, opera in two acts, plus a prologue and epilogue (1977-79; rev. 1995) [text: Olon-Scrymgeour, after Dickens]
- Miss Havisham's Wedding Night, a monodrama in one act (1981) [revision of epilogue from "Miss Havisham's Fire", 1971]
A Thanksgiving to God, for His House, chorus (1979)
Let All the World in Every Corner Sing, chorus, brass, timpani and organ (1980)
The Andrée Expedition, song cycle (13 songs), baritone and piano (1980) [text: journal entries by Salomon Andrée]
Peter Quince at the Clavier, "a sonatina for mixed chorus and piano concertante" (1981) [text: Wallace Stevens]
Fire Variations, 8 variations and finale on blacksmith's worksong from "Miss Havisham's Fire", orchestra (1981-82)
I Hate and I Love, chorus and percussion (1982)
Prelude for Easter Dawning, organ (1982)
Casa Guidi (5 songs), mezzo-soprano and orchestra (1983) [text: letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning]
Casanova's Homecoming, opera buffa in three acts (1984) [text: Argento]
Capriccio "Rossini in Paris", clarinet and orchestra (1985)
The Aspern Papers, opera in two acts (1987) [text: Argento; from the story by Henry James]
Te Deum (Verba Domini cum verbis populi), chorus and orchestra (1987)
Easter Day, chorus (1989)
A Toccata of Galuppi's, chamber choir, harpsichord and string quartet (1989)
Angel Israfil, 2 harp (1989)
Everyone Sang, double chorus (1991)
The Dream of Valentino, opera (1993) [text: Charles Nolte]
- Valentino Dances, orchestra suite (1993) [arr. from the opera "The Dream of Valentino"] [also arr. for 2 pianos]
- The Dream of Valentino - Dances from Valentino, orchestra (1993)
- The Dream of Valentino - Tango, orchestra (1993)
Spirituals and Swedish Chorales (6 pieces), chorus (1994)
- So I'll Sing with my Voice, chorus (1994) [from "Spirituals and Swedish Chorales", 1994]
To God, chorus, w/opt. offstage trumpet (1994)
A Few Words About Chekhov (7 songs), song cycle, soprano, baritone and piano (1994) [text: letters by Chekhov]
Valse triste, string orchestra and harp (1996)
Walden Pond, chorus, 3 cellos and harp (1996)
Reverie (Reflections on a Hymn Tune), orchestra (1997-98)
The Bell-Man, anthem, chorus and bells (1998)
Miss Manners on Music (7 songs), song cycle (1998) [newspaper clippings by columnist Judith Martin, aka "Miss Manners"]
The Bremen Town Musicians, a children's entertainment, narrator and orchestra (1998) [text: Argento]
The Vision, chorus and string quartet (2000)
Orpheus, treble voices/female chorus (2002)
Sonnet #64, chorus (2002)
Four Seascapes, chorus and orchestra (2004)
Brother Sun, Sister Moon, chorus and organ (2004)
Dover Beach Revisited, chorus and piano (2004)
Apollo in Cambridge, male chorus and piano (2005)
Evensong: Of Love and Angels, treble, soprano, reader, chorus and orchestra (2007)
Three Sonnets of Petrarch, baritone and piano (2007)
Cenotaph, chorus and orchestra (2008)
Three Meditations, solo soprano (2008)
The Choir Invisible, rhapsody, chorus (2009)
The Choirmaster's Burial, chorus (2009)
WORKS BY GENRE Argento Links ~ ~ ~ Argento on Argento ~ top of page ~
Opera
Sicilian Limes, opera in one act (1953, withdrawn) [student work]
The Boor, opera buffa in one act (1957)
Colonel Jonathan the Saint, opera (1960; fp. 1971, withdrawn) [student work]
Christopher Sly, opera in two scenes and an interlude (1962) [text: Olon-Scrymgeour; based on "The Taming of the Shrew"]
The Masque of Angels, opera (1963) [text: John Olon-Scrymgeour]
The Shoemaker's Holiday, a ballad opera (1967) [text: John Olon-Scrymgeour; based on a play by Thomas Dekker]
Postcard from Morocco, opera in one act (1971) [text: Jon Donahue]
A Water Bird Talk, a monodrama in one act (1974-76) [text: Chekov; and passages from Audubon's "Birds of America"]
The Voyage of Edgar Allan Poe, opera in two acts (1975-76) [text: Charles Nolte]
Miss Havisham's Fire, opera in two acts, plus a prologue and epilogue (1977-79; rev. 1995) [text: Olon-Scrymgeour, after Dickens]
Miss Havisham's Wedding Night, a monodrama in one act (1981) [revision of epilogue from "Miss Havisham's Fire", 1971]
Casanova's Homecoming, opera buffa in three acts (1984) [text: Argento]
The Aspern Papers, opera in two acts (1987) [text: Argento; from the story by Henry James]
The Dream of Valentino, opera (1993) [text: Charles Nolte]
Ballet
The Resurrection of Don Juan, ballet (1955) [also suite for orchestra]
Royal Invitation (Homage to the Queen of Tonga), ballet (1964) [also suite for chamber orchestra]
Orchestra
The Resurrection of Don Juan, suite, orchestra (1956) [from the ballet]
Overture to the opera "The Boor, chamber orchestra (1957)
From the Album of Allegra Harper, 1867, orchestra [suite from the opera "Colonel Jonathan the Saint, 1960]
Royal Invitation (Homage to the Queen of Tonga), suite, chamber orchestra (1964) [from the ballet]
Variations for Orchestra (The Mask of Night), orchestra, w/soprano in last mvt (1965)
Bravo Mozart!, an imaginary biography, violin, oboe, horn and chamber orchestra (1969)
A Ring of Time, preludes and pageants, orchestra and bells (1972)
Le Tombeau d'Edgar Poe, orchestra, with voice (arr. 1985) [suite from the opera "The Voyge of Edgar Allen Poe", 1976]
In Praise of Music, a set of "songs", orchestra (1977)
Fire Variations, 8 variations and finale on blacksmith's worksong from "Miss Havisham's Fire", orchestra (1981-82)
The Dream of Valentino, opera (1993)
- Valentino Dances, orchestra suite (1993) [arr. from the opera "The Dream of Valentino"]
- The Dream of Valentino - Dances from Valentino, orchestra (1993)
- The Dream of Valentino - Tango, orchestra (1993)
Valse triste, string orchestra and harp (1996)
Reverie (Reflections on a Hymn Tune), orchestra (1997-98)
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Divertimento, piano and string orchestra (1954)
Capriccio "Rossini in Paris", clarinet and orchestra (1985)
Chorus w/Orchestra
The Temptation of Saint Joseph, oratorio (1954, withdrawn) [student work]
The Masque of Angels - Suite, chorus and chamber orchestra (1963) [Processional, Sanctus and Gloria from the opera]
Te Deum (Verba Domini cum verbis populi), chorus and orchestra (1987)
Four Seascapes, chorus and orchestra (2004)
Evensong: Of Love and Angels, treble, soprano, reader, chorus and orchestra (2007)
Cenotaph, chorus and orchestra (2008)
Choral
Gloria, chorus and piano or organ [from "The Masque of Angels", 1963]
Sanctus, double chorus and piano or organ [from "The Masque of Angels", 1963]
The Revelation of St. John the Divine, cantata, tenor, male chorus, brass and percussion (1966)
- They Shall Hunger No More, male chorus and piano [from "The Revelation of St. John the Divine",1966]
A Nation of Cowslips, 7 bagatelles, chorus (1968) [text: Keats]
- The Devon maid
- On Visiting Oxford
- Sharing Eve's Apple
- There Was A Naughty Boy
- A Party of Lovers at Tea
- Two or Three Posies
- In Praise of Apollo
Tria Carmina Paschalia, female chorus, harp and guitar or harpsichord (1970)
Jonah and the Whale, oratorio, tenor, bass, narrator, chorus, 3 trom, timp, perc, harp, piano and organ (1973)
A Thanksgiving to God, for His House, chorus (1979)
Let All the World in Every Corner Sing, chorus, brass, timpani and organ (1980)
Peter Quince at the Clavier, "a sonatina for mixed chorus and piano concertante" (1981) [text: Wallace Stevens]
I Hate and I Love, chorus and percussion (1982)
Easter Day, chorus (1989)
A Toccata of Galuppi's, chamber choir, harpsichord and string quartet (1989)
Everyone Sang, double chorus (1991)
Spirituals and Swedish Chorales (6 pieces), chorus (1994)
- So I'll Sing with my Voice, chorus (1994) [from "Spirituals and Swedish Chorales", 1994]
- Vi lofve dig, o store Gud (We glorify Thee, O Great God)
- There's Singing up in Heaven
- En dag skall uppgå för vår syn (The day surely draws near)
- What Can That Shadow Be
- Så är fullkomnadt, Jesu kär ('So it is finished,' the Savior cried)
To God, chorus, w/opt. offstage trumpet (1994)
Walden Pond, chorus, 3 cellos and harp (1996)
The Bell-Man, anthem, chorus and bells (1998)
The Vision, chorus and string quartet (2000)
Orpheus, treble voices/female chorus (2002)
Sonnet #64, chorus (2002)
Brother Sun, Sister Moon, chorus and organ (2004)
Dover Beach Revisited, chorus and piano (2004)
Apollo in Cambridge, male chorus and piano (2005)
The Choir Invisible, rhapsody, chorus (2009)
The Choirmaster's Burial, chorus (2009)
Chamber
String Quartet (1956) [student work]
Angel Israfil, 2 harps (1989)
Piano
From the Album of Allegra Harper, 2 pianos (1962) [arr. of dance suite from "Colonel Jonathan the Saint", 1960]
Valentino Dances, 2 pianos (arr. 1994) [from the opera "The Dream of Valentino", 1994]
Prelude for Easter Dawning, organ (1982)
Vocal
Songs About Spring (5 songs), soprano and piano (1950-55) [text: e.e. cummings] [3 songs, 1950; 2 songs, 1955; orchestrated 1960]
- who knows if the moon's a balloon
- Spring is like a perhaps hand
- in Just-spring
- in Spring comes
- when faces called flowers out of the ground
Ode to the West Wind, "concerto" for soprano and orchestra (1956) [text: Shelley]
Six Elizabethan Songs (6 songs), high voice and piano (1957) [arr. 1962 for voice, flute, oboe, violin, cello and harpsichord]
- Spring
- Sleep
- Winter
- Dirge
- Diaphenia
- Hymn
Variations for Orchestra (The Mask of Night), orchestra, w/soprano in last mvt (1965)
- Nocturne
- Barcarole
- Burlesca
- Serenade
- Toccata
- Recitative
- Aria
Letters from Composers (7 songs), high voice and guitar (1968) [text: letters written by Chopin, Puccini, and others]
- Chopin: to a friend
- Mozart: to his father
- Schubert: to a friend
- Bach: to the Town Council
- Debussy: to a friend
- Puccini: to a friend
- Schumann: to his fiancée
To Be Sung Upon the Water (7 songs), song cycle, voice, clarinet/bass clarinet and piano (1973) [text: Wordsworth]
- Prologue: Shadow and Substance
- The Lake at Evening
- Music on the Water
- Fair is the Swan
- In Remembrance of Schubert
- Hymn Near the Rapids
- The Lake at Night
From the Diary of Virginia Woolf (8 songs), song cycle, medium voice & pf (1974) [text: V. Woolf] [Pulitzer Prize winner]
- The Diary
- Anxiety
- Fancy
- Hardy's Funeral
- Rome
- War
- Parents
- Last Entry
Le Tombeau d'Edgar Poe, orchestra, with voice (arr. 1985) [suite from "The Voyge of Edgar Allen Poe", 1976]
The Andrée Expedition, song cycle (13 songs), baritone and piano (1980) [text: journal entries by Salomon Andrée]
- Prologue
- The Balloon Rises
- Pride and Ambition
- Dinner Aloft
- The Unforsceen Problem
- The Flight Aborted
- Mishap with a Sledge
- The King's Jubilee
- Illness and Drugs
- Hallucinations
- Anna's Birthday
- Epilogue
- Final Words
Casa Guidi (5 songs), mezzo-soprano and orchestra (1983) [text: letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning]
- Casa Guidi
- The Italian Cook and the English Maid
- Robert Browning
- The Death of Mr. Barrett
- Domesticity
A Few Words About Chekhov (7 songs), song cycle, soprano, baritone and piano (1994) [text: letters by Chekhov]
- Duo
- Solo (Olga)
- Solo (Anton)
- Duo
- Solo (Olga)
- Solo (Anton)
- Duo
Miss Manners on Music (7 songs), song cycle (1998) [newspaper clippings by columnist Judith Martin, aka "Miss Manners"]
- Prologue
- Manners at a Concert
- Manners at the Ballet
- Manners for Contemporary Music
- Manners at a Church Recital
- Manners at the Opera
- Envoi
The Bremen Town Musicians, a children's entertainment, narrator and orchestra (1998) [text: Argento]
Three Sonnets of Petrarch, baritone and piano (2007)
- Sonnet 63 : Volgendo gli occhi
- Sonnet 164 : Or che 'I ciel
- Sonnet 300 : Quanta invidia io ti porto
Three Meditations, solo soprano (2008)
- The Last Invocation
- Silver
- Deep is the Heart of the Lake
Incidental/Film
St. Joan, incidental music (1964) [for play by Shaw]
Volpone, incidental music (1964) [for play by Jonson]
S.S. Glencairn, incidental music (1966) [for play by O'Neill]
Oresteia, incidental music (1967) [for play by Aeschylus]
ARGENTO LINKS Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Argento on Argento ~ top of page ~
The Andrée Expedition (Sonoloco Records)
Argento Still 'Making a Statement' (Graydon Royce, Star Tribune)
Composer Dominick Argento Reflects on His Work and the State of Opera (Graydon Royce, Star Tribune)
Dominick Argento (Patty Kelly, University of Minnesota Alumni Association)
Dominick Argento - Annotated Bibliography (Indiana University)
Dominick Argento Interview with James Wierzbicki (James Wierzbicki)
Dominick Argento: Minnesota Romantic (Mary Ann Feldman, Minnesota Public Radio)
Dominick Argento's The Andrée Expedition (Jacob Lassetter, OhioLINK ETD)
Dominick Argento's Jonah and the Whale: A Study of the Oratorio ... (Lisa Hanson, OhioLINK ETD)
Dominick Argento's Memorial: "Evensong: Of Love and Angels" (Alison Young, Minnesota Public Radio, podcast)
From Novella to Opera: Dominick Argento’s The Aspern Papers (Nelly Valtat-Comet, revues.org)
In Your Opinion, What is the Difference Between Opera and Musical Theater? (Dominick Argento, NewMusicBox)
Jonah and the Whale (Dominick Argento, Providence Singers)
Miss Havisham's Fire (Heidi Waleson, Andante.com)
New Argento Work Honors His Late Wife (Karl Gehrke, Minnesota Public Radio)
Prospering on the Prairie - Dominick Argento's Catalogue Raisonné as Memoir (Michael Anthony, Andante.com)
Reflections of a Life: Biographical Perspectives of Virginia Woolf ... (Noelle Woods, OhioLINK ETD)
Books
Catalogue Raisonné As Memoir: A Composer's Life (Dominick Argento, Univ of Minn Pr, books.google.com)
Composer website (@ Boosey & Hawkes)
Argento @ Wikipedia
Argento @ American Choral Directors Association
Argento @ Answers.com
Argento @ Boosey & Hawkes
Argento @ Classical Archives
Argento @ Classical Net
Argento @ ClassicsToday
Argento @ Dilettante Music
Argento @ Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers
Argento @ Eastman School of Music
Argento @ Facebook
Argento @ InstantEncore
Argento @ The Metropolitan Opera Stories of the Great Operas
Argento @ Minnesota Music Hall of Fame
Argento @ Minnesota Orchestra
Argento @ MusicWeb International
Argento @ The New York Times
Argento @ NPRmusic
Argento @ Opera America
Argento @ Operone.de
Argento @ Phoenix USA
Argento @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Argento @ Song of America
Argento @ StateUniversity.com
Argento @ US Opera
Argento @ Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary
Argento @ VocalEssence
Streaming Audio
Argento @ Classical Archives
Argento @ last.fm
Argento @ Minnesota Public Radio/Dominick Argento: Minnesota Romantic
Argento @ Minnesota Public Radio/Dominick Argento's Memorial: "Evensong: Of Love and Angels"
Argento @ Minnesota Public Radio/Interview with John Birge
Argento @ Minnesota Public Radio/New Argento Work Honors His Late Wife
Argento @ NPRmusic
Argento @ Rhapsody
Argento @ WETA/Classical Conversations - Dominick Argento and J. Reilly Lewis
Argento @ WOSU/From the Diary of Virginia Woolf
Recordings
Argento @ ArkivMusic
Argento @ Albany Records (via google)
Argento @ Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Argento @ ClassicsOnline
Argento @ Discogs
Video
Argento @ YouTube
~ top of page ~
Argento on Argento: Classical Conversations w/J. Reilly Lewis (streaming audio)
Composers
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Argento on Argento: Interview with John Birge/Minnesota Public Radio (streaming audio)
Composers
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Argento on Argento: The Composer's Voice/Minnesota Public Radio (streaming audio)
Composers
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Argento on Argento: Minnesota Romantic/Minnesota Public Radio (streaming audio)
Composers
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Argento on Argento: Argento's Memorial: "Evensong: Of Love and Angels" (streaming audio)
Composers
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Argento on Argento: New Work Honors Late Wife/Minnesota Public Radio (streaming audio)
Composers
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