King Priam

Album by Sir Michael Tippett & London Sinfonietta & David Atherton

King Priam is an opera by English composer Michael Tippett, first performed in 1962. The work draws on ancient Greek myth and employs a modernist harmonic language with complex choral writing and dense orchestral textures, marking Tippett's second major opera and a shift toward more dramatic, declamatory writing in his mid-career output.

First released: October 1995

About

Disc 1

1.
King Priam: Act I: Prelude
1:29
2.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 1: Hecuba: »What is it, Nurse?«
3:43
3.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 1: Priam: »Old man of Troy, you're welcome«
2:25
4.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 1: Hecuba: »Than am I no longer mother to this child«
1:32
5.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 1: Priam: »A father and a King«
1:54
6.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 1: Priam: »The Queen is right«
1:17
7.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 1: First Interlude - Nurse, Old Man: »Thus shall a story begin«
2:52
8.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 2: 1st Huntsman: »The bull is away over there«
2:19
9.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 2: Paris: »They have taken my bull«
1:58
10.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 2: Hector: »Father, he's a shepherd boy«
1:48
11.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 2: Priam: »So I'd hoped it might be«
5:03
12.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 2: 2nd Interlude - Nurse: »Ah, but life, life is a bitter charade«
4:40
13.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 3: Helen, Paris: »Ah, ah . . .«
5:15
14.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 3: Hermes: »Divine go-between, that's who I am«
2:11
15.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 3: Paris: »Lady Athene, if I honour you . . .«
0:52
16.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 3: Paris: »Lady Hera, if I honour you . . .«
2:06
17.
King Priam: Act I: Scene 3: Paris: »Aphrodite, if I honour you . . .«
2:16
18.
King Priam: Act II: Scene 1: Hector: »So you've given up fighting!«
3:40
19.
King Priam: Act II: Scene 1: Priam: »So Trojans honour Menelaus . . .«
1:23
20.
King Priam: Act II: Scene 1: 1st Interlude - Old Man: »Hermes, with the winged feet come quick!«
1:33
21.
King Priam: Act II: Scene 2: Achilles: »O rich-soiled land«
5:26
22.
King Priam: Act II: Scene 2: Achilles: »Why are you weeping, Patroclus?«
4:56
23.
King Priam: Act II: Scene 2: 2nd Interlude - Old Man: »O, O, what a threat to Troy«
1:34
24.
King Priam: Act II: Scene 3: Hermes: »A hero in Achilles' armour . . .«
1:22
25.
King Priam: Act II: Scene 3: Hector: »All Trojans, all fought bravely«
4:58

Disc 2

2.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 1: »Lady Andromache, should we not light the fire?«
4:52
3.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 1: Hecuba: »Daughter Andromache, you must go out . . .«
2:13
4.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 1: Andromache: »Did you hear?«
1:23
5.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 1: Helen: »Let her rave«
4:39
6.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 1: Hecuba: »O that my ears should hear impiety so gross!«
3:47
7.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 1: Andromache: »Now you shall go«
1:47
8.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 1: 1st Interlude - Serving Women: »No, no, no. We have it from the runner«
1:39
9.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 2: Priam: »What is happening?«
3:47
10.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 2: Young Guard: »A crime«
4:06
11.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 2: Nurse: »The soul will answer from where the pain is quickest«
5:26
12.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 2: Second Interlude
3:03
13.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 3: Achilles: »Priam! Here! What is this?«
1:49
14.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 3: Priam: »I clasp your knees, Achilles«
1:14
15.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 3: Achilles: »Old man, I am touched«
3:35
16.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 3: Third Interlude
4:33
17.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 4: Paris: »Where is my father, where is Priam?«
1:13
18.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 4: Chorus: »Ah, ah! Ah, ah!«
2:33
19.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 4: Chorus: »Ah, ha, ha, ha«
1:43
20.
King Priam: Act III: Scene 4: Chorus: »Ah, ah!«
5:18