#4272: Sonic Cathedrals
For this New Sounds, listen to massive pieces of sonic architecture – like cathedrals in music by Estonian Arvo Pärt, English composer Thomas Tallis, and in music by the Franco-Flemish composer Johannes Ockeghem as reworked by violinist/composer Pauline Kim Harris.
Hear a bit of music by English composer Thomas Tallis, his motet “Spem in Alium” (1573) sung in Latin by a 40-voice choir. The work has several unusual arrangements including a sound installation called “The Forty Voice Motet” by Janet Cardiff as well as a version for 40 stringed instruments, as arranged by Kronos Quartet. Listen to 10 versions of the quartet in their arrangement of “Spem In Alium” by Thomas Tallis.
Then, hear an expansive sonic experience from violinist and composer Pauline Harris Kim, in two parts of her three-part “Deo” (in collaboration with the sound artist Spencer Topel.) It’s an acoustic-electronic transcription for violin and electronics of “Deo Gratias,” a 36-voice work by the Franco-Flemish composer Johannes Ockeghem. Originally conceived of as a 36-part canon, “Deo” expands this idea of canon using delays, in an “ever expanding and infinite soundscape,” one that Pauline Harris Kim finds “as close to stopping time as I can imagine.” (-Pauline Kim)
Listen also to Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s work, “Fratres,” which exists in many arrangements. Hear the version for 12 cellos, which might be reduced to three moving parts, two drones, and far-off percussion. Plus, music by the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, which might have had “Fratres” in mind… - Caryn Havlik
Program #4272, Sonic Cathedrals
ARTIST: Huelgas Ensemble
WORK: Thomas Tallis: Spem In Alium [1:45]
RECORDING: Utopia Triumphans
SOURCE: Sony Classical 66261
INFO: Available at Arkivmusic.com
ARTIST: 12 Cellists of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
WORK: Arvo Pärt: Fratres [11:38]
RECORDING: Tabula Rasa
SOURCE: ECM Records 1275
INFO: ecmrecords.com
ARTIST: Kronos Quartet
WORK: Thomas Tallis: Spem In Alium [8:52]
RECORDING: Black Angels
SOURCE: Nonesuch 79242
INFO: nonesuch.com
ARTIST: Pauline Kim Harris
WORK: Deo II (based on Johannes Ockeghem) [13:02]
RECORDING: Heroine
SOURCE: Sono Luminus
INFO: sonoluminus.com | Due out Sept. 27
ARTIST: Pauline Kim Harris
WORK: Deo III (based on Johannes Ockeghem) [7:02]
RECORDING: Heroine
SOURCE: Sono Luminus
INFO: sonoluminus.com | Due out Sept. 27
ARTIST: 12 Cellists of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
WORK: Arvo Pärt: Fratres [:52]
RECORDING: Tabula Rasa
SOURCE: ECM Records 1275
INFO: ecmrecords.com
ARTIST: Jóhann Jóhannsson
WORK: the Lord's Prayer [2:32]
RECORDING: Prisoners Water
SOURCE: Water Tower
INFO: johannjohannsson.com
