#4574, Inspired by Hymns
There's music based on hymns by violinist/vocalist Caroline Shaw with So Percussion, experimental vocalist GABI, Norway-based choir Trondheim Voices, and American composer John Adams.
Listen to shape note hymns adapted by violinist, vocalist and composer Caroline Shaw from her collaborative work, Narrow Sea with So Percussion featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw and pianist Gilbert Kalish. The work, in five parts, uses texts from old shape hymns with “a sonic universe that includes ceramic bowls, humming, a piano played like a dulcimer by five people at once, and flower pots” (Caroline Shaw, in the liner notes for the album.) Also, listen to work from another collaborative work with So Percussion, called Let the Soil Play its Simple Part. (Featured on New Sounds 4511.)
Then, there’s new work built around American sacred songs and hymns by veteran American composer Ingram Marshall from the 2021 Ojai Festival, conducted by composer John Adams. Also, listen to an early work by John Adams for string septet, which uses a rapid reiteration of the bow on the strings – his “Shaker Loops.” As Adams explains the title, The Shakers got into the act partly as a pun on the musical term "to shake", meaning either to make a tremolo with the bow across the string or else to trill rapidly from one note to another. The flip side of the pun was suggested by my own childhood memories of growing up not far from a defunct Shaker colony near Canterbury, New Hampshire. (Composer Notes, Wise Classical)
Hear music by composer and producer Chris Campbell, his Orison, a a sound prayer and meditation in seven parts. His ensemble includes members of St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, The Bad Plus drummer Dave King, and ‘hybrid-music’ violinist Todd Reynolds. There’s also music by experimental vocalist and composer Gabrielle Herbst aka GABI which layers voice in loops, hockets, and layers on top of each other, and also interacts with a band of violin, viola, electric guitar/trombone, and percussion. Plus, a work by the women’s choir, Trondheim Voices from Norway from their record, Rooms & Rituals, where both the space and live-processing of their voices figures in a work, “Hymn.” And more. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4574, Inspired by Hymns (First Aired 12/21/2021)
ARTIST: So Percussion, Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish
WORK: Caroline Shaw: The Narrow Sea, Part 2 [1:00]
RECORDING: Caroline Shaw: Narrow Sea
SOURCE: Nonesuch Records
INFO: sopercussion.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Ojai Festival Orchestra conducted by John Adams; Timo Andres piano
WORK: Ingram Marshall: Flow [19:18]
RECORDING: Live, Ojai Festival 2021
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available
INFO: ingrammarshall.net | ojaifestival.org
ARTIST: Chris Campbell
WORK: Orison: Rotating Hymn [1:00]
RECORDING: Orison
SOURCE: Innova Recordings
INFO: innova.mu
ARTIST: So Percussion, Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish
WORK: Caroline Shaw: The Narrow Sea, Part 2 [3:29]
RECORDING: Caroline Shaw: Narrow Sea
SOURCE: Nonesuch Records
INFO: sopercussion.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Caroline Shaw and So Percussion
WORK: To the Sky [4:00]
RECORDING: Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part
SOURCE: Nonesuch Records
INFO: http://smarturl.it/letthesoil
ARTIST: The Ridge String Quartet plus Dan Smiley, violin/ Judiyaba, cello/ Gary Lowendusky, bass
WORK: John Adams: Shaker Loops Loops and Verses [5:55]
RECORDING: John Adams: Shaker Loops; Light Over Water
SOURCE: New Albion 014
INFO: Out of print. Try Discogs.com, AppleMusic, Amazon.com
ARTIST: The Ridge String Quartet plus Dan Smiley, violin/ Judiyaba, cello/ Gary Lowendusky, bass
WORK: John Adams: Shaker Loops - A Final Shaking [3:55]
RECORDING: John Adams: Shaker Loops; Light Over Water
SOURCE: New Albion 014
INFO: Out of print. Try Discogs.com, AppleMusic, Amazon.com
ARTIST: Trondheim Voices + Asle Karstad
WORK: Hymn [5:35]
RECORDING: Rooms & Rituals
SOURCE: Grappa
INFO: trondheimvoices.no
ARTIST: GABI
WORK: Hymn [9:16]
RECORDING: Sympathy
SOURCE/INFO: gabi-ny.bandcamp.com
