#4593, Siren Songs

Listen to music evoking Homer’s sirens in the Odyssey – the half woman-half bird creatures that would lure sailors to their doom with beautiful song in works by Grammy-nominated composer Arooj Aftab, Latvian composer Maija Einfelde, and Swedish musician and artist Thomas Feiner.

Hear an eerie and beautiful virtual chorus in music constructed from Analog synthesizers, loop pedals, delays and reverbs, voice and electric guitar by Pakistan-born, Brooklyn-based composer and performer Arooj Aftab from her record, Siren Islands.

There’s music by Latvian composer Maija Einfelde, and her version of the "Isle of the Sirens" tale from Homer’s Odyssey. Then, British composer David Bedford interprets the seductive feminine charms of the singing temptresses in “The Sirens,” part of a larger work inspired by scenes of Homer's poem, featuring a female choir. Listen to work from Canadian artist Laurel MacDonald, Swedish singer, songwriter and visual artist Thomas Feiner, and more. - Caryn Havlik

Program #4593, Siren Songs (First Aired 2/14/2022)

ARTIST: Laurel MacDonald
WORK: Nenia Sirenes [5:09]
RECORDING: Luscinia's Lullaby
SOURCE: Improbable Music #04
INFO: improbablemusic.com

ARTIST: Thomas Feiner/Anywhen/Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra
WORK: The Opiates [6:07]
RECORDING: The Siren Songs
SOURCE: Samadhi Sound CD ss013
INFO: samadhisound.com

ARTIST: Arooj Aftab
WORK: Island No. 1 [8:01]
RECORDING: Siren Islands
SOURCE: New Amsterdam Records
INFO: aroojaftab.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Jóhann Jóhannsson
WORK: Siren Song [1:49]
RECORDING: And in the Endless Pause There Came The Sound of Bees
SOURCE: TYPE 064
INFO: Try Discogs.com

ARTIST: David Bedford
WORK: The Sirens [8:20]
RECORDING: The Odyssey
SOURCE: Virgin #2040
INFO: Available at Amazon.co.uk 

ARTIST: Claudio Abbado/Boston Symphony
WORK: Debussy: Nocturne No. 3, "Sirenes" [6:51]
RECORDING:  Claude Debussy / Maurice Ravel — Boston Symphony Orchestra — Claudio Abbado
SOURCE: Deutsche Grammophon – 2530 038
INFO: Try Discogs.com

ARTIST: Maija Einfelde, Latvian Radio Choir, Conductor Sigvards Kļava
WORK: Maija Einfelde: Island of the Sirens [6:34]
RECORDING: At the Edge of the Earth
SOURCE: Latvijas Radio #033
INFO: noder.dk/einfelde-maija-at-the-edge-of-the-earth

ARTIST: Chanticleer
WORK: Mason Bates: Interlude: Siren Music [2:36]
RECORDING: Mason Bates: Digital Loom
SOURCE: MSR Classics
INFO: Available at Amazon.com

ARTIST: Mariana Sadovska, Kitka 
WORK: Sirens [5:13]
RECORDING: The Rusalka Cycle
SOURCE: Diaphonica #20071
INFO: kitka.org

ARTIST: Neil Cowley Trio
WORK: Siren's Last Look Back [1:47]
RECORDING: The Face Of Mount Molehill
SOURCE: Naimcd171
INFO: neilcowleytrio.bandcamp.com