#4623, Voices in Unusual Contexts
There’s music with voice, sometimes altered through electronics, in works by New York composer Majel Connery, and the Danish duo of Povl Kristian and Randi Pontoppidan. Plus hear work from London-based The Hermes Experiment, and Norwegian singer Susanna Wallumrød.
Listen to portions of a song cycle by New York-based singer and composer Majel Connery (of Oracle Hysterical), The Rivers Are Our Brothers. Her voice is augmented with vocal processing by vocoder and supported by a chamber band in songs told from the point of view of something in nature: trees, a river, snow, a mountain.
Also, hear music by British-Iranian composer and educator, Soosan Lolavar, which sets three lines of a verse by Rahi Mo’ayyeri in a work called “Mâh Didam” (‘I saw the moon’) for the non-standard quartet, The Hermes Experiment. Based in London, the group is made up of soprano, harp, clarinet, and double bass, and is continually working to create repertoire for their specific instrumentation. There’s also music by Danish duo of vocalist Randi Pontoppidan and pianist Povl Kristian from their recent album, Life In Life. Pontoppidnan is vocal performer/improviser/composer who augments melodies and bird call-like whistles with live electronic processing while Kristian is a composer who has written for film, theatre, and radio. Plus, hear a cover of a Leonard Cohen song from Norwegian vocalist Susanna Wallumrød and Swiss baroque harpist Giovanna Pessi and more. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4623, Voices in Unusual Contexts (First aired 5/16/22)
ARTIST: Klaus Schulze and Lisa Gerrard
WORK: Liquid Coincidence 3 [1:10]
RECORDING: Farscape
SOURCE: Synthetic Symphony SPV Recordings 80001270
INFO: Out of print, but try Amazon.com
ARTIST: Majel Connery: vocals, keys; Ben Matus, vocals, bassoon; Edwin Huizinga: violin
WORK: I am the air [2:37]
RECORDING: The Rivers are our Brothers
SOURCE: theriversareourbrothers.bandcamp.com
INFO: musicasierra.org
ARTIST: Randi Pontoppidan and Povl Kristian
WORK: Sukha [3:40]
RECORDING: Life In Life
SOURCE: Chant Records
INFO: randipontoppidanpovlkristian.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Majel Connery: vocals, keys; Ben Matus, vocals, bassoon; Edwin Huizinga: violin
WORK: I am snow [2:28]
RECORDING: The Rivers are our Brothers
SOURCE: theriversareourbrothers.bandcamp.com
INFO: musicasierra.org
ARTIST: Susanna and the Magical Orchestra
WORK: Scott Walker: It's Raining Today [4:26]
RECORDING: Melody Mountain
SOURCE: Rune Grammofon RCD2057
INFO: https://susannamagical.com
ARTIST: Majel Connery: vocals, keys; Ben Matus, vocals, bassoon; Edwin Huizinga: violin
WORK: I am a mountain [5:33]
RECORDING: The Rivers are our Brothers
SOURCE: theriversareourbrothers.bandcamp.com
INFO: musicasierra.org
ARTIST: Randi Pontoppidan and Povl Kristian
WORK: Crossing the Rubicon [7:49]
RECORDING: Life In Life
SOURCE: Chant Records
INFO: randipontoppidanpovlkristian.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: The Hermes Experiment
WORK: Soosan Lolavar: Mâh Didam (‘I saw the moon’) [6:10]
RECORDING: Song
SOURCE: Delphian Records
INFO: delphianrecords.com
ARTIST: Susanna Wallumrød & Giovanna Pessi
WORK: Leonard Cohen: Who by Fire [3:57]
RECORDING: If Grief Could Wait
SOURCE: ECM 2226
INFO: ecmrecords.com
ARTIST: Majel Connery: vocals, keys; Ben Matus, vocals, bassoon; Edwin Huizinga: violin
WORK: I am a river [2:56]
RECORDING: The Rivers are our Brothers
SOURCE: theriversareourbrothers.bandcamp.com
INFO: musicasierra.org
ARTIST: Klaus Schulze and Lisa Gerrard
WORK: Liquid Coincidence 3 [5:39]
RECORDING: Farscape
SOURCE: Synthetic Symphony SPV Recordings 80001270
INFO: Out of print, but try Amazon.com
