#4629, Music for Strings and Other Things
Hear works for strings with some unexpected twists including drones, party horns, and microtonal movement. Each of the artists featured in this edition of New Sounds combines traditional western string instruments with outside influences to create a distinctive soundscape.
Florent Ghys plays with sound in his new album, Ritournelles and Mosaïques. The record is a collection of two previous albums that explore the interplay between acoustic and electronic instruments as well as incorporate unexpected samples such as trains, tennis players, and weather reports. Hear four tracks off of this unique collection.
Listen to Dan Visconti’s Eternal Breath, performed by the Jupiter and Jasper string quartets. The piece was written to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of Bill and Margaret Freivogel, who are parents and in-laws to five members across both quartets. It features the shruti box, an Indian instrument typically heard in Indian classical music that contains a system of bellows that produce a drone. The shruti combined with two traditional string quartets creates a cascade of sound that seems to follow the rising and falling cadence of breathing.
Plus, hear the work of Chrisopher Otto, the violinist and a founding member of the JACK Quartet. His piece, rag’sma, utilizes the most micro of microtones. The title comes from the concept of ragisma, an interval of 0.396 cents, which marks the rising and falling actions of the instruments. You’ll hear three string quartets, two pre-recorded and one live, that begin on the same starting pitch. They then slowly and constantly move away from each other. Be sure to listen to this New Sounds to hear if they find their way back together. - Laura Boyman
Program #4629, Music for Strings and Other Things (First aired 5/26/22)
ARTIST: Dan Visconti
WORK: Eternal Breath [1:00]
RECORDING: Felix Mendelssohn: Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20; Dan Visconti: Eternal Breath; Osvaldo Golijov: Last Round
SOURCE: Marquis Classics
INFO: marquisclassics.com, or Spotify, YouTube Music
ARTIST: Florent Ghys
WORK: Northeast Corridor [4:51]
RECORDING: Ritournelles and Mosaïques
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music
INFO: florentghys.com
ARTIST: Florent Ghys
WORK: Lisboa [2:45]
RECORDING: Ritournelles and Mosaïques
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music
INFO: florentghys.com
ARTIST: Florent Ghys
WORK: Party [3:51]
RECORDING: Ritournelles and Mosaïques
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music
INFO: florentghys.com
ARTIST: Dan Visconti
WORK: Eternal Breath [10:39]
RECORDING: Felix Mendelssohn: Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20; Dan Visconti: Eternal Breath; Osvaldo Golijov: Last Round
SOURCE: Marquis Classics
INFO: marquisclassics.com, or Spotify, YouTube Music
ARTIST: Christopher Otto
WORK: rag'sma [18:48]
RECORDING: rag'sma
SOURCE: {greyfade}
INFO: greyfade.com
ARTIST: Florent Ghys
WORK: Quatre Fromages [5:04]
RECORDING: Ritournelles and Mosaïques
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music
INFO: florentghys.com
