#4635, Vocal Music, With and Without Words
Hear two types of vocal works, ones with lyrics and ones without.
Listen to two pieces featuring the vocalist Becca Stevens and the Attacca Quartet. The first, We Knew Love, was written by Stevens and the second, Black Well, by her husband Nathan Schram. You’ll also hear two works off of Nancy Mounir’s album Nozhet El Nofous which can be translated to “Promenade of the Souls.” In this album Mounir combines her own voice with archival recordings of Egyptian singers of the 1930’s and 40’s. Then, Jonathan Kawchuk layers his vocals onto synths and found sounds from the Rocky Mountains in Kananaskis, Alberta in his album Everywhen. Plus listen to music from the Sephardic tradition with El Rey Nimrod by Annwn. This song recounts the birth of Abraham, the father of the Jewish people.
You’ll also hear excerpts from two film soundtracks. Koyaanisqatsi is an experimental film by Godfrey Reggio that contains no dialogue or narration. Its wordlessness continues in its score by Philip Glass. In his piece Vessels, he uses vocals as instruments to create ambiance for the film. Meredith Monk also uses vocals without lyrics to score the film Book of Days. In Travelers 4/Churchyard Entertainment, Monk uses the full range of the human voice to create a piece both percussive and lyrical. - Laura Boyman
Program #4635, Vocal Music, With and Without Words (First Aired 6/16/22)
ARTIST: Becca Stevens
WORK: We Knew Love (arr. Bill Stevens)
RECORDING: Becca Stevens | Attacca Quartet
SOURCE: GroundUP Music
INFO: groundupmusic.net/artists/beccastevensattaccaquartet
ARTIST: Nathan Schram
WORK: Black Well
RECORDING: Oak & the Ghost
SOURCE: New Amsterdam Records
INFO: nathanschram.bandcamp.com/album/oak-the-ghost
ARTIST: Nancy Mounir
WORK: Khafif Khafif (with Saleh Abdel Hay)
RECORDING: Nozhet El Nofous
SOURCE: Simsara Records
INFO: nancymounir.bandcamp.com/album/nozhet-el-nofous
ARTIST: Jonathan Kawchuk
WORK: Syrinx
RECORDING: Everywhen
SOURCE: Paper Bag Records
INFO: jonathankawchuk.bandcamp.com/album/everywhen
ARTIST: Nancy Mounir
WORK: Gannentini (with Zaki Mourad)
RECORDING: Nozhet El Nofous
SOURCE: Simsara Records
INFO: nancymounir.bandcamp.com/album/nozhet-el-nofous
ARTIST: Philip Glass
WORK: Vessels
RECORDING: Koyaanisqatsi
SOURCE: Antilles and Island Records
INFO: discogs.com/release/4513128-Philip-Glass-Koyaanisqatsi
ARTIST: Annwn
WORK: El Rey Nimrod
RECORDING: The Rough Guide To Jewish Music
SOURCE: World Music Network
INFO: worldmusic.net/products/the-rough-guide-to-jewish-music
ARTIST: Meredith Monk
WORK: Travelers 4/Churchyard Entertainment
RECORDING: Book Of Days
SOURCE: ECM New Series
INFO: discogs.com/master/177660-Meredith-Monk-Book-Of-Days
