Hear musical landscapes - both outdoor and indoor- from Anna Thorvaldsdottir, John Luther Adams, Qasim Naqvi, and a duet by harpist Mary Lattimore and musician Mac McCaughan.
Listen to what guitarist William Tyler calls a “psychedelic natural tone poem” from harpist Mary Lattimore and musician Mac McCaughan (Superchunk, Merge Records) on synthesizers. It’s from their forthcoming record called New Rain Duets, due out in March, and Tyler also likens it to “the textures on Bowie’s Berlin albums with Eno,” if you have any doubts. Also, listen to music by drummer and composer Qasim Naqvi (of Dawn of Midi) for three slightly out-of-tune guitars, vinyl record static and grand piano.
Then, hear International Contemporary Ensemble [ICE] pianist Cory Smythe in music by Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir, what she calls “an ecosystem of sounds” for prepared piano. Persistent and breathtaking, the work is called, “Scape.” There's also newly-commissioned music for the bass clarinet and marimba duo (Amy Advocat and Matt Sharrock) called Transient Canvas. This musical landscape plays with space and electronics, and depicts being stuck in a perpetual waking dream.
Plus, hear John Luther Adams' outdoor sound installation, “Inuksuit”, which is scored for 9 to 99 percussion players, and uses environmental sounds as part of the piece - even songs of the local birds. Produced by percussionist and composer Doug Perkins, this recording for 32 percussionists, was made in the forest surrounding Guilford Sound in Guilford, Vermont. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4203: Musical Landscapes, I (First aired 2/08/2019)
ARTIST: James Newton
WORK: Land of Enchantment [1:00]
RECORDING: Echo Canyon
SOURCE: Celestial Harmonies 13012
INFO: harmonies.com
ARTIST: Mary Lattimore & Mac McCaughan
WORK: III [7:22]
RECORDING: New Rain Duets
SOURCE: Three Lobed Recordings
INFO: threelobed.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Transient Canvas
WORK: Rudolf Rojahn: Somnambula [5:51]
RECORDING: Wired
SOURCE: New Focus Recordings fcr218
INFO: newfocusrecordings.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: James Newton
WORK: Land of Enchantment [5:31]
RECORDING: Echo Canyon
SOURCE: Celestial Harmonies 13012
INFO: harmonies.com
ARTIST: John Luther Adams
WORK: John Luther Adams: Inuksuit, excerpt [10:39]
RECORDING: Inuksuit
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music CA21096
INFO: cantaloupemusic.com
ARTIST: International Contemporary Ensemble
WORK: Anna Thorvaldsdottir: Scape [7:44]
RECORDING: AEQUA
SOURCE: Sono Luminus DSL 92227
INFO: sono-luminus.squarespace.com
ARTIST: Qasim Naqvi
WORK: Landscape Study I [4:28]
RECORDING: Landscape Study
SOURCE/INFO: qasimnaqvi.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Jon Opstad
WORK: Cityscape at Night [3:53]
RECORDING: In a Different Light
SOURCE: not yet released
INFO: jonopstad.com