Surprise: a brand new song--first in seven years--from Sigur Ros, "Blóðberg" with the London Contemporary Orchestra and conductor Robert Ames, co-produced with Paul Corley. Video directed by Johan Renck who directed the powerful HBO miniseries "Chernobyl." Renck says, "I feel as nihilistic as one could regarding the future. We are powerless against our own stupidities. Some aspects of this came to merge with my impressions of the themes of 'Blóðberg.' The music becoming a score to my own miserable thoughts, giving them beauty as only music can."
If we can't figure out how to survive, maybe we don't deserve to.
https://sigurros.com/
Showing posts with label orchestral. Show all posts
Showing posts with label orchestral. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Monday, November 4, 2019
"Breathing Out" by Keaton Henson
Exquisite, achingly beautiful and agonizingly intense music. This is "Breathing Out," the last movement of Six Lethargies, a 70-minute orchestral piece by singer-songwriter-and-now-composer Keaton Henson (previously here, here, and here).
"Six Lethargies is a six part, long form work for string orchestra, written by musician, composer, writer and visual artist Keaton Henson. The album explores themes of trauma, empathy, mental illness, and the relationship between music and emotion. It was created intensively over three years, during intense episodes of the very themes it explores. He used his personal experience to plot out six distinct elements of trauma, anxiety and emotional difficulties.
Unable himself to read or write music, Henson first created maps of his personal experience, using complex linear drawings and paintings which he then translated into themes and melodies. A common theme throughout his work is always the element of emotion and vulnerable honesty; he shares the darkest and most complex parts of his personal experiences via his art, leading to work of breathtaking emotional resonance. By contrast, Henson himself is generally reclusive, revealing little else of himself, wherever possible avoiding interviews or public appearances.
As the Six Lethargies project began to take shape, Henson reached out to neuroscientists, psychologists and music theorists, to learn more about the acute relationship between music and emotion, and specifically its effect on us physiologically. ‘Thrill engineer’ and bio-data expert Brendan Walker worked closely with Henson to investigate this relationship and developed software to monitor electrodermal activity (EDA) in order to create a real time visual representation of the link between feelings, anxiety and music.
In fact, when Six Lethargies made its stunning sold out debut at London’s Barbican in July 2018, a portion of the audience were hooked up to ‘galvanic skin response monitors’, which read their anxiety levels in real time whilst listening to the performance, this in turn was fed to the lighting desk and it was this that controlled the colour and intensity of the venue’s lighting rig. As a result the audience were effectively watching how they were feeling while listening to the music, and as a result this amplified the emotional response of the audience to the music.
Known for his past struggles to perform live due to anxiety disorders, Henson himself watched from the sidelines as the audience reacted to an Orchestra performing the work with lighting controlled by their emotions.
This show marked the first new work by Henson for several years, he had released a number of indie/folk albums in previous years – resulting in plays on Radio 1 and huge critical praise, but due in part to the challenges posed by this growing renown and constant demands for him to perform live and appear publicly he had instead decided to retreat from the public eye, disappearing from the world of music and art. However, following the success of the Barbican event, performances at Sydney Opera House and the National Concert Hall Dublin followed. These shows were immersive, measurable experiences which showed how music can physiologically affect the body. They also illustrated how anxiety can be monitored and how it’s triggers could be potentially monitored or predicted, perhaps even eventually controlled, an important factor to consider when dealing with anxiety.
The success of these shows led to the recording of the Six Lethargies album, recorded earlier this year with the Liverpool Philharmonic at The Friary in Liverpool. Through its six movements the finished recording conveys both a personal, internal experience but it also seeks to create the possibility of a similar physiological response in the listener.
Six Lethargies is a profound and intense musical experience, but it is also, completely tonal, musical and ultimately an enjoyable listen on various levels. In spite of its subject matter and meticulous design, it is music that can be listened to as you would Henson’s compositional heroes such as Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Barber and Pärt. However, it can also be listened to as a cathartic and purgative experience, unbroken from beginning to end, taking the mind and body through a series of peaks and troughs and eventually leaving it in a stimulated but calm state."
from thankfolkforthat.com, https://thankfolkforthat.com/new-release-video-keaton-henson-breathing-out/
http://keatonhenson.com/
"Six Lethargies is a six part, long form work for string orchestra, written by musician, composer, writer and visual artist Keaton Henson. The album explores themes of trauma, empathy, mental illness, and the relationship between music and emotion. It was created intensively over three years, during intense episodes of the very themes it explores. He used his personal experience to plot out six distinct elements of trauma, anxiety and emotional difficulties.
Unable himself to read or write music, Henson first created maps of his personal experience, using complex linear drawings and paintings which he then translated into themes and melodies. A common theme throughout his work is always the element of emotion and vulnerable honesty; he shares the darkest and most complex parts of his personal experiences via his art, leading to work of breathtaking emotional resonance. By contrast, Henson himself is generally reclusive, revealing little else of himself, wherever possible avoiding interviews or public appearances.
As the Six Lethargies project began to take shape, Henson reached out to neuroscientists, psychologists and music theorists, to learn more about the acute relationship between music and emotion, and specifically its effect on us physiologically. ‘Thrill engineer’ and bio-data expert Brendan Walker worked closely with Henson to investigate this relationship and developed software to monitor electrodermal activity (EDA) in order to create a real time visual representation of the link between feelings, anxiety and music.
In fact, when Six Lethargies made its stunning sold out debut at London’s Barbican in July 2018, a portion of the audience were hooked up to ‘galvanic skin response monitors’, which read their anxiety levels in real time whilst listening to the performance, this in turn was fed to the lighting desk and it was this that controlled the colour and intensity of the venue’s lighting rig. As a result the audience were effectively watching how they were feeling while listening to the music, and as a result this amplified the emotional response of the audience to the music.
Known for his past struggles to perform live due to anxiety disorders, Henson himself watched from the sidelines as the audience reacted to an Orchestra performing the work with lighting controlled by their emotions.
This show marked the first new work by Henson for several years, he had released a number of indie/folk albums in previous years – resulting in plays on Radio 1 and huge critical praise, but due in part to the challenges posed by this growing renown and constant demands for him to perform live and appear publicly he had instead decided to retreat from the public eye, disappearing from the world of music and art. However, following the success of the Barbican event, performances at Sydney Opera House and the National Concert Hall Dublin followed. These shows were immersive, measurable experiences which showed how music can physiologically affect the body. They also illustrated how anxiety can be monitored and how it’s triggers could be potentially monitored or predicted, perhaps even eventually controlled, an important factor to consider when dealing with anxiety.
The success of these shows led to the recording of the Six Lethargies album, recorded earlier this year with the Liverpool Philharmonic at The Friary in Liverpool. Through its six movements the finished recording conveys both a personal, internal experience but it also seeks to create the possibility of a similar physiological response in the listener.
Six Lethargies is a profound and intense musical experience, but it is also, completely tonal, musical and ultimately an enjoyable listen on various levels. In spite of its subject matter and meticulous design, it is music that can be listened to as you would Henson’s compositional heroes such as Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Barber and Pärt. However, it can also be listened to as a cathartic and purgative experience, unbroken from beginning to end, taking the mind and body through a series of peaks and troughs and eventually leaving it in a stimulated but calm state."
from thankfolkforthat.com, https://thankfolkforthat.com/new-release-video-keaton-henson-breathing-out/
http://keatonhenson.com/
Thursday, July 20, 2017
"fullmoon" by Ryuichi Sakamoto
After the previous posting of "Life, Life" by Ryuichi Sakamoto from his new release "async" here, let's listen to another profound track called "fullmoon." Another transcendent track.
"Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty, and yet it all seems limitless."
IT is limitless.
YOU are not.
But YOU are a part of IT.
This is the paradox.
Don't waste your time here.
Be a part of IT.
http://www.sitesakamoto.com/
"Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty, and yet it all seems limitless."
IT is limitless.
YOU are not.
But YOU are a part of IT.
This is the paradox.
Don't waste your time here.
Be a part of IT.
http://www.sitesakamoto.com/
Monday, July 10, 2017
"Life, Life" by Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Sylvian
Earlier this year, legendary musician-composer-producer-actor-activist Ryuichi Sakamoto released "async," a new collection of music. The lushly spiritual "Life, Life" is from that collection, and it features a delicate spoken word performance by equally legendary musician and prior collaborator David Sylvian of a poem by the Russian poet Arseny Tarkovsky, father of the filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky (previously here). This is transcendent work.
And this I dreamt, and this I dream,
And some time this I will dream again,
And all will be repeated, all be re-embodied.
You will dream everything I have seen in dream.
To one side from ourselves, to one side from the world,
Wave follows wave to break on the shore.
On each wave is a star, a person, a bird,
Dreams, reality, death - on wave after wave.
No need for a date: I was, I am, and I will be.
Life is a wonder of wonders, and to wonder
I dedicate myself, on my knees, like an orphan,
Alone - among mirrors - fenced in by reflections:
Cities and seas, iridescent, intensified.
A mother in tears takes a child on her lap.
http://www.sitesakamoto.com
http://www.davidsylvian.com
And this I dreamt, and this I dream,
And some time this I will dream again,
And all will be repeated, all be re-embodied.
You will dream everything I have seen in dream.
To one side from ourselves, to one side from the world,
Wave follows wave to break on the shore.
On each wave is a star, a person, a bird,
Dreams, reality, death - on wave after wave.
No need for a date: I was, I am, and I will be.
Life is a wonder of wonders, and to wonder
I dedicate myself, on my knees, like an orphan,
Alone - among mirrors - fenced in by reflections:
Cities and seas, iridescent, intensified.
A mother in tears takes a child on her lap.
http://www.sitesakamoto.com
http://www.davidsylvian.com
Sunday, October 2, 2016
"Mechanical Marvels: Clockwork Dreams" by Alex Menzies
Composer Alex Menzies wrote a hauntingly beautiful score for the 2013 BBC documentary "Mechanical Marvels: Clockwork Dreams." Here are a few tracks...
If you'd like to purchase the entire album, visit:
https://kathexis.bandcamp.com/album/mechanical-marvels-clockwork-dreams
For more information and more music:
https://alexmenzies.net/
If you'd like to purchase the entire album, visit:
https://kathexis.bandcamp.com/album/mechanical-marvels-clockwork-dreams
For more information and more music:
https://alexmenzies.net/
Thursday, April 7, 2016
"Piano Concerto 1: I. Preludium: Andante con moto" by Wojciech Kilar
I have been transfixed by this piece of music for some time now and I only just realized I have yet to post it. The "Piano Concerto 1" (1996) by Polish composer Wojciech Kilar (1932-2013, probably best known for his film music for "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and "The Pianist" for which he won a César in 2003) is simply miraculous. The first movement is what seizes my heart. It starts in a gentle place, contemplative but mysterious. Soon a tension emerges, strings hanging and shimmering high above us making us hold our breath, as this contemplation turns to melancholy and sorrow but not of the paralyzing, inactive kind: the mood is ramped up into one of pounding, agonizing emotion. Kilar wants us to break, to cry, to find the ultimate cosmic compassion for all of creation. As soon as this threshold is reached, we are released...
Here is a recording of the first movement played by Waldemar Malicki and conducted by Antoni Wit with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.
Here is a recording of the first movement played by Waldemar Malicki and conducted by Antoni Wit with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.
Friday, May 16, 2014
"Black Wave" and "Waking Light" by Beck
I can't get enough of Beck's gorgeous new release "Morning Phase." It is a captivating mix of folk, soft psychedelic, and orchestral, expressed through introspective gentle ballads and profoundly gripping melodies. Here are two examples of the latter, the haunting "Black Wave" and the achingly lovely "Waking Light." The entire collection of songs is slow, hazy, pensive, perfect to play on a dawning summer morning...
http://www.beck.com/
http://www.beck.com/
Thursday, May 8, 2014
"Midnight Moon Pt. I and II" by Kan Wakan
Wow. I am kind of blown away by this song and the video...
Kan Wakan are a new L.A.-based group, a trio consisting of composer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Gueorgui I. Linev, vocalist Kristianne Bautista, and producer/guitarist Peter Potyondy. At this point, they have only released four songs but a full-length release entitled "Moving On" is scheduled for June of this year, 2014. Visit their website for more information or to pre-order.
This video is eleven minutes long, so watch when you have some time, but it is definitely worth it. It's a rather mysterious story which seems to be describing a psychological state more than actual events. But having said that, there is an actual central event that is rather distressing and relentless...which offers a reminder that we can't always prevent bad things from happening, but we can be present and offer comfort and compassion when they do. Watch in full screen mode.
The band list their influences (a fascinating mix,and I think they can almost all be heard in this single grand, ambitious, sweeping, jazzy/orchestral-symphonic, and at times ambient track):
Bill Withers, Pink Floyd, Wilco, Nina Simone, Nick Drake, Brad Mehldau, Leonard Cohen, Philip Glass, Jim O'Rourke, Brian Eno, Moondog
http://www.kanwakan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KanWakan
Kan Wakan are a new L.A.-based group, a trio consisting of composer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Gueorgui I. Linev, vocalist Kristianne Bautista, and producer/guitarist Peter Potyondy. At this point, they have only released four songs but a full-length release entitled "Moving On" is scheduled for June of this year, 2014. Visit their website for more information or to pre-order.
This video is eleven minutes long, so watch when you have some time, but it is definitely worth it. It's a rather mysterious story which seems to be describing a psychological state more than actual events. But having said that, there is an actual central event that is rather distressing and relentless...which offers a reminder that we can't always prevent bad things from happening, but we can be present and offer comfort and compassion when they do. Watch in full screen mode.
The band list their influences (a fascinating mix,and I think they can almost all be heard in this single grand, ambitious, sweeping, jazzy/orchestral-symphonic, and at times ambient track):
Bill Withers, Pink Floyd, Wilco, Nina Simone, Nick Drake, Brad Mehldau, Leonard Cohen, Philip Glass, Jim O'Rourke, Brian Eno, Moondog
http://www.kanwakan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KanWakan
Sunday, October 7, 2012
"Fratres" by Arvo Pärt
Last night, I attended a concert at the Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco and heard a piece of music that is new to me. The Estonian composer Arvo Pärt wrote "Fratres" in 1977. Many different arrangements of the piece exist; I heard a version for strings and percussion. And was completely overwhelmed.
"Fratres" is simple, starts softly, builds in intensity (the strings get louder and louder, the percussion gets louder) and then fades away again. But the repetition of the little phrase the strings play is so heartbreaking; there is something about the piece that speaks to me of a certain kind of tension between melancholy and hopefulness. It is bittersweet but that is not quite the right word. I want a word that means feeling sadness but being content in the sadness, as though contemplating life itself, contemplating the suffering, brings a profound realization of the preciousness of life, of its fleetingness, its beauty. I don't think there is a word in English that captures that. I wonder if there is a language that can say all that in one word. (UPDATE: I think I may have found the language and word. In Japanese, the word yugen subtly means “a profound, mysterious sense of the beauty of the universe… and the sad beauty of human suffering”... I think that could be it!)
There is a holiness to the piece, and I certainly do not mean that in a religious way. I mean holy in the sense of "a cosmic, everlasting, transcendent truth." It speaks to an enigma...but "speak" is not the right word either. "Fratres" is all about the unspoken... things that cannot be uttered. Things that simply are, with no mind to formulate a word, with no mouth make a sentence... it is beyond corporeal.
At about 3/4 of the way through, I started to cry. And after the piece, I sat stunned and teary through the set up for the next piece, a Bartok piano concerto... I could not stop crying.
"I could compare my music to white light which contains all colours. Only a prism can divide the colours and make them appear; this prism could be the spirit of the listener."
--Arvo Pärt
http://www.arvopart.info/
"Fratres" is simple, starts softly, builds in intensity (the strings get louder and louder, the percussion gets louder) and then fades away again. But the repetition of the little phrase the strings play is so heartbreaking; there is something about the piece that speaks to me of a certain kind of tension between melancholy and hopefulness. It is bittersweet but that is not quite the right word. I want a word that means feeling sadness but being content in the sadness, as though contemplating life itself, contemplating the suffering, brings a profound realization of the preciousness of life, of its fleetingness, its beauty. I don't think there is a word in English that captures that. I wonder if there is a language that can say all that in one word. (UPDATE: I think I may have found the language and word. In Japanese, the word yugen subtly means “a profound, mysterious sense of the beauty of the universe… and the sad beauty of human suffering”... I think that could be it!)
There is a holiness to the piece, and I certainly do not mean that in a religious way. I mean holy in the sense of "a cosmic, everlasting, transcendent truth." It speaks to an enigma...but "speak" is not the right word either. "Fratres" is all about the unspoken... things that cannot be uttered. Things that simply are, with no mind to formulate a word, with no mouth make a sentence... it is beyond corporeal.
At about 3/4 of the way through, I started to cry. And after the piece, I sat stunned and teary through the set up for the next piece, a Bartok piano concerto... I could not stop crying.
"I could compare my music to white light which contains all colours. Only a prism can divide the colours and make them appear; this prism could be the spirit of the listener."
--Arvo Pärt
http://www.arvopart.info/
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Currently listening to...
..."Crazy In Love" by Antony and the Johnsons.
I am obsessed with this amazing live cover of what was originally a dreadful, ridiculous Beyoncé song. It was re-imagined as a trembling ballad, breathtakingly arranged for the Metropole Orchestra and sung by--well, it's not fair to say "sung" by Antony; it's more like he eviscerates himself, and reaches inside to pull out longing and despair from the depths of the collective soul of humanity.
http://www.antonyandthejohnsons.com/
I am obsessed with this amazing live cover of what was originally a dreadful, ridiculous Beyoncé song. It was re-imagined as a trembling ballad, breathtakingly arranged for the Metropole Orchestra and sung by--well, it's not fair to say "sung" by Antony; it's more like he eviscerates himself, and reaches inside to pull out longing and despair from the depths of the collective soul of humanity.
http://www.antonyandthejohnsons.com/
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