Jeffrey and Gabriel Kahane Perform Works by Timo Andres

by Ted Gordon on March 9, 2017, 11:13 a.m.

The music of Timo Andres glimpses the history of Western art music while steadfastly looking at the present. Thus it's fitting that his music be performed by two generations of the same musical family on America's two coasts, in the span of only six days. On March 12th, Jeffrey Kahane performs Andres's Heavy Sleep in Berkeley—a work that begins to obsess with a musical idea from a Chopin nocturne in dream-like free association. Check out Bruce Levingston's Naxos recording below: 

And on March 18th, Andres will see a performance of his song cycle Work Songs at National Sawdust with a group of close collaborators including Gabriel Kahane, Becca Stevens, Ted Hearne, Nathan Koci, and Taylor Levine. Work Songs, which premiered in 2014, begins from the long tradition of American folk songs that thematize labor—Andres remembers the Fireside Book of Folk Songs from his childhood—and explores the habits and methods of working artists today, including Andres himself and his collaborators. Listen to a 2015 performance below.

Third Coast Percussion Premieres Christopher Cerrone's "Goldbeater's Skin"

by Ted Gordon on Feb. 7, 2017, 10:27 a.m.

On February 4th, Grammy-nominated Third Coast Percussion and mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway premiered a new work byChristopher Cerrone at the University of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center entitled Goldbeater's Skin. Goldbeater's Skin, which was commissioned by Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting and the DeBartolo PAC, sets poems by G.C. Waldrep from the book of the same name.

Waldrep lived for many years in an Amish community in North Carolina, and his poems reflect that "earthy mysticism"; Cerrone takes the percussive title of Waldrep's collection and realizes it with his signature blend of poeticism, lyricism, and texture. In the South Bend Tribune, Third Coast Percussionist David Skidmore notes that "There are a lot of ways to describe what [Cerrone] does, but it's best described as 'beautiful music,' which is saying a lot."

Cerrone has set many American poets' work to music, and he is the third member of the Sleeping Giant collective to work with Third Coast Percussion, which has previously commissioned works by Timo Andres (Austerity Measures, available on PSNY) and Ted Hearne (Thaw). Check out the world premiere of Austerity Measures below. 

Ted Hearne's "Coloring Book" On Tour with Roomful of Teeth

by Ted Gordon on Jan. 19, 2017, 3:24 p.m.

Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth is currently touring the country, with stops in Colorado, New Mexico, Washington, DC, Rochester, and many more in between. Their program features Ted Hearne's  Coloring Book, which they commissioned and premiered in 2015. Coloring Book consists of five songs, which set text by Zora Neale Hurston, Claudia Rankine, and James Baldwin.

Hearne's musical and political work is tied deeply to current issues surrounding power, identity, and resistance in contemporary America. After premiering in 2014 at BAM, his ambitious "modern-day oratorio" The Source, which sets texts from Wikileaks and deals with the life of Chelsea Manning, has been performed at the LA Opera, reviewed by Pitchfork, and released as an album on New Amsterdam Records. With Manning's recent presidential pardon by Barack Obama, Hearne's music is more powerful and topical than ever. 

Hearne's music will also be heard at National Sawdust on February 3rd, in an evening of music performed by The Crossing and produced by Beth Morrison Projects. Sound from the Bench collects works by Hearne that set legal and judicial texts to music, directly addressing the affective power that the American justice system has over our everyday lives. Sound from the Bench includes a performance of Hearne's Consent, for 16 voices. An album of Hearne's choral works recorded by The Crossing will be released via Cantaloupe Music on March 24. Check out an excerpt of Consent below.