"The Land Of Silence" was commissioned by and is dedicated to Kimberley Lynch & Adrian Foster, who gave the work its first performance on 30 May 2021 in a concert broadcast from the majestic church of Saints-Anges Gardiens de Lachine in Montréal, Canada. 

The work is a setting for amplified soprano, live electronics & organ of the 1896 poem 'Beata Solitudo' by Ernest Dowson (1867 - 1900).

Beata Solitudo

What land of Silence,
   Where pale stars shine
On apple-blossom
   And dew-drenched vine,
   Is yours and mine?

The silent valley
   That we will find,
Where all the voices
   Of humankind
   Are left behind.

There all forgetting,
   Forgotten quite,
We will repose us,
   With our delight
   Hid out of sight.

The world forsaken,
   And out of mind
Honour and labour,
   We shall not find
   The stars unkind.

And men shall travail,
   And laugh and weep;
But we have vistas
   Of gods asleep,
   With dreams as deep.

A land of Silence,
   Where pale stars shine
On apple-blossoms
   And dew-drenched vine,
   Be yours and mine!

THE LAND OF SILENCE(2021)

Crossed Horizonts-M.Bonaventure & Loo(p)cy

This track is dedicated to the writer and artist Psymon Marshall who passed away in November 2021.

PORTALS (2021) - In memory of Psymon Marshall

In Frozen Imagination (2022)
by Adrian Foster

Adrian Foster, organ (with live electronics)
Recorded at the Sacré-Cœur-de-Jésus, Montréal in March 2022

In Frozen Imagination (2022)

Organ + fixed media electronics piece incorporating vocal and pipe organ sampled sounds with heavy distortion.

OGRAL (2022-3)

THE SONORITY CABINET VII
The 'MAGIC CABINET'

Michael Bonaventure, organ/piano
Grote Kerk, Oosthuizen, The Netherlands
September 28, 2023

The MUIZ Collective (Michael Bonaventure & Luiz Henrique Yudo) this year presented the seventh edition of THE SONORITY CABINET, 'The MAGIC CABINET', once again in the magnificent Grote Kerk in Oosthuizen, The Netherlands, with its magickal late 14th Century organ and fine, glowing acoustic. The programme was a musical journey through the realms of magic, imaginary worlds, illusion, spells, sacred geometry, mysterious codes, folk magic and mythical creatures. There were new compositions for organ, piano & electronics by Michael Bonaventure, Luiz Henrique Yudo and guest composers Huw Morgan (UK), Lauren Redhead (UK) and Adrian Foster (Canada). Complementing these works was music by Guillaume de Machaut, anonymous 14th & 16th Century pieces and a Traditional Scottish melody arranged for the organ. 

Playlist:
00:03 - Huw Morgan - from Book Of Spells (2023): no. 4 (for love) *  
05:08 - Lauren Redhead - Curse tablets (2022)    
11:58 -  Huw Morgan - from Book Of Spells: no. 3 (for immortality) *   
15:00 - Attr. Thomas Preston (1542-63) - Uppon La, Mi, Re   
18:02 - Guillaume de Machaut - Ma fin est mon commencement    
19:38 - Huw Morgan - from Book Of Spells: nr. 5 (for protection) *    
25:24 - Anon. c. 1320 Robertsbridge Codex - Estampie I    
27:16 -  Michael Bonaventure - NUMEN (2023) *    
35:51 - Trad. Scottish - The Magic Glen    
41:10 -  Luiz Henrique Yudo - ESCHER'S RELATIVITY I    *    
43:57 - Luiz Henrique Yudo - ESCHER'S RELATIVITY II   *    
48:04 - Luiz Henrique Yudo - ESCHER'S RELATIVITY III. *   
52:22 - Luiz Henrique Yudo - ESCHER'S RELATIVITY IV. *   
1:02:08 - Adrian Foster - V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (2023) *   
1:08:57 - Anon. ca. 1320 Robertsbridge Codex - Estampie 'Retrové'

* world première performance

THE SONORITY CABINET VII - The MAGIC CABINET (2023)

'Les Faibles lumières du lointain,' for organ and electronics
Composed and performed by Adrian Foster

« Oui, l'empire est malade et, ce qui est pire, il essaie de s'habituer à ses plaies. Telle est la conclusion de mes explorations : examinant les traces de bonheur qu’on peut encore apercevoir, j’en mesure la rareté. Si tu veux savoir quelle ombre il y a autour de toi, fixe des yeux les faibles lumières du lointain. »
(Italo Calvino - Les Villes invisibles)

Live performance at Earth World Collaborative's concert 'Soluble Cities,' February 29, 2020, at the Gesù in Montréal
Image: Joel Peters

Les Faibles Lumières du lointain (2020)

FAREWELL FROM  THE SATELLITE

Adrian Foster is a composer and organist based in Montréal, Québec. He is cofounder and co-artistic director of Earth World Collaborative, where he pursues innovative collaborations through immersive story concerts and a wide array of satellite projects, featuring music, film, literature, and art.

Les Faibles Lumières du lointain (2020)

Adrian Foster

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