New Music

The conch shell exemplifies the versatility, sublimity, and transcendence of nature - a natural dwelling, a biological work of art, and, as shown by the City of Tomorrow, an instrument. NATURE, the debut Ravello Records release by the City of Tomorrow wind quintet - consisting of Elise Blatchford, flute; Stuart Breczinski, oboe; Camila Barrientos Ossio, clarinet; Laura Miller, bassoon; and Leander Star, horn - showcases works by four contemporary composers that explore the evolution of humanity's relationship with nature. 

David Lang's breathless illustrates the tireless flow of time - the constant and steady movement of events - each instrument playing the same phrase throughout which overlap and create a continuously evolving unity. The innate balance between order and chaos is portrayed in Luciano Berio's ricorrenze, a piece in which interweaving virtuosic lines are grown from a single unison note, like sprouting from a seed. Inspired by a fantastical encyclopedia of real and imagined animals, "...a certain chinese cyclopaedia..." by Denys Bouliane creates a musical taxonomy of the sounds of bebop à la Charlie Parker, making Darwinian observations about the infinite and complex variations in human-made arts. Nat Evan's Music for Breathing is a foil to the occidental concept that nature is nothing but "beautiful" or "peaceful," emphasizing that nature does not discriminate, all biological events occur without favor. Through their virtuosic interpretations, the City of Tomorrow explores human emotional responses to the ever-changing biosphere and how we find new ways to participate in an awe-inspiring, often turbulent, and always indiscriminate environment.

www.ravellorecords.com/catalog/rr7904/

The City Of Tomorrow - breathless (David Lang)

East Winging It - Ft Black Bear

I developed Who's Exploiting Who collaboratively with the Thin Edge New Music Collective in January and February 2016. There is no written score for the piece, and as a result it relies entirely on the ensemble's collective memory to be realized.

Before each TENMC rehearsal, I corresponded individually with every member of the ensemble via a temporary audio file that I posted privately on soundcloud. These correspondences contained recordings of my voice describing musical parameters, metaphorical text and logistical instructions. During rehearsals, the ensemble patched together a collective understanding of the piece based on their individual memories of the original correspondences. I was not present for rehearsals, thus allowing the resulting constellations of their new insights to supersede my original artistic impulses. 

Who's Exploiting Who is based on one of my favourite songs released in 2015. I fed various musical fragments of the original song through my somewhat scattered memory as well as the (less scattered) memory of the TENMC. The result is (hopefully!) a kaleidoscopic and hallucinogenic exploration of complete musical obsession.

Who's Exploiting Who

Commissioned by the Thin Edge New Music Collective in 2012:
Ilana Waniuk - violin
Cheryl Duvall - piano/ harmonica
Elizabeth Eccleston - english horn
Olaf Szester - marimba, glockenspiel, harmonica

http://www.thethinedgenewmusiccollective.com
http://www.soundcloud.com/thin-edge-collective-1 

Recorded live by John S. Gray at Gallery 345 May 24, 2012

a destination (2012)

The emotional roots of this piece lay in Murphy’s own thoughts about the flaws of society and the arrival of the new millennium in the year 2000. Coming from a century of war and turmoil, from a civilization shaped by generations of hate, Murphy began to think of rage and violence in terms of a poison moving through our society, in the same way that venom, or disease, moves through a human body. 

The single-movement piece is divided into three sections (fast, slow, fast) that unfold over approximately twelve minutes. It opens with an expressive cello solo that gradually climbs to a high C sharp. The rest of the strings enter at this point, providing a shimmering background for the solo oboe. The fast section is frantic and agitated. The final section returns to the material and mood of the first, leaving unanswered the questions that have been raised. 

Instrumentation:
for oboe and string orchestra (min. 43321)   

This work was premiered on May 9, 2000 at CBC's Glenn Gould Studios in Toronto (Canada).

For more information about Kelly-Marie Murphy and her work, please visit our SoundMakers website: http://www.SoundMakers.ca

Who's Exploiting Who

Luke Nickel