like nothing else
Anna Thorvaldsdottir (1977-), Enigma (2019); Spektral Quartet (Clara Lyon [violin], Maeve Feinberg [violin], Doyle Armbrust [viola], Russell Rolen [cello]), 2021
Movt. I
Movt. II
Movt. III
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lagniappe
reading table
When I consider
how in this world
all is falling blossom—
what then must become
of this self?—Saigyō (1118-1190), translated from the Japanese by Meredith McKinney
more
Spektral Quartet (Clara Lyon [violin], Maeve Feinberg [violin], Doyle Armbrust [viola], Russell Rolen [cello]): Joseph Haydn, The Seven Last Words of Christ, recorded in Chicago (St. James Cathedral), 3/20/21 (performance begins at 4:00)
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill.
Why not begin the week with something that’s unlike anything you’ve ever heard before?
Nathalie Joachim (vocals, flute, electronics, compositions, arrangements) and Spektral Quartet, Fanm d’Ayiti (Women of Haiti), live (with recorded voices), New York (Kaufman Music Center), 2019
Composer/performer Nathalie Joachim and Spektral Quartet perform Joachim’s Fanm d’Ayiti (Women of Haiti), an evening-length work for voice, flute, string quartet and electronics. A celebration of some of Haiti’s most iconic yet under recognized female artists as well as an exploration of Joachim’s Haitian heritage, Fanm d’Ayiti features original songs incorporating the recorded voices of Joachim’s grandmother and the girls’ choir of her family’s home farming village of Dantan; new arrangements of songs by some of the greatest known female voices in Haitian history; and recorded interviews with these artists about their lives fighting for social justice and uplifting the people of Haiti.
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random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
sounds of Haiti and Chicago
Nathalie Joachim (vocals, electronics) with Spektral Quartet, “Papa Loco” (trad.), live (studio), New York, published 10/29/19
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
She cries. Oh no. Oh no no no.
—Eimear McBride, A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing
what’s new
Miguel Zenón (alto saxophone, compositions) featuring Spektral Quartet, live (“Rosario,” “Milagrosa,” “Villabeño”), Washington, D.C., 1/4/19
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lagniappe
reading table
thin wall—
from the mouse’s hole
the cold—Kobayashi Issa, 1763-1827 (translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue)