Arcade Fire Member's Composer Debut on 180g Vinyl Double LP!
Music for Heart and Breath is Richard Reed Parry´s debut as classical composer. Richard is mostly known from the Grammy Nominated Uber Indie Rock Band Arcade Fire.
Richard is a multi-instrumentalist and composer, drawing his influences from classical music, folk and electronica. This is his first core classical release that will find his home at Deutsche Grammophon!
The album features various compositions for Heart and Breath for various ensembles, as well as small interludes (Interruptions). The concept behind Heart and Breath is that every musician involved in the piece generates his own tempo by listening to his/her pulse during the performance. Fragile and intimate, these stunningly created performance effects are the basis for this conceptual compositional approach.
Richard explains:
"Music for Heart and Breath is a series of compositions that use involuntarily moving organs of the human body (specifically the lungs and the heart) as performance parameters. There are no time signatures: the tempos and rhythms are always governed by either the heart rates or the breathing rates of the individual players. In the case of the latter, the performers are instructed to play directly in sync with their own or another players individual breathing (playing at the speed of their inhalations, their exhalations or both). To enable the players to hear and play in sync with their own heartbeats, they wear stethoscopes and, naturally, generally play quietly."
The music is performed by an exciting line-up of musicians, produced by Nico Muhly (conductor, celeste, piano), Bryce & Aaron Dessner (guitar) from The National, Kronos Quartet, and the ensemble Ymusic.
"Still, Parry doesn't sound precisely like anyone else, either, and for an initial attempt this is pretty impressive...some of the textures -- hear the glissandi in the concerto-like For heart, breath, and orchestra (track 3) -- are quite evocative. The whole thing succeeds as a sort of night music, and Parry's engineering team, sending the music rock-style among several different studios, gets superb results." -James Manheim, allmusic.com
Features:
180g Vinyl
Double LP
Includes voucher for free download
Musicians:
Bryce Dessner, guitar
Aaron Dessner, guitar
Kronos Quartet
yMusic ensemble
Nadia Sirota, viola
Richard Reed Parry, double bass, piano
Caroline Shaw, violin
Yuki Numata, violin
Courtney Orlando, violin
Annaliesa Place, violin
Caleb Burhans, viola
Clarice Jensen, cello
Brian Snow, cello
Shawn Conley, double bass
Amelia Lukas, flute, piccolo
Arthur Sato, oboe
Hideaki Aomori, clarinet
Nico Muhly, conductor, celesta, piano
Selections:
LP 1 - Side A:
1. Quartet for Heart and Breath
2. Heart and Breath Sextet
LP 1 - Side B:
1. For Heart, Breath and Orchestra
LP 2 - Side A:
1-6. Interruptions I-VII (Heart and Breath Nonet)
LP 2 - Side B:
1. Duet for Heart and Breath
2. Quartet for Heart and Breath (for Kronos)
3. Interruption VII: Freeform Winds Only (Bonus Track)
Music for Heart and Breath is Richard Reed Parry´s debut as classical composer. Richard is mostly known from the Grammy Nominated Uber Indie Rock Band Arcade Fire.
Richard is a multi-instrumentalist and composer, drawing his influences from classical music, folk and electronica. This is his first core classical release that will find his home at Deutsche Grammophon!
The album features various compositions for Heart and Breath for various ensembles, as well as small interludes (Interruptions). The concept behind Heart and Breath is that every musician involved in the piece generates his own tempo by listening to his/her pulse during the performance. Fragile and intimate, these stunningly created performance effects are the basis for this conceptual compositional approach.
Richard explains:
"Music for Heart and Breath is a series of compositions that use involuntarily moving organs of the human body (specifically the lungs and the heart) as performance parameters. There are no time signatures: the tempos and rhythms are always governed by either the heart rates or the breathing rates of the individual players. In the case of the latter, the performers are instructed to play directly in sync with their own or another players individual breathing (playing at the speed of their inhalations, their exhalations or both). To enable the players to hear and play in sync with their own heartbeats, they wear stethoscopes and, naturally, generally play quietly."
The music is performed by an exciting line-up of musicians, produced by Nico Muhly (conductor, celeste, piano), Bryce & Aaron Dessner (guitar) from The National, Kronos Quartet, and the ensemble Ymusic.
"Still, Parry doesn't sound precisely like anyone else, either, and for an initial attempt this is pretty impressive...some of the textures -- hear the glissandi in the concerto-like For heart, breath, and orchestra (track 3) -- are quite evocative. The whole thing succeeds as a sort of night music, and Parry's engineering team, sending the music rock-style among several different studios, gets superb results." -James Manheim, allmusic.com
Features:
180g Vinyl
Double LP
Includes voucher for free download
Musicians:
Bryce Dessner, guitar
Aaron Dessner, guitar
Kronos Quartet
yMusic ensemble
Nadia Sirota, viola
Richard Reed Parry, double bass, piano
Caroline Shaw, violin
Yuki Numata, violin
Courtney Orlando, violin
Annaliesa Place, violin
Caleb Burhans, viola
Clarice Jensen, cello
Brian Snow, cello
Shawn Conley, double bass
Amelia Lukas, flute, piccolo
Arthur Sato, oboe
Hideaki Aomori, clarinet
Nico Muhly, conductor, celesta, piano
Selections:
LP 1 - Side A:
1. Quartet for Heart and Breath
2. Heart and Breath Sextet
LP 1 - Side B:
1. For Heart, Breath and Orchestra
LP 2 - Side A:
1-6. Interruptions I-VII (Heart and Breath Nonet)
LP 2 - Side B:
1. Duet for Heart and Breath
2. Quartet for Heart and Breath (for Kronos)
3. Interruption VII: Freeform Winds Only (Bonus Track)
