New Dessner works feature on two albums this May
28th April 2015
Music for Wood and Strings is one of Dessner’s most ambitious pieces thus far. It is 35 minutes in length and performed with a new instrument a ‘chordstick’- a dulcimer/electric cross designed by Aron Sanchez specifically for this work. The effect of this new instrument is as versatile as it is unique. The format of the CD is sensitive to the needs of a modern, technology and media-centred audience. Dessner’s second solo album is divided in ten tracks: whereas the tenth contains Music for Wood and Strings in its entirety, the first nine divide the composition into smaller sections perfect for sharing on social media and embedding.
“Field Recordings builds a bridge between the seen and the unseen, the present and absent, the future and the past, all channeled through the virtuosity and force of the electric Bang on a Can All-Stars.”
David Lang – Bang on a Can
Ban on a Can All-Stars have received fantastic reviews following a series of live performances of their Field Recordings project in 2013. David Lang, co-founder of the group, describes the album as ‘a kind of ghost story. We asked composers from different parts of the music world to find a recording of something that already exists — a voice, a sound, a faded scrap of melody — and then write a new piece around it’. Bryce Dessner, commissioned by the hugely enigmatic group, drew upon a recording of Charles Olson reading a poem by his own hand, Maximus to Gloucester, Letter 27. Olson’s powerful and mesmerising words form the centre of Dessner’s equally mesmerising minimalist composition written for bass clarinet, vibraphone, piano, electric guitar, cello and double bass. Having received very successful premieres in Holland and Poland, Bryce’s Letter 27 will be available to purchase on CD and download online with additional DVD footage of the live performance which displays the projection of Olson’s reading.
To pre-order Field Recordings by Bang on a Can All-Stars through Amazon follow this link.
To pre-order Music for Wood and Strings through Amazon follow this link.
