"Scintillator" in a new voice
It is so remarkable to hear my older music through fresh ears!
Since 2009, "Scintillator" for solo singer (text by email spambot) has been the domain of Kristin Mueller-Heaslip, who not only premiered and toured the piece, but received the spam email at its heart.
Then soprano Heather Pawsey took "Scintillator" and made it her own, for Redshift Music Society's UNACCOMPANIED video series. Hers is a grounded interpretation with surprising suddenness in the transitions - bringing out the beauty of the spam-wrought lines, then teleporting somewhere impossible…
It is so remarkable to hear my older music through fresh ears!
Since 2009, "Scintillator" for solo singer (text by email spambot) has been the domain of Kristin Mueller-Heaslip, who not only premiered and toured the piece, but received the spam email at its heart.
Last year we released my debut album (*ahem* https://bit.ly/SmallDistantWorld-Bandcamp) which included a new electronic "Scintillator" with multiple Kristins in deep space with artsy techy help from Paul Talbott (it's also on the latest Redshift Records compilation *ahem* https://redshiftmusicsociety.bandcamp.com/album/redshift-xx).
So my ears have long been attuned to Kristin's voice(s) and choices, and Kristin's choices and my choices had become entwined and canonical.
Then soprano Heather Pawsey took "Scintillator" and made it her own, for Redshift Music Society's UNACCOMPANIED video series. Hers is a grounded interpretation with surprising suddenness in the transitions - bringing out the beauty of the spam-wrought lines, then teleporting somewhere impossible. It's so nice to have this piece, which I thought I knew so well, tickle my brain again!
Thanks to Redshift and Canadian Music Centre BC for this great showcase series. I'm also tickled to be in this gallery of astounding Canadian composers and solo performers.
gibbons vs Gibbons - hilarious new music video released!
Swoop-ga-woop!
Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra just shared a hilarious new music video of my piece "gibbons vs Gibbons" starring the Odin Quartet.
Alex Toškov (who also edited the video) and Tanya Charles Iveniuk struggle to play through a viol duet by English Renaissance composer Orlando Gibbons, as a pair of white-cheeked gibbon apes (voiced on cello and viola by Samuel Bisson and Veronica Lee) sing, swoop down and swat them. See my full program notes below the video…
Swoop-ga-woop!
Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra just shared a hilarious new music video of my piece "gibbons vs Gibbons" starring the Odin Quartet.
Alex Toškov (who also edited the video) and Tanya Charles Iveniuk struggle to play through a viol duet by English Renaissance composer Orlando Gibbons, as a pair of white-cheeked gibbon apes (voiced on cello and viola by Samuel Bisson and Veronica Lee) sing, swoop down and swat them. See my full program notes below the video…
All season, the SPO has been releasing music videos in their Performance Series. In May some of these are pieces that will be included on the Odin Quartet's debut album later this year - which will feature "gibbons vs Gibbons" alongside premiere recordings of music Samuel Bisson,
Bruno Degazio, Chris Meyer, Elizabeth Raum, Ron Royer, and Kevin Zi-Xiao He among other Canadian composers!
Programme notes
gibbons vs. Gibbons is one of those pieces that started as a title. I was thinking that it was funny that there is an English Renaissance composer named Orlando Gibbons, since gibbons are also a kind of ape. The most wonderful kind of ape!
Watching them swing and play at the Toronto zoo, and listening to recordings of the whooping-swooping duets of white-cheeked gibbons online, I wondered what would happen if these apes encountered their namesake composer. In my piece, the viola and cello (the gibbons) keep swinging playfully down to bother the violins (attempting to perform a duet by Gibbons), causing unexpected problems in the music.
Eventually, apes and musicians find a way to play together for the final cadence - and a whooping finish! "gibbons vs. Gibbons" is dedicated to these endangered primates who give the world a music of their own.
-- AE
(Re)watch the Album Launch!
Alex’s debut album “A Present From a Small Distant World” is now OUT and available!
To celebrate, we held a Virtual Album Launch Party online on Sunday Feb 21.
The event included filmed performances by Kristin Mueller-Heaslip and Jennifer Tran, a new music video of the title track, and chats with everyone who worked on the album.
The complete hour-long event is now available to watch at your leisure on Youtube!
A Present From a Small Distant World is OUT and available!
To celebrate the release of Alex’s debut album, we held a Virtual Album Launch Party online on Sunday Feb 21.
The event included filmed performances by Kristin Mueller-Heaslip and Jennifer Tran, a new music video of the title track, and chats with everyone who worked on the album.
The complete hour-long event is now available to watch at your leisure on Youtube!
"gibbons vs. Gibbons" - listen to a recording of the Odin Quartet premiere
The Odin String Quartet premiered gibbons vs. Gibbons on March 1 at Array Space in Toronto.
Not only did they capture the sound of singing gibbon apes in their tone, and the finicky string effects needed to create the sense of Renaissance music (by Orlando Gibbons, naturally) being swatted around by these mischievous primates, but they made it funny!
The Odin String Quartet premiered gibbons vs. Gibbons on March 1 at Array Space in Toronto.
Not only did they capture the sound of singing gibbon apes in their tone, and the finicky string effects needed to create the sense of Renaissance music (by Orlando Gibbons, naturally) being swatted around by these mischievous primates, but they made it funny!
This piece is planned for professional recording by the Odin Quartet for their all-Canadian debut album, in the coming year.
Listen to gibbons vs. Gibbons on my SoundCloud channel:
New commission by the Toronto Consort - a music-theatre piece about astronomer Tycho Brahe
Alex Eddington has been commissioned by the Toronto Consort to write both the libretto and music for a theatrical piece about the delirious final moments of the life of Tycho Brahe, the eccentric astronomer.
Thanks to the generous support of the Ontario Arts Council - Conseil des arts de l'Ontario, a long-dreamt-of project with the Toronto Consort is going ahead!
Alex Eddington will be writing both the libretto and music for a theatrical piece about the delirious final moments of the life of Tycho Brahe, the eccentric astronomer. The working title is Tycho Brahe and the Egocentric Model of the Universe.
The piece will be unstaged - more like a musical audio drama than an opera - and will feature Renaissance instrument and vocal specialists (including cimbalom... the story is set around Prague).
Performance dates to be announced, but the plan is for 2020.