Ashlee Mack has just posted a performance video of my Bagatelle for Solo Piano. It is one in a set of three, the others being for alto flute and then a duo for alto flute and piano. You can stream or purchase a studio recording of the whole set via the Bandcamp embed below.
Category: CD preview
Hugar – “Enigma” (Video)
Today the Icelandic duo Hugar released their video for “Enigma.” Featuring previously unseen footage by Woody Valuska, it previews The Vasulka Effect: Music from the Motion Picture, out October 2nd on Sony Music Masterworks.
Andy Kozar: A Few Kites (CD Preview)
On Friday, Andy Kozar released A Few Kites, a trumpet and electronics solo album on New Focus Recordings. It features works by Paula Matthusen, Ken Ueno, Scott Worthington, Eve Beglarian, and others. A plethora of extended techniques, including deconstructing the instrument itself, are pitted against imaginative electroacoustic vistas. Recommended.
Kate NV – Marafon 15 (Audio)
Kate NV’s next recording, Room for the Moon, will be out on RVNG Intl. on June 12th. The Moscow based artist’s use of minimal grooves has become more fluid, with an assured hand at layering different textures. We have included two teaser tracks via Soundcloud here.
On behalf of Kate NV, a portion of proceeds from this release will benefit Mama Cash, an international fund that supports female-identifying, trans and intersex people’s movements around the world, as a part of our Come! Mend! initiative.
Track of the Day: Section of Music for 18 – solo!
Erik Hall has made a recording of Steve Reich’s Music for Eighteen Musicians – by himself. Created before social distancing, it still seems to be in step with the solitariness of pandemic time.
The recording will be released on May 8th via Western Vinyl.
Track of the Day: “Kraftwerk in a Blackout
The official video for Magnetic Fields‘ “Kraftwerk in a Blackout” is out today. It is a teaser track for Quickies, a collection of short songs slated for release on May 15th via Nonesuch.
Track of the Day: “Empty Quarter”
Golden Retriever and guitarist Chuck Johnson have joined forces on the Thrill Jockey album Rain Shadow (out May 25th). Today the trio release a teaser track, clocking in at nearly an album side of new music, titled “Empty Quarter.”
CD Preview: Jeff Parker “Suite for Max Brown”
Celebrating a new partnership between Nonesuch and International Anthem, two of the gold standard labels for adventurous music, January 24 will see the release of Jeff Parker and the New Breed’s Suite for Max Brown. Combining samples, some decidedly old school in origin, and exploratory improvisation, the music makes connections to Parker’s long tenure in Tortoise while adding still more depth to his musical profile.
Listeners will doubtless wonder: who is Max Brown? Parker’s mother’s maiden name was Maxine Brown, but her nickname is Max. The New Breed band name comes from the name of a store owned by Parker’s late father. Thus, the entire project is enacted as a tribute to family. The suite is Parker’s most personal, musically potent, statement to date.
Two new recordings feature Carey compositions; new choral pieces
Out on Friday, December 6th, via New Focus Recordings, Wendy Richman’s Vox/Viola recording includes a piece I wrote for her in 2010, “He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven.” The CD significantly enlarges the repertoire for singing violists, with pieces by Ken Ueno, Everette Minchew, Arlene Sierra, Jason Eckardt, and others.
Recently released on Westminster Choir College’s label, Composers at Westminster features music by five faculty composers: Joel Phillips, Stefan Young, Jay Kawarsky, Ronald Hemmel, and myself. Westminster Kantorei, conducted by Amanda Quist, recorded two of my Magnificat Antiphons for the project. Soprano Victoria Browers and pianist J.J. Penna recorded three of my Jane Kenyon Songs for the recording as well. It is available to stream/download on all major platforms (such as Presto Classical).
In other news, Joe Miller commissioned a Psalm 96 setting from me for Westminster Choir, to celebrate the ensemble’s centennial in 2020. It has received three East Coast performances, will be performed at Westminster’s homecoming concert, and then will be programmed on the choir’s West Coast tour in early 2020.
The Princeton Packet previewed the concert and then reviewed the concert.
” For its 100th anniversary season, the Choir commissioned Westminster Choir College professor Christian Carey for a new work; his setting of Psalm 96 (“Sing to the Lord a new song”) was fitting for the occasion both in text and music. Receiving its second performance in this concert, Carey’s piece pays tribute to Westminster Choir’s rich tradition of church music and showed off well the Choir’s well-blended sound and ability to shift harmonies smoothly. “
- Nancy Plum, Princeton Packet, November 13, 2019.
I’m currently at work on a short choral piece for Manhattan Choral Ensemble, to celebrate the group’s twentieth anniversary. My wife, Kay Mitchell, has written the lyrics.
Six Organs of Admittance – “Two Forms Moving”
Six Organs of Admittance releases Companion Rises, their first full length in three years, on February 21, 2020 via Drag City Records. The band has shared a teaser track on various digital platforms, titled “Two Forms Moving.” Great loping rhythm guitar line here Offset by strings and overdubbed backing singers, the lead vocal is gently paced: a dash of indie meeting a slab of folk. A vibrant lead guitar solo pushes the track into effervescent terrain.
