Composer/keyboardist/producer Elodie Lauten creates operas, music for dance and theatre, orchestral, chamber and instrumental music. Not a household name, she is however widely recognized by historians as a leading figure of post-minimalism and a force on the new music scene, with 20 releases on a number of labels.
Her opera Waking in New York, Portrait of Allen Ginsberg was presented by the New York City Opera (2004 VOX and Friends) in May 2004, after being released on 4Tay, following three well-received productions. OrfReo, a new opera for Baroque ensemble was premiered at Merkin Hall by the Queen's Chamber Band, whose New Music Alive CD (released on Capstone in 2004) includes Lauten's The Architect. The Orfreo CD was released in December 2004 on Studio 21. In September 2004 Lauten was composer-in-residence at Hope College, MI. Lauten's Symphony 2001, was premiered in February 2003 by the SEM Orchestra in New York. In 1999, Lauten's Deus ex Machina Cycle for voices and Baroque ensemble (4Tay) received strong critical acclaim in the US and Europe. Lauten's Variations On The Orange Cycle (Lovely Music, 1998) was included in Chamber Music America's list of 100 best works of the 20th century.
Born in Paris, France, she was classically trained as a pianist since age 7. She received a Master's in composition from New York University where she studied Western composition with Dinu Ghezzo and Indian classical music with Ahkmal Parwez. Daughter of jazz pianist/drummer Errol Parker, she is also a fluent improviser. She became an American citizen in 1984 and has lived in New York since the early seventies
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Friday, May 22, 2009
Nick Hallett's Whispering Exercises
Yesterday I was at the New Museum on the Bowery in the all-white (from seats to walls) auditorium downstairs, enjoying the sounds of Nick Hallet’s Whispering Exercises which staged four singers and a harpist (all young women) as if sitting on a cloud, surrounded by quickly evolving and contrasting light projections all around the theater’s inviting walls. With some of the tunes, one felt surrounded by nearly angelic sounds but there was an edge in the occasional slight dissonance, or the directness and simplicity of the vocal work, or the constrasting passages where the roar of an old analog synth or quietly cycling arpeggiator brought a man-machine element. In Nick Hallett’s through-composed world, the sweetness and the rumble get along and share the same universe, which adds a spiritual dimension to the statement; and one is aurally delighted and comfortable within a clearly defined, accessible esthetic. The piece, a work in progress to be completed by next year and presented at The Kitchen, weaves the stasis of whispers and breathing sounds that recur throughout, with short tunes with tonal vocal harmonies, sometimes reminiscent of early music, but beyond the purity of the voices there was the memory of rock music. The performers, Daisy Press, Rachel Henry, Katie Eastburn, and Rachel Mason (voices) and harpist Shelley Burgon were compelling and so were the visuals created by Seth Kirby and Brock Monroe. The music was wonderfully refreshing and reaching for its very own language beyond tonal minimalism.
Nick Hallett is continuing his residency at the New Museum for one more week with Voice and Light Systems Part Four: Auroville on Thursday May 28 at 7pm, a multimedia “ritual” inspired by Sri Aurobindo featuring Seth Kirby and Ana Matronic.
Visit: Newmuseum.org/eventsLabels: http://www.newmuseum.org/events
posted by Elodie Lauten
9:49 AM
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