ONUTÊ NARBUTAITE - LITHUANIA
BORN 12 JUNE
BORN 12 JUNE
Onutė Narbutaitė is one of only a small number of composers today whose music bears the mark of exceptional individuality and is recognisable from the very first bars of all her compositions. Besides the wide spectrum of various emotional states and feelings in Narbutaitė’s creative work what is also palpable is the sense of aristocratic moderation and a strong compositional discipline which only serve to enhance the emotional impact of the music. However, the constructive origin manifests itself not by systems of organisation of various musical parameters borrowed from others or created by her.
Narbutaitė’s intellectual opuses do not remind one of ‘machine production’ but ‘hand work’ carried out with great precision. The rationality of her composition reveals itself through meticulously detailed textures, the precise proportions of smaller or larger sections and the overall form, as well as the not immediately perceptible interplay of the most minor details. At the same time the abstract musical narrative is extremely expressive, coming into clear relief and often reminiscent of ‘something familiar.’ Perhaps the most apt description of her present work has been provided by the American musicologist Richard Taruskin: ‘Not “tonal”. Not “romantic”. Not “retro”. Consonant.’
♫ LISTEN
MARY JANE LEACH - USA
BORN 12 JUNE
Mary Jane Leach is a composer/performer whose work reveals a fascination with the physicality of sound, its acoustic properties and how they interact with space. In many of her works Leach creates an otherworldly sound environment using difference, combination, and interference tones; these are tones not actually sounded by the performers, but acoustic phenomena arising from Leach’s deft manipulation of intonation and timbral qualities. The result is striking music that has a powerful effect on listeners. Critics have commented on her ability to "offer a spiritual recharge without the banalities of the new mysticism" (Detroit Free Press), evoking "a visionary quest for inner peace" (Vice Versa Magazine), and "an iridescent lingering sense of suspended time." (Musicworks Magazine).
Leach’s music has been performed throughout the world in a variety of settings, from the concert stage to experimental music forums, and in collaboration with dance and theatre artists. She is an accomplished performer in her own right, who has been presented across the United States and Europe, and her works have been performed by many eminent soloists and chamber ensembles, most recently in Europe by Manuel Zurria, Emanuele Arciulli and the Orchestra Sinfonica di Lecce, György Lakatos and Trio Lignum in Hungary, the Flemish Radio Choir, La Gioia, the London Concord Singers, and Vox Feminae (Switzerland). In recent years Leach has received considerable acclaim for her choral music, which is featured on two CD releases on the XI and New World labels. Drawing on inspirations as diverse as Monteverdi, Bruckner, and 14th century Ars Nova, these pieces "enliven a choral repertoire starved for good contemporary work." (Village Voice). Several are published by C.F. Peters.
Leach has been commissioned by many notable ensembles, including Fondazione ICO Tito Schipa, Relâche, The DownTown Ensemble, Newband, and the New York Treble Singers; and by soloists such as Manuel Zurria, Emanuele Arciulli, Sarah Cahill, Guy Klucevsek, Shannon Peet, and Libby Van Cleve. She has received commissions/awards from the New York State Council on the Arts (2007, 1992), Danish Arts Council (2006), National Endowment for the Arts (2005, 1995), New York Foundation for the Arts (2002), International Alliance of Women in Music (2002), American Composers Forum (1995), the NEA (1995), Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust (1993, 1995, 1996), Westdeutscher Rundfunk (1992), and many other funders.
♫ LISTEN
Post Comment
Post a Comment