David Lang: Writing on Water Synergy Vocals & London Sinfonietta

• 1 Writing on Water 29:21
• 2 Forced March 10:33
• 3 Increase 10:15
• 4 Pierced (Version for 8 Players) 14:33
• Total Runtime 01:04:42

Info for David Lang: Writing on Water

Compiling four pieces for four different ensembles, David Lang’s "writing on water" is a free-flowing recording that presents several unusual and rarely revealed facets of the composer who is perhaps most well-known for his monumental choral works (the Pulitzer-winning "the little match girl passion" and the more recent epic "the national anthems"), as well as his poignant song cycles ("death speaks" and "love fail").

From the struggle between dissonance and melody portrayed in “pierced” to the sweeping, oceanic scope of the title piece, the music defines a path that can be as serpentine as it is rigid (“forced march”) or as minimal as it is immense. Riveting performances by Alarm Will Sound, Real Quiet, Crash Ensemble, the London Sinfonietta, Synergy Vocals and more make writing on water an electrifying, free-spirited and rambunctious addition to the Cantaloupe catalog.

Synergy Vocals & London Sinfonietta
Crash Ensemble
Alarm Will Sound
Real Quiet & Flux Quartet

David Lang
is one of the most highly esteemed and performed American composers writing today. His works have been performed around the world in most of the great concert halls.

Lang’s simple song #3, written as part of his score for Paolo Sorrentino’s acclaimed film Youth, received many honors in 2016, including Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Critics Choice nominations, among others.

Lang’s the little match girl passion won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Commissioned by Carnegie Hall and based on a fable by Hans Christian Andersen and Lang’s own rewriting of the libretto to Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, the recording of the piece was awarded a 2010 Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance. Lang has also been the recipient of the Rome Prize, Le Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, and Musical America’s 2013 Composer of the Year. Lang’s tenure as Carnegie Hall’s 2013–2014 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair saw his critically acclaimed festival collected stories showcase different modes of storytelling in music.

Recent premieres include his opera the loser, which opened the 2016 Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and for which Lang served as composer, librettist and stage director, the public domain for 1000 singers at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, his chamber opera anatomy theater at Los Angeles Opera and at the Prototype Festival in New York, and the concerto man made for the ensemble So Percussion and a consortium of orchestras, including the BBC Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

In addition to his work as a composer, Lang is Artist in Residence at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and is a Professor of Composition at the Yale School of Music.

Lang is co-founder and co-artistic director of New York's legendary music collective Bang on a Can. His music is published by Red Poppy Music (ASCAP) and is distributed worldwide by G. Schirmer, Inc.

Synergy Vocals
is a unique pool of voices covering a broad spectrum of musical genres and working primarily on microphone. Providing bespoke teams of vocalists for amplified concerts, recordings and soundtracks, Synergy Vocals has, over 15 years, earned a worldwide reputation for excellence.Blend of sound is one of our primary concerns, so that we are never simply a disparate group of session singers. Bearing in mind that every singer has a distinct individual timbre, combinations of voices are selected extremely carefully in order to achieve the specific vocal sound required for each project. We take the time to liaise with composers and conductors to establish exactly what sound they have in mind. Our in-house director, Micaela Haslam, then works with each team to achieve that sound prior to the first general rehearsal.All our singers are accomplished, versatile musicians, renowned for their professionalism, enthusiasm (and rhythm!) Whilst having the flexibility of an unlimited pool of singers, our aim is always to generate the team-spirit of a fixed ensemble through enjoyment, commitment and hard work.We also take pride in our efficient administration. Our wealth of experience guarantees a smooth-running and stress-free working environment.

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