EILEEN CLARK & MATT HAIMOVITZ: Lemons Descending

Eileen Clark & Matt Haimovitz

Lemons Descending

© 2002 Oxingale Records (800658200124)

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A chant-infused journey of spiritual and sensual music for voice and cello.

tracks

1 Slice for Saint Ursula (excerpt)
2 Bachianas Braileiras No. 5: Aria
3 Bachianas Braileiras No. 5: Dansa
4 Akhmatova Songs: Dante
5 Akhmatova Songs: Pushkin & Lermontov
6 Akhmatova Songs: Boris Pasternak
7 Akhmatova Songs: Couplet
8 Akhmatova Songs: The Muse
9 Akhmatova Songs: Death
10 Three Songs After Emily Dickinson: I heard...
11 Three Songs After Emily Dickinson: I taste...
12 Three Songs After Emily Dickinson: Hope...
13 Epithalamion
14 The Child Lived
15 Ode to the Lemon
16 Slice for Saint Ursula

notes

In this album, the common thread of voice and cello conjures a contemporary musical world rooted in the traditions of a millennium. Soprano Eileen Clark and cellist Matt Haimovitz perform the recital ranging from an Hildegard Von Bingen arrangement to John Tavener's "Ahkmatova Songs", from a first recording of Luna Pearl Woolf's "Epithalamion" to Heitor Villa-Lobos' beloved "Bachianas Brasileirsas No. 5" in which Haimovitz has overlaid all the parts in the eight-cello orchestra. Also included in this chant-infused collection is original improvisation on Pablo Neruda's eponymous poem, "Ode to the Lemon." The album features original artwork by Michael Kuch in a multi-panel eco-friendly package with accompanying booklet of the poetry.

About Lemons Descending and the Fine-Art Book:

The breadth and beauty of the poetry set in these pieces inspired a fine-art book entitled Lemons Descending: Music, Poetry, Etchings, from Oxingale Press. With this recording as its seed and poetry letterpress printed on hand-made paper, the book features the etchings of Michael Kuch, whose interpretations create a visual counterpoint to the compositions.

"'Lemons Descending,' soprano Eileen Clark and cellist Matt Haimovitz (Oxingale Records, www.oxingale.com): The unorthodox title gives you a hint of the unusual repertoire presented here, by the highly regarded soprano (she is most famous for her vocal work with the Mark Morris Dance Group). Clark's clear, eloquent voice is a great partner for the flexible and lyrical cello of Haimovitz, who matches her pitch-for-pitch in the ethereal medieval lines of the Hildegard of Bingen tracks, and provides compelling accompaniments in everything from the contemporary John Tavener songs to a quirkily improvisatory "Ode to the Lemon" (based on a Neruda poem). On the more traditional side is the often-heard "Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5" of Villa-Lobos, with Haimovitz recording all eight cello parts. It's all decidedly different, and well worth a listen."
--The Seattle Times

"AN IDIOSYNCRATIC RECITAL SPANNING TIME AND STYLES TO GOOD EFFECT. On a purely musical level, Lemons Descending proves to be exactly the kind of project a major label wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole, and exactly the kind of focused artistic statement that artist-led labels should provide...We have an unusual recording by artists who have found music that works for them, presenting it in a way that effectively transcends differences of gender, time and place."
--Gramophone

"Lemons Descending is meant to be looked at, to be touched and to be listened to - all at once. This cohesive multimedia collector's item deserves savoring. The Tavener pieces, hauntingly spiritual, reveal how the composer's mid-life conversion to the Russian Orthodox faith influenced his work, while Woolf's harmonic language brilliantly underscores the emotionally charged words of the wedding blessing "Epithalamion." Haimovitz's and Clark's improvisation on Pablo Neruda's poem, "Ode to the Lemon," epitomizes the way in which elements of sight and sound work together in Lemons Descending. Neither Haimovitz nor Clark, a versatile singer who collaborates on creative projects in both classical and popular genres, misses a chance to use the music to reinforce the visual punch in Neruda's words."
- Advocate Newspapers

More About Lemons Descending and the Fine-Art Book:

To view the fine-art book, Lemons Descending: Music, Poetry, Etchings, please visit one of the following rare book collections that have acquired a limited-edition copy:

Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
Yale University, New Haven, CT
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Brown University, Providence, RI
La Jolla Athenaeum, La Jolla, CA
UC San Diego, San Diego, CA
Scripps College, Claremont, CA
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Dartmouth College, Hannover, NH
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
University of Illinois, Champagne, IL

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