these intervals matter - Katherine Balch
Вставка
- Опубліковано 17 жов 2024
- My friend, the wonderful composer Katherine Balch (www.katherineb...), composed this gorgeous self-accompanied work for me, and I'm delighted to release this very intimate at-home performance. The vocals, glasses, gravel, and video footage were recorded by myself, and my very talented friend, Enrico Lagasa, mixed the sound and edited the video.
Katie and I first talked about this piece last summer when I reached out to her and asked if she had any unaccompanied works for soprano. At that point, I still had no idea when live performance would again be possible and I had entertained the idea of putting together a completely acapella or self-accompanied recital. Katie generously offered to compose a short piece for me, and we settled on using the text from E. M. Forster's "What I believe." To me, this extraordinary essay felt extremely relevant to the horrible uncertainty, fear, confusion, and despair we all felt over the summer of 2020. As using the entire essay would have been far beyond the scope of the short piece that we envisioned, Katie used a black-out poetry technique to select certain words and phrases from the text. She created an exquisite setting for the poem accompanied by five pitched wine glasses with waves of delicate crunching gravel in the sound scape. As you can hear, the piece requires a demanding wide range, and also some extended vocal technique. The quiet, interjected sounds are phrases that are taken from the text, transcribed into only consonant or exaggerated glottal effects. As a performer, I choose to view them almost as distant radio signals that echo, amplify, and comment upon the sung text. They blend in and out of the vocal line, and mesh into the quiet static of the gravel providing another secret level of subtext.
Such a personal collaboration required (in my opinion) a personal and intimate performance. It felt right to record in a quiet corner of my apartment, looking out of the window, as I have spent so much time doing so during this difficult year. I love the message of tender hope and appreciation for creativity, and kindness woven through the text. Many thanks to Katie for her beautiful vision, and Enrico, for helping to bring this recording to completion.
Website: www.NolaRichardson.com
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congratulations, it's my favorite interpretation on UA-cam!!!
Captivating composition and committed, colorful performance. Bravi.
Totally fresh! Like a fresh squeezed Orange.
❤️
So beautiful! I love this piece, and your lovely performance.
Beautifully performed. A very interesting composition that left me spellbound and wanting more.
Thank you.
Thank you so much!
Beautiful composition and rendition!
Your music is so beautiful ,and you as well , thanks
This is gorgeous, Nola. Breathtaking. ❤️
Thanks so much! Looking forward to singing with you again!
Bravo Nola I love this - your range and those vocal-izations (?) I also wanted more
Peace Hal
Oh my word! I knew you back when you were Maria in West Side Story (high school) Super cool to see that you kept singing! You're so good!
Oh thanks!!! And wow- what a blast from the past! Who are you? Thanks for the kind compliment!
Beautiful!
This is incredible. You sing with a lot of passion. You have a new fan here!
Quite enchanting! Great display of your range.
Thank you, John!
shocked by the simple poetry of this video. You are a strong performer. so immediate.
Thank you- this piece was quite a personal journey for me!
This is incredible. Bravo, Nola!
Thank you so much, David!
Wonderful
👍👍👍👍👍👍