White Light: the space between by O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra

Various composers

O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra

White Light: the space between

Price: € 25.95
Format: CD
Label: Signum Classics
UPC: 0635212053225
Catnr: SIGCD 532
Release date: 06 April 2018
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Label
Signum Classics

UPC
0635212053225

Catalogue number
SIGCD 532

Release date
06 April 2018

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

“I could compare my music to white light which contains all colours. Only a prism can divide the colours and make them appear; this prism could be the spirit of the listener.” Arvo Pärt

O/Modernt, Swedish for ‘Un/Modern’, is the concept devised by violinist Hugo Ticciati that explores vital connections between artistic and intellectual creations, old and new. At the heart of White Light is a dialectic between contemplation and ecstatic joy: a journey that leads within and without.

The ensō (Japanese for ‘circle’) drawn by Antony Gormley on the front cover invites us into the prismatic now of listening. An ensō is a continuous brushstroke that expresses a moment in time when the mind is released, leaving the body free to listen and create.

Looking inwards, we embrace that which we find outside ourselves before finally returning to inner peace and silence. The sound worlds of Arvo Pärt, John Tavener, Pēteris Vasks, The Beatles, and the rhythms and melodies of India are woven together through improvisation to invite a two-way sense of reflection and surprise.

“Ik zou mijn muziek kunnen vergelijken met wit licht dat alle kleuren bevat. Alleen een prisma kan de kleuren scheiden en ze laten verschijnen; deze prisma zou de geest van de luisteraar kunnen zijn.” – Arvo Pärt

O/Modernt, Zweeds voor ‘On/Modern’, is het concept bedacht door violist Hugo Ticciati dat de essentiële verbindingen tussen artistieke en intellectuele creaties, oud en nieuw, verkent. In White Light staat een dialectiek tussen contemplatie en extatische vreugde centraal: een reis die naar binnen en naar buiten leidt.

De ensō (Japans voor ‘cirkel’) op de albumhoes, getekend door Antony Gormley, nodigt ons uit tot het prismatische nu van luisteren. Een ensō is een ononderbroken penseelstreek die een moment uitdrukt waarop de geest losgelaten wordt, waardoor het lichaam vrij is om te luisteren en te creëren.

Wanneer we naar binnen kijken, omarmen we dat wat we buiten onszelf vinden voordat we uiteindelijk terugkeren naar innerlijke vrede en stilte. De klankwerelden van Arvo Pärt, John Tavener, Pēteris Vasks, The Beatles en de ritmes en melodieën uit India worden door middel van improvisatie met elkaar verweven om een tweevoudig gevoel van reflectie en verrassing uit te lokken.

Artist(s)

Matthew Barley (cello)

Matthew Barley has created a unique international career full of improvisation, new music, cutting-edge computer technology, collaboration with jazz and Indian musicians, education, and arranging – but always with cello playing at the heart. He has played with some of the finest orchestras (Frankfurt Radio Symphony, BBC Philharmonic/Scottish, Czech Philharmonic), in some of the greatest concert halls, given premieres by major composers (MacMillan, Dusapin, Larcher) and appeared on tv and radio worldwide. He counts himself blessed to be able to dream up unusual projects and (usually) make them happen, and also pursue his own personal dreams of spending time with family and in nature. He lives in London with his wife, violinist Viktoria Mullova.

Matthew Barley has created a unique international career full of improvisation, new music, cutting-edge computer technology, collaboration with jazz and Indian musicians, education, and arranging – but always with cello playing at the heart.
He has played with some of the finest orchestras (Frankfurt Radio Symphony, BBC Philharmonic/Scottish, Czech Philharmonic), in some of the greatest concert halls, given premieres by major composers (MacMillan, Dusapin, Larcher) and appeared on tv and radio worldwide.
He counts himself blessed to be able to dream up unusual projects and (usually) make them happen, and also pursue his own personal dreams of spending time with family and in nature. He lives in London with his wife, violinist Viktoria Mullova.

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Hugo Ticciati (conductor)

With his inexhaustible enthusiasm for artistic innovation, violinist and conductor Hugo Ticciati embraces the full spectrum of creative expression. Aside from his roles as O/Modernt’s Artistic Director and leader of O/Modernt ensembles, he regularly performs in prominent venues across the globe. Conversely, when taking a break from devising his acclaimed programmes, he can be found improvising with monks in India. Hugo’s passion for early music and non-Western musical traditions, intertwined with his love for the classical canon and the world of new music, alongside rock and pop, are clearly reflected in his vision for O/Modernt, which he founded in 2011. Similarly, at least forty new works have been written for him by a host of eminent composers, most notably Erkki-Sven Tüür,...

Hugo’s passion for early music and non-Western musical traditions, intertwined with his love for the classical canon and the world of new music, alongside rock and pop, are clearly reflected in his vision for O/Modernt, which he founded in 2011. Similarly, at least forty new works have been written for him by a host of eminent composers, most notably Erkki-Sven Tüür, Pēteris Vasks, Victoria Borisova-Ollas, Albert Schnelzer and Dobrinka Tabakova.

As a soloist and conductor, Hugo frequently collaborates with the Basel Chamber Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and Camerata Strumentale ‘Città di Prato’. Notable recent highlights include performances with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester in Berlin, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Kammerakademie Potsdam and Tapiola Sinfonietta.

Hugo frequently gives masterclasses and lectures on music-related subjects at educational institutions throughout Europe and further afield. He is also Deputy Artistic Director of Lilla Akademien, Scandinavia’s leading specialist music school, and he curates the concert season at the recently inaugurated Queen Silvia Concert Hall in Stockholm.

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Soumik Datta (sitar)

Sukhvinder Singh Pinky (tabla)

O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra

Directed by violinist Hugo Ticciati, the O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra is an integral part of O/Modernt. Comprised of top young players from all over Europe, the orchestra performs eclectic and adventurous programmes, with anything from arrangements of medieval motets to Bach, Webern and Metallica. The orchestra regularly collaborates with world-renowned soloists such as Evelyn Glennie, Steven Isserlis, Anne Sofie von Otter and Nils Landgren, as well as jazz artists, rappers, choreographers, rock-balancers and more! Although only a few years old, the orchestra has gained an international reputation, with performances at the Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Wiener Musikverein and Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam. The O/Modernt players enjoy a wide range of outreach and educational projects in Sweden, the UK and further afield...

Although only a few years old, the orchestra has gained an international reputation, with performances at the Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Wiener Musikverein and Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam. The O/Modernt players enjoy a wide range of outreach and educational projects in Sweden, the UK and further afield in India.

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Composer(s)

Arvo Pärt

Pärt was born in Paide, Järva County, Estonia, and was raised by his mother and stepfather in Rakvere in northern Estonia. He began to experiment with the top and bottom notes as the family's piano's middle register was damaged. His first serious study came in 1954 at the Tallinn Music Middle School, but less than a year later he temporarily abandoned it to fulfill military service, playing oboe and percussion in the army band. While at the Tallinn Conservatory, he studied composition withHeino Eller. As a student, he produced music for film and the stage. During the 1950s, he also completed his first vocal composition, the cantata Meie aed ('Our Garden') for children's choir and orchestra. He graduated in 1963. From 1957 to 1967, he worked as a sound producer for Estonian radio.
Although criticized by Tikhon Khrennikov in 1962, for employing serialism in Nekrolog (1960), which exhibited his "susceptibility to foreign influences", nine months later he won First Prize in a competition of 1,200 works, awarded by the all-Union Society of Composers, indicating the inability of the Soviet regime to agree consistently on what was permissible. In the 1970s, Pärt studied medieval and Renaissance music instead of focusing on his own composition. About this same time, he converted from Lutheranism to the Russian Orthodox faith.
In 1980, after a prolonged struggle with Soviet officials, he was allowed to emigrate with his wife and their two sons. He lived first in Vienna, where he took Austriancitizenship and then relocated to Berlin, Germany, in 1981. He returned to Estonia around the turn of the 21st century and now lives alternately in Berlin and Tallinn. He speaks fluent German and has German citizenship as a result of living in Germany since 1981.

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John Tavener

Sir John Kenneth Tavener was an English composer, known for his extensive output of religious works, including The Protecting Veil, Song for Athene and The Lamb. Tavener first came to prominence with his cantata The Whale, premiered in 1968. Then aged 24, he was described by The Guardian as 'the musical discovery of the year', while The Times said he was 'among the very best creative talents of his generation.' During his career he became one of the best known and popular composers of his generation, most particularly for The Protecting Veil, which as recorded by cellist Steven Isserlis became a bestselling album, and Song for Athene which was sung at the funeral of Princess Diana. The Lamb featured in the...

Sir John Kenneth Tavener was an English composer, known for his extensive output of religious works, including The Protecting Veil, Song for Athene and The Lamb.
Tavener first came to prominence with his cantata The Whale, premiered in 1968. Then aged 24, he was described by The Guardian as "the musical discovery of the year", while The Times said he was "among the very best creative talents of his generation." During his career he became one of the best known and popular composers of his generation, most particularly for The Protecting Veil, which as recorded by cellist Steven Isserlis became a bestselling album, and Song for Athene which was sung at the funeral of Princess Diana. The Lamb featured in the soundtrack for Paolo Sorrentino's film The Great Beauty. Tavener was knighted in 2000 for his services to music and won an Ivor Novello Award.

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George Harrison

Pēteris Vasks

He wrote his first composition when he was 8 years old. His musical education started at the Riga Music school and the Lithuanian Academy of Music (Vilnius), we he studied double bass under Vitautas Sereika. From 1963 to 1978, he played the double bass in the Lithuanian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Latvian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Latvian Radio Orchestra. Besides that, he also studied composition from 1973 to 1978 at the Latvian Academy of Music under Valentin Utkin. He adopted early Latvian music in his compositions, which are mostly about the battle between man and nature; the beauty of nature but also its threats. As many composers from the Northern regions, he also addresses the threats towards nature, such as the increasing deforestation. Since...

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