Alwynne Pritchard: Rockaby & Other Works

Featuring

Klaus Steffes-Holländer
Bjarte Engeset
Alwynne Pritchard
Ilan Volkov
Christian Dierstein
Victoria Johnson

Thorolf Thuestad
Kongelige Norske Marines Musikkorps
ensemble recherche
Experimentalstudio des SWR
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Did you know?

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Composer Biography

Alwynne Pritchard, the composer on this album, explores relationships between musical expression and the human voice and body in her work.

Compositional Technique

Alwynne Pritchard's piece "Decoy" derives its form and rhythmic structure from a six-by-six magic square, which is identical to one devised by 16th-century occultist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa.

Compositional Technique

In Alwynne Pritchard's "Rockaby," the vocal performer wears an elaborate, custom-made costume that transforms throughout the piece using zips, hidden panels, and velcro strips, combining words, music, sound effects, dance, and textile art.

Compositional Technique

In "Graffiti" for percussion and electronics, the sounds of drums are transformed into those of gongs by using loudspeakers to activate gongs and a tam-tam, which are then processed with contact mics and live electronics.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Composer Alwynne Pritchard uses highly organized structures in her music as a way to escape, creating 'booby traps' or 'boxes' from which she or the performers can burst out.

Composition History

Several works on this album, including "Loser," "Rockaby," and "Glorvina," are informed by writings from other authors, serving to activate thematic possibilities rather than being direct depictions.

Composition History

Alwynne Pritchard's "Irene Electric" was inspired by her experiences during Hurricane Irene in New York City and a residency in a Philippine rainforest, capturing the tension of the former and the grounded organicism of the latter.