This album, "American Dreams," was recorded and produced through the Artist Residency Program at Jack Straw Productions.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Peter Schickele's "American Dreams String Quartet No. 1" echoes various kinds of American music, but transforms, combines, or gives them a feeling of distance, hence the title.
Compositional Technique
Ken Benshoof's "Swing Low" is a set of movements that uses different textures and shades of dark and light to explore the topic of the last moments of life, while maintaining a connection to the spirit of the folk song.
Compositional Technique
Bern Herbolsheimer's "Botanas" is a suite of five movements, each based on a traditional Mayan melody and named after a unique Yucatecan Mexican snack or appetizer.
Performer Biography
Peter Schickele, one of the composers on this album, is internationally recognized as a versatile artist, blending various levels of American music in his compositions.
Performer Biography
The Saint Helens String Quartet, the performers on this album, takes inspiration from the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest and explores contemporary classical music intersecting with other genres.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Janice Giteck's "Where Can One Live Safely, Then? In Surrender." is an expression of reverence for Western concert music, based on a cantus firmus from Johannes Fux's "Gradus ad Parnassum."
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