Elisabeth Lutyens, daughter of a famous architect father and aristocratic mother, chose music as a gesture of self-definition, feeling overlooked as a child.
Performer Biography
EXAUDI, a young ensemble dedicated to contemporary choral music, was formed in 2002 by James Weeks (director) and Juliet Fraser (soprano).
Recording & Production
The recording sessions for this album took place in St Jude's, Hampstead, a building designed by Elisabeth Lutyens's father, the visionary architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Critical Reception
Elisabeth Lutyens's music, though arduously achieved and patchily received during her lifetime, continues to be revalued a century after her birth.
Compositional Technique
Lutyens often used palindromes and bilateral symmetries in her works, a deliberate ordering choice also reflected in this album's structure.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Lutyens's development of a personal 12-tone method in the 1940s was inspired by her desire to recreate the intense experience of hearing Webern's cantata Das Augenlicht.
Cultural Impact
Elisabeth Lutyens earned much of her income from film scores, including the 1965 horror feature The Skull, while raising four children and supporting her husband.
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