The Atlas is an hour-long concert work for extended piano and string quartet, inspired by stories of exploring, belonging, and ancestry.
Album & Artwork
The album features paintings titled 'Untitled #44' and 'Untitled #43' by Richard Carrick, the composer.
Compositional Technique
The work explores using a range of objects inside the piano, moving beyond traditional tools like harmony and melody, and physical tools like hands and strings.
Compositional Technique
Improvisation is a key element throughout The Atlas, appearing in small passages, embellishments during repetitions, and freely in movements like 'Solo/Cartographers'.
Compositional Technique
The piece 'la terre' entirely avoids using the piano keyboard, instead embracing the instrument as a percussive device.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Composer Richard Carrick used Peter Turchi's two-step process of map-making—explorer and guide—as an analogy for creating the non-traditional sounds in The Atlas.
Compositional Technique
The movement 'Penumbra' references music from the film El Gusto, which tells the story of an Algerian Chaabi band from the 1950s.
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