Lou Harrison's "Music for Bill and Me" is dedicated to his life partner, William Colvig, an electrician and musician who built many percussion instruments used by Harrison.
Composition History
Lou Harrison's "Jahla" was composed in a hurry for conductor Leopold Stokowski's 90th birthday, after Harrison was reminded that other composers were also writing pieces for the occasion.
Composition History
Guido Facchin's suite "The Planets" was written for the Avalokite Duo and dedicated to harpist Patrizia Boniolo, who provided ideas and suggestions for its creation.
Compositional Technique
Lou Harrison's "Sonata in Ishartum" utilizes the Ishartum mode, which was discovered on an 18th-century BC Babylonian cuneiform tuning tablet, and is composed in a medieval Arab style.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Lou Harrison, a composer featured on this album, was inspired by North Indian compositional techniques, such as using a pedal between melody notes to create perpetual motion, as seen in his piece "Jahla."
Composer's Artistic Vision
Guido Facchin's "The Planets" is a suite of nine musical tales inspired by mythology and astrology, with each piece dedicated to a planet and its characteristics.
Performer Biography
The Avalokite Duo, consisting of harpist Patrizia Boniolo and percussionist Guido Facchin, was formed by two colleagues and teachers to promote concert harp and percussion in chamber music.
