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Arctic Dreams

by John Luther Adams

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about

"Arctic Dreams" (2020) is both warmly seductive and intense—a work whose seven sections bloom with passion as they map a musical journey through landscapes real and imagined. George Grella wrote in the New York Classical Review, “Adams’s manner is that of Thoreau—to be in a place, incorporate it into his memory and values, and recreate that through music. It misses the point to say he is inspired by nature—Adams is changed by nature and his music is a catalogue of the places that changed him.” Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker, has called Adams “one of the most original musical thinkers of the new century.”

Adams comments on "Arctic Dreams":

"Arctic Dreams was the first music I composed in my 'aeolian' sound world, which grew out of my experiences listening to wind harps on the tundra. It is scored for four string players, four singers, and three layers of digital delay.

"The harmonies of this music arise from the first seven odd-numbered harmonics above the low D of the double bass. Extensive retuning of the strings is employed, with only the C string of the cello at its usual pitch. As in several of my later string quartets, all the string sounds are produced by natural harmonics, or open strings.

"The sung text is a series of 'Arctic Litanies,' composed of the names of Arctic places, plants, birds, weather, and seasons, in the languages of the Iñupiat and Gwich’in peoples of Alaska.

"The digital delays create a virtual choir and string orchestra in 32-part canonic textures, with delay times ranging from 1.125 to 32 seconds."

"Arctic Dreams is dedicated to the memory of my dear friend Barry Lopez, and is titled after one of his greatest books."

credits

released May 28, 2021

Synergy Vocals:
Micaela Haslam, soprano
Amanda Morrison, soprano
Heather Cairncross, alto
Simon Grant, bass

Robin Lorentz, violin
Ron Lawrence, viola
Michael Finckel, cello
Robert Black, double bass

Produced by John Luther Adams, Nathaniel Reichman, and Jim Fox

Voices recorded in performance at Almeida Opera by Nathaniel Reichman and Matthew Berry.
Strings recorded by Jay Cloidt and John Kristopeit.
Processing, mixing, and mastering by Nathaniel Reichman, January 2021.

Special thanks to Paul Tai and New World Records

Design by Jim Fox
Cover photograph (moonrise over Mount Hunter) by David Weber
Interior photograph (aurora borealis) by Dirk Lummerzheim

Composition © Taiga Music 2021
CD p & © 2021 Cold Blue Music

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John Luther Adams New Mexico

John Luther Adams’ music has won both a Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy Award and has been performed by such ensembles as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, and Int'l Contemporary Ensemble. Cold Blue Music has released seven albums of his work, including Lines Made by Walking, The Wind in High Places, The Light That Fills the World, and Red Arc/Blue Veil. ... more

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