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CD
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TO 121CD
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Claire M. Singer presents the first release in a triptych of albums. Saor (pronounced Sieur: meaning "free" in Scottish Gaelic) perfectly encapsulates Claire's experimental approach to the pipe organ, exploring rich harmonic textures and complex overtones which create ever-shifting melodic and rhythmic patterns, conjuring visions of the Scottish dramatic landscapes which inspire her. Much of the album was written or recorded in Claire's home county, at Forgue Kirk in Aberdeenshire. A church she hadn't discovered before, in a remote spot, up a slight hill near a small cluster of houses. A friend recommended the organ to her and she later found out from her mother that many of her ancestors were buried there. Across the album, tracks flutter, pulse and build into and imposing mass. Some suggest texture and weather, using electronic processing and distortion. Others rely on the organ itself for heady atmospheres, while Saor's title track goes even further; recorded at Orgelpark, Amsterdam, an international concert hall for organists, it uses five instruments in layers that span four centuries. Claire also plays cello, mellotron and harmonium on the album, and there are contributions from strings (Patsy Reid), trumpet (Brian Shook), clarinets (Yann Ghiro), and French horn (Andy Saunders). Saor is an adventure bringing the same sense of elation as the journeys Claire made on foot to the summit. Saor is generously supported by Arts Council England, PRS Foundation's Composers' Fund in partnership with Jerwood Arts, the Friends of Forgue Kirk, the Richard Thomas Foundation and Orgelpark, Amsterdam.
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2LP
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TO 111LP
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A double-LP vinyl version of Claire M Singer's previous two CDs: Solas excluding the piece "The Molendinar" (TO 101CD, 2016) and Fairge (TONE 059CD, 2017). Gatefold sleeve.
Sides 1, 2, and 3: Solas. Solas ("Light" in Gaelic) is Claire M Singer's debut album, spanning 14 years of her work in acoustic and electronic composition. In recent years she has focused on writing and performing a mix of organ, cello, and electronics with regular performances at Union Chapel, where, as Music Director, she runs a diverse program of concerts and educational workshops around the chapel's organ, which was built by Henry Willis in 1877. Solas comprises seven works for various combinations of organ, cello, and electronics, including "Eilean," which is an electronic work derived from recordings of cello, piano, and violin. "Solas" and "Wrangham" were recorded by Iain Berryman at Union Chapel, London, February 26-27th, 2016 on the organ built by Henry Willis in 1877 Mixed at Bennachie Studios, Aberdeen and EMS Goldsmiths, London. Violin extracts on "Eilean" from Land of the Standing Stones composed and performed by Paul Anderson. "Eilean" was commissioned by Aberdeenshire Council.
Side 4: Fairge. Fairge, meaning "the ocean" or "the sea" in Scottish Gaelic, is a single 21-minute piece for organ, cello, and electronics, composed, performed and produced by Singer. It is very much a companion work to the title track on her debut album Solas. Commissioned by Amsterdam's oldest building and parish church Oude Kerk, Fairge premiered at the church in February 2017. Claire M Singer's performance on the Ahrend and Bunzema organ, cello, and electronics is truly captivating. The work very much encapsulates her signature style of expansive soundscapes full of intricate textures, rich overtones, and powerful swells, emotionally resonating from beginning to end. Recorded by Clare Gallagher at Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, June 12th, 2017 on the transept organ built by Ahrend & Brunzema (1965).
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CD
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TONE 059CD
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2019 repress. Following Scottish artist Claire M Singer's debut album, Solas (TO 101CD, 2016), comes the release of the beautiful and intriguing Fairge, meaning "the ocean" or "the sea" in Scottish Gaelic. Fairge is a single 21-minute piece for organ, cello, and electronics, composed, performed and produced by Claire and is very much a companion work to the title track on her debut album Solas. Commissioned by Amsterdam's oldest building and parish church Oude Kerk, Fairge premiered at the church in February 2017. Claire M Singer's performance on the Ahrend and Bunzema organ, cello, and electronics is truly captivating. The work very much encapsulates her signature style of expansive soundscapes full of intricate textures, rich overtones, and powerful swells, emotionally resonating from beginning to end. Fairge was written specifically for the Ahered and Bunzema organ and explores the precise control of wind through the pipes using mechanical stop action. This creates a lush harmonic backdrop against the harmonics and melody of the haunting cello. Singer on the piece: "Oude Kerk were very generous in letting me have time to explore and really get to know the instrument. The work was developed over many visits sitting in the church until the very wee hours over the winter months, which was incredibly magical and inspiring. When working with mechanical stops and precisely controlling the amount of air that passes through the pipes it requires a lot of practice and exploration to learn each incremental sound the organ can make and what the quirks of the instrument can be. As every organ is unique, the piece will differ on other organs but that's what makes writing and working with the organ so fascinating. The tuning is mean-tone temperament, which I have not worked with previously. With Fairge I really wanted to show how special this relatively small organ is and the beautiful pallet of sound it can produce." Singer's work has been widely commissioned, exhibited, and performed throughout Europe and North America. This includes acoustic and electronic composition, fixed media, multi-media, installations and live electronics. Claire is also Music Director of the organ at Union Chapel and Artistic Director of the Organ Reframed festival. In June 2017, she was a recipient of the inaugural Oram Awards from the PRS Foundation and New BBC Radiophonic Workshop for her innovation in sound and music. Photography and design by Jon Wozencroft. Mastered by Denis Blackham at Skye.
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2CD
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TO 101CD
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Solas ("Light" in Gaelic) is Claire M Singer's debut album, spanning 14 years of her work in acoustic and electronic composition. In recent years she has focused on writing and performing a mix of organ, cello, and electronics with regular performances at Union Chapel, where, as Music Director, she runs a diverse program of concerts and educational workshops around the chapel's organ, which was built by Henry Willis in 1877. Solas comprises seven works for various combinations of organ, cello, and electronics, including "Eilean," which is an electronic work derived from recordings of cello, piano, and violin. In 2009 Singer was commissioned by the Aberdeenshire Council to write a new work for the Homecoming Scotland referencing "Land of the Standing Stones," composed and performed by Scottish fiddler Paul Anderson. Small extracts of Anderson's work can be heard interweaving throughout "Eilean." "The Molendinar," which takes up the whole of the second disc, is a co-commission between the Glasgow art gallery Civic Room and Union Chapel. The work is part of The Molendinar Burn Project, which is a 12-site series of art projects, each individually situated along the exact route of the Molendinar, a hidden burn upon which the city of Glasgow was founded by Saint Mungo in the sixth century. A work for solo organ written and recorded at Union Chapel in 2015, "The Molendinar" explores the precise control of wind through the pipes and therefore can be played fully on a mechanical drawstop action organ (Union Chapel) or with the addition of electronics (from the Union Chapel Henry Willis organ) when performed on an electro-pneumatic organ (Glasgow Cathedral).
All tracks written and performed by Claire M Singer. Mastered by Denis Blackham at Skye Mastering. Photography and design by Jon Wozencroft. "Solas," "Wrangham," and "The Molendinar" were recorded by Iain Berryman at Union Chapel in London, February 26-27, 2016, on the organ built by Henry Willis in 1877. Mixed at Bennachie Studios in Aberdeen and EMS Goldsmiths in London.
Singer's previous work includes "4-8-1," a piece for string quartet and eight-channel surround which was performed at the Roundhouse in London by the LCO Soloists, and the audiovisual work a' fàs soilleir, which has been exhibited at the Tate Modern, XMV (New York City), and Ceremony Hall (Austin, Texas). She has also performed as part of Spire at Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam, Kunst-Station Sankt Peter in Cologne, and many other locations.
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