#4987, As Sound as a Bell
Hear bells, either real, or a sonic approximation in music by Chicago-based Macie Stewart, These New Puritans, and instrumental works by Missy Mazzoli, Mary Lattimore, and Glenn Branca.
Listen to cinematic music with prepared piano, plucked strings, field recordings, and electronics by Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser Macie Stewart. It’s from the new album, When the Distance is Blue, which draws its title from Rebecca Solnit’s book of essays, A Field Guide to Getting Lost. Then, hear music by Colorado-based meta-mystical ensemble Itchy-O, for custom-built metallophones and gongs, born from 600 pounds of reclaimed bronze. The group uses a seven-note scale and that harmonic language to create “a community-driven ritualistic soundscape”, (Itchyo.com).
There’s also new music by English experimental rock outfit These New Puritans, the twin brothers Jack and George Barnett, from their forthcoming album, due in May, and a song called “Bells”. Hear music by Russia-born, Serbia-based producer and multidisciplinary artist Evgeny Gorbunov, aka Inturist, whose sonic travelogues chronicle his exile from Moscow to Tel Aviv following the start of Russia's occupation of Ukraine, on a record called Tourism.
Also, listen to harpist Mary Lattimore in collaboration with accordionist/composer Walt McClements, which Lattimore describes as “a smattering of joyful harp, accordion, piano, synth, and bell experiments embroidered with memories of long drives and bears in a tree and late nights.“ Plus, there’s music by Glenn Branca and his army of modified electric guitars tuned in just intonation, (which may chime like bells), some played with mallets instead of picks. Together, eleven guitars (and two drummers) add up to a symphonic sound wall in his Symphony #3, “Gloria”. That, and more. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4988, With Bells On (First aired 3/14/2025)
ARTIST: Glenn Branca
WORK: Glenn Branca - Symphony #3, Gloria, excerpt [6:05]
RECORDING: Glenn Branca - Symphony #3, Gloria
SOURCE: Neutral Records, LP, reissued on CD by Atavistic Records
INFO: Available at AppleMusic, Spotify, Amazon.com, YouTube
ARTIST: Itchy-O
WORK: Chontare [4:44]
RECORDING: SÖM SÂPTÂLAHN
SOURCE: Mettle Institute
INFO: https://ffm.to/42mkreg?ltclid=1a26f62a-d545-4d25-88dc-81ca2b516ca1
ARTIST: Inturist
WORK: Reminder [6:06]
RECORDING: Tourism
SOURCE: Incompetence
INFO: https://incompetence.bandcamp.com/album/tourism
ARTIST: These New Puritans
WORK: Bells [6:55]
RECORDING: Crooked Wing
SOURCE: Domino
INFO: https://tnp.ffm.to/crookedwing
ARTIST: Macie Stewart
WORK: Spring Becomes You, Spring Becomes New [6:43]
RECORDING: When the Distance is Blue
SOURCE: International Anthem
INFO: https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/when-the-distance-is-blue
ARTIST: Third Coast Percussion
WORK: Missy Mazzoli: Millennium Canticles - Part III. Bloodied Bells [6:12]
RECORDING: Between Breaths
SOURCE: Cedille Records
INFO: https://shop.thirdcoastpercussion.com/product/between-breaths
ARTIST: Glenn Branca
WORK: Glenn Branca - Symphony #3, Gloria, excerpt [6:05]
RECORDING: Glenn Branca - Symphony #3, Gloria
SOURCE: Neutral Records, LP, reissued on CD by Atavistic Records
INFO: Available at AppleMusic, Spotify, Amazon.com, YouTube
ARTIST: Mary Lattimore and Walt McClements
WORK: Stolen Bells [5:34]
RECORDING: Rain on the Road
SOURCE: Thrill Jockey Records
INFO: https://marylattimoreharpist.bandcamp.com/album/rain-on-the-road
