Musical rhythms have often mimicked the human heartbeat — but Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry is taking that idea to a whole new level on his just-announced solo album, Music for Heart.
Promising a classical collection of "very soft, very quiet music," Parry has created works that involve musicians playing in sync with their own heart rates and breathing rates.
For the CD, which is coming out on the esteemed Deutsche Grammophon label June 9, Parry recorded a new version of his three-movement suite Music for Heart and Breath, as well as a composition called Interruptions (Heart and Breath Nonet).
"Every note you hear is either in synch with the heartbeat of the person playing it, the breathing of the person (or one of the surrounding persons) playing it," explains Parry. "So what you hear when this music plays is played precisely in time with someone’s quiet, internal rhythms."
Music for Heart and Breath had its premiere with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in 2009, and the orchestra released a recording the work in 2011.
At the 2009 performance, most of the participants wore stethoscopes, listened to their own heart rates and played to those rhythms.
For the album, Parry recruited esteemed ensembles including the Kronos Quartet, yMusic, composer Nico Muhly, and the National's Bryce and Aaron Dessner.
"It has been a joy to create this work," he wrote, "and even more of a joy to have it brought to life by such a fantastic cast of musical minds."
Care for a taste of the work? Here is Montreal's Warhol Dervish performing Quartet of Heart and Breath at Sala Rosa in 2011. You can also find the full new album track list below.
The entire "Music for Heart and Breath" tracklist is available on the Deutsche Grammophon website.
by Jennifer Van Evra via Electronic RSS
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