“Mitchell music is deeply organic, playful and joyous, but also full of emotional complexity: a spectrum of human feeling”
Nicole Mitchell: flute, vocals, electronic samples, composition, conduction
Renée Baker: violin
Mwata Bowden: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, clarinet
David Boykin: tenor saxophone
an_ARCHE NewMusicEnsemble:
Rafal Zapala: artistic direction of the project, electronics, percussion
Filip Walcerz: head and artistic director of the band, electronics
Krzysztof Dys: piano
Rafal Gubanski: clarinet
Kuba Jankowiak: trumpet
Kuba Klepczynski: trombone
Agnieszka Kowalczyk: cello
Lukasz Krzeminski: oboe
Remigiusz Strzelczyk: viola
Maciej Strzelecki: violin
Pawel Szpura: drums
Ksawery Wojcinski: double bass
Arc of O - I (10:03)
Arc of O - II (6:06)
Arc of O - III (9:12 )
Arc of O - IV (9:12)
Arc of O - V (5:11)
Arc of O - VI (3:30)
Afrika Rising (15:11)
All compositions by Nicole Mitchell
Recorded live on December 2nd 2010 by Eryk Kozlowski and Kasia Palicka-Kozlowska at Poznan, Poland at the occasion of the “Made in Chicago Festival of Poznan”
Mixing and mastering: Jean-Pierre Bouquet, L’Autre Studio, Vaires-sur-Marne, France
Liner notes: John Corbett
Photographs: Andrzej Hajdasz
Cover design: Max Schoendorff
Cover realization: David Bourguignon
Executive producer: Michel Dorbon
«ROGUEART» is very grateful to “Made in Chicago Festival” and its director Wojcech Juszczak
In the vibrant, searching solos of tenor saxophonist David Boykin, multiple-reed player Mwata Bowden, violinist Renee Baker, and Mitchell herself, we encounter a bright, buoyant sense of wonder. A breathless “oh!” set against the backdrop of her majestic, brilliantly textured themes. “We recognize the symbol of the ‘arc’ in the branches of trees, the shape of the sky, the passageways of thoughts moving through our brain, and the rivers and streams carved through sand and rock by water." Mitchell’s is a deeply organic music, playful and joyous and wondrous, but also full of sophisticated layers of emotional complexity, a spectrum of human feeling, the same range succinctly captured in the simple exclamation: “Oh.” Board the arc, feel the curve, enjoy the ride. John Corbett, excerpt from the liner notes
I personally feel that Arc of O is a landmark work in my evolution as a composer, as it represented a new direction of writing for me, and it opened a door towards writing for chamber orchestra and then doing fully composed works for full orchestra. Nicole Mitchell, excerpt from the liner notes
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