Announcing composer Molly Herron's 'Through Lines'
Announcing Molly Herron's Through Lines; first single and video out today
"Canon No. 3" official video created by Maiko Kikuchi
Announcing composer Molly Herron’s Through Lines, an album for an ensemble of violas da gamba, an obscure instrument that saw its European heyday during the 16th and 17th centuries. For over two centuries, composers had largely ceased writing for the viola da gamba, or viol, making Through Lines, due out August 27th, a singular effort—a modern take on a historical instrument.
Today, Herron releases the first single from the album, "Canon No. 3," with a video created by Maiko Kikuchi.
Born from a collaboration with Science Ficta (viola da gamba players Loren Ludwig, Zoe Weiss, and Kivie Cahn-Lipman), the album’s seven original works (and four interludes) complement one another perfectly—whether played chronologically, individually, or reordered altogether, there is a fundamental through line to Through Lines.
As NPR noted, “[Herron] thinks deeply about motion, energy, and the physics of sound,” and on Through Lines, her thoughtfulness is on full display. “Each piece focuses on a different ‘found’ element,” says Herron. “A form, a gesture, a tuning, an articulation, or an aspect of physicality. The viol’s historical repertoire deeply influences this music.”
With iridescence and shifting colors, an approach that is organic, yet strange, Herron builds a world out of detailed portraits, each distinct, yet born of deep connections.
Wild Up's "Julius Eastman Vol. 1: Femenine" named one of NPR's favorite albums of 2021 (so far)
"Freewheeling solos for flugelhorn, piccolo and cello share space with swirling, minimalist repetitions that, if you drink it all in, just may leave you feeling sublimely intoxicated." -NPR
Wild Up's recording of the visionary composer Julius Eastman's cosmic Femenine has made NPR's list of 2021's best albums (so far).
You can read more in-depth pieces about the composer and the project in Vogue, New York Times, NPR, New Yorker, and LA Times.