For the first playlist of 2017 we’ve ventured into the world of Spotify, which, fairly or unfairly, has attracted controversy in the streaming world. Despite the fact that this month’s playlist is platform-dependent, we adore some of the coincidental thematic resonances across the featured works: particularly the focus on birds and birdsong alongside human vocals, overt or otherwise. We also dare you to spot the Whitney Houston references in there somewhere!
A little more about our streaming platform this month. Most of our playlists to date have been curated from content on Soundcloud, which enables composers and ensembles to freely upload both live and studio recordings, meaning we can feature recordings that are not yet commercially available. Spotify, on the other hand, has some barriers to entry, usually requiring the music to be submitted by an aggregator service, which composers and labels would normally use for a commercial digital release. For us here at Making Waves, this means we inevitably receive less submissions of Spotify content, and that the ones we do receive tend to arrive from composers who are some way along their career journey. What is also nice about Spotify is that royalties are payable, unlike Soundcloud, so please listen multiple times and explore the albums that the tracks are from, and hopefully all this month’s composers will see a little spike on their APRA statement!
We hope you enjoy this wonderful collection of diversely beautiful music by some of our finest Australian composers!
Hear something that catches your attention? Click below to find out more about the composers. On the Spotify playlist above you can click through to discover the album that tracks are from, or find more recordings from the composers and performers. Please note: Spotify requires and account to listen in – there is a free tier and a premium tier but you might need to create a login and password, or use your Facebook details.
DETAILS
- Margaret Brandman, The Eastern Spinebill and the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos Herald a Blue Mountains’ Bushfire
for violin and piano. Recorded by Vit Musik, Lucie Kaucka.
- Erik Griswold, Pale yellow frontier
for prepared piano. Recorded by Erik Griswold. - Joseph Twist, Dancing With Somebody
for string quartet. Recorded by Acacia Quartet.
- Andrew Schultz, Magnificat, Op. 79
for unaccompanied choir. Recorded by Kühn Mixed Choir, Marek Vorlicek.
- Sally Greenaway, Flywheel
for jazz trio; piano bass and drums. Recorded by Trichotomy. - Mary Finsterer, Tract
for solo cello. Recorded by Julia Ryder. - Katy Abbott Kvasnica, No Ordinary Traveller, I. No Ordinary Traveller
for mezzo-soprano and trio. Recorded by Halcyon. - Nicholas Ng, Stellar Mansions
for choir. Recorded by The Australian Voices. - Sally Whitwell, A Hundred Thousand Birds
for choir and piano. Recorded by Vox, Elizabeth Scott. - Robert Burrell, Serenade for Strings, II. Slow Movement
for string orchestra. Recorded by the Moravian Philharmonic, Petr Vronsky.
We’d love to hear about your listening experience! Share your thoughts or send messages of support to our featured composers and performers in the comment box below. We also encourage you to click through to Spotify to follow, save and share the profiles of the composers and performers featured as well as Making Waves.
The Spotify Waves playlist will be featured until 1 March 2017. All previous playlists since January 2015 are available in our blog archives for the life of the project, so please do explore the website for previously featured sounds.
MAKING WAVES 