CHOIR LOFT BALLADS AND LULLABIES (2005)

The sound installation Choir Loft Ballads and Lullabies (2005) is a collage of individual folk singers from the John Lomax Collection at the Library of Congress. They are combined to create a unique choir––somewhere between documentary and counterpoint––that highlights layers of independent sound along with a combined ensemble effect. Scratchy, rustic, un-cleaned-up recordings of historical 78s were deliberately used to create a sound color that references the past but also makes the listener aware of the present moment. These imperfections become musical elements of the piece. A composed score for pump organ, with its creaking pedals, also imparts a strange, otherworldly sound. It was first performed at the Headlands Center for the Arts in California, where the recordings activated a gym on a former military base. Here, the recordings floated down from an upper loft of the gym — a kind of secular choir loft — resonating out into the large room, bouncing off of the walls, and surrounding the ears of the listeners down below. Total Time: 32:00.

Tracks:
1. Part One (10:05)
2. Part Two (14:00)
3. Part Three (7:55)