New York Polyphony: Devices & Desires

About:

The outcome of a highly successful online Gregorian chant remix competition sponsored by Indaba Music, Devices & Desires puts a modern spin on the Medieval. Newly expanded for 2013, this experimental 11-song digital-only EP features groundbreaking remixes of ’Victimae paschali laudes’, ’Gaudeamus in omnes Domino’, and ’Beati mundo corde’, three of plainchant’s most celebrated melodies.

From the pointillistic explorations of David Minnick to the halo of Eileen Carpio’s vocal harmonies, the remixes chart new creative ground. And when paired with the original chants—recorded exclusively for this collection by New York Polyphony—they combine to create a fascinating juxtaposition of ancient and modern music.

For more information on Devices & Desires and to go behind-the-scenes with the remix creators, follow this link. (And if you really want a treat, check out the music video for Alex B’s remix of ‘Victimae paschali laudes’!)

Here's that video:  



Apparently many interesting things have come out of this project!   From NYP's Facebook page:

Last year, with the help of Indaba Music, we sponsored the FIRST-EVER online Gregorian chant competition. It was a huge success. We received hundreds of remixes in a dizzying array of styles from musicians all over the world!

The winning remixes (alongside our original chant recordings) are available on DEVICES & DESIRES, an 11-track digital-only release. More details on our website.

One of the winners, Alex B, produced a music video for his remix of Victimae paschali laudes. (WARNING: his guitar solo at 4:48 will blow your face off.)

Studio Access: New York Polyphony Gregorian Chant Remix Opportunity - Indaba Music

Studio Access: New York Polyphony Gregorian Chant Remix Opportunity - Indaba Music

It's an interesting idea; check it out, and send them something!

New York Polyphony Gregorian Chant Remix Opportunity

Enter the 3 Opportunities Below to Win $1,500 in Cash and a Release on Sony's Ariama Online Classical Music Store!

Gregorian chant lies at the very heart of Western music. It's a thread that runs unbroken through nearly two thousand years of musical expression and its presence can be felt not only in countless creative works, but also in our modern concepts of harmony, melody and form. The influence of plainchant is so complete, it’s as if we know these melodies—consciously or not—at the genetic level.

For centuries, Gregorian chant has been subjected to every compositional technique, treatment and device imaginable—remixed long before anyone even thought to call it that. But now, with the tools available to musicians in the 21st century, it’s time for the next generation of reinvention. Now it's your turn.

Acclaimed classical vocal quartet New York Polyphony and Indaba are giving you the opportunity to put your own unique spin on Gregorian chant. They are providing the stem sets to three different plainchants: "Victimae paschali laudes”, “Gaudeamus in omnes Domino”, and “Beati mundo corde”. Each chant is featured in its own contest, allowing you to remix your favorite.

Submit your music and breathe new life into these ancient melodies.

A New View

Today, March 31, Blogger - i.e., Google - put out a preview of some new formats called "Views." At some point I will be able to change the layout of this blog to my favorite of these formats ("sidebar"), but at the moment a user is required to append the word "view" to the URL. Here's what the views look like - there are 5 of them; use the little dropdown to switch between them - but you will have to do the appending each time. There are still some glitches, but you'll get the flavor.

Better still - I'll put a link in the sidebar here so that you can switch when you come to the page. They are much nicer than the whole long scroll thing you have to do currently - especially on a blog like this one, which is so heavy with video that it takes a long time to load the whole page. I cut down to only 8 posts on the main page (from 12) because of this problem, but I'm sure it's still very slow. That will change once I can use the template; meantime, it's got to be done by you, by hand - if you want.

The Global Chant Database

I've posted on this before, but here's an updated version, at a new web address.

This is a beta version of the new Global Chant Database - Gregorian Chant Research Interface. The old version is available at www.globalchant.org.

The main ideas of the Global Chant Database:

• Everyone searching for a concrete chant or medieval manuscript should find the information on what is the content of the manuscript, in which editions the repertory can be found, which publications concern with the manuscript and which scholars have done research on this manuscript.
• Everyone doing research on a plainchant manuscript can share the results with the scholar community.
• The database aims to follow the principles of the Cantus Planus Study Group, concerning the free exchange of data in electronic form.

Please register to access the full content of the database. Only registered users can add a new data.

More:

The Global Chant Database was developed by Jan Koláček - PhD student of the Institute of Musicology at the Charles University in Prague. The database is intended as an easy tool for scholars and students to search and identify plainchant melodies with a possibility of displaying the sources. The purpose of the database is to comprise the chant incipits of all important editions of plainchant and medieval manuscripts.

North Point's iBand

"Christmas music using borrowed iPhones and iPads at North Point Community Church. Download more free music from North Point -- www.northpointmusic.org/christmas"