American Contemporary Music Ensemble
in Nordic Noir at Le Poisson Rouge
Featuring music by Danish composers Frans Bak, Ejnar Kanding, & MBD73 (aka Carsten Bo Eriksen)
Thursday, October 6, 2016 at 7pm (doors 6pm)
Le Poisson Rouge | 158 Bleecker Street
Tickets: Advance $15 standing / $20 seated
Day-of $20 standing / $25 seated at www.lpr.com
Read LPR’s Q&A with the composers on the LPR Blog: http://bit.ly/NordicNoirQA
ACME: www.acmemusic.org
New York, NY – The American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) will perform music by Danish composers Frans Bak, Ejnar Kanding and MBD73 (aka Carsten Bo Eriksen) in a concert called Nordic Noir at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker St.) on Thursday, October 6 at 7pm. The three composers have chosen music for this concert that captures what they call the Nordic “dark sides” or Nordic Noir – music that captures a coolness, calmness, and a mindfulness.
Inspired by his surroundings and the people that dwell within them, the Danish composer Frans Bak is focusing his evocative powers on the wider elements of his home region, touchingly capturing its unique spirit and affecting atmosphere with a series of new compositions. Bak released his album Sound Of North on June 17 via Mercury Classics/Universal Music. Recording the album, Bak adopted an open approach, partly inspired by his background as a jazz composer. Meshing together a string quartet with electronic loops, the ethereal vocals of singer Josefine Cronholm and his own piano playing, he created an adventurous, forward-thinking work, while also mixing new compositions alongside re-imagined versions of themes he scored for the US and Danish versions of the crime dramas The Killing and Doctor Foster. This concert features the American premiere of music from the album. www.fransbak.com [Listen to selections by Frans Bak: https://soundcloud.com/fransbak/sets/the-killing-2]
The concert also features Danish composer Carsten Bo Eriksen (artist name MBD73, short for My Beautiful Decay 1973). His Memory Pieces revolves around the theme “lost memories and sounds,” exploring the concept of nostalgia – stories and history that no longer fit, which change as we turn to them throughout our lives. Memory Pieces uses the sounds and voices that have become a part of our identity, enrolled in our souls as a mood and atmosphere that cannot be separated from our personality – our life’s soundtrack. The composer has been commissioned by American Contemporary Music Ensemble to write a new piece for string quartet and electronics especially for this concert. The new piece will be accompanied by video that works as a visual counterpoint. www.mbd73.com [Listen to MBD73’s albums: http://mbd73.com/discography/]
The third set on the concert will feature music by the composer Ejnar Kanding, who is internationally known for his uniquely colorful music, which unites electronic and acoustic sound in complex textures, physical energy, and delicate simplicity. According to Kanding, music should not embellish, but be a realm of fantasy. Like a hall of mirrors, his music is a journey into the ambiguous Nordic dark sides – a sensuous voyage to the unknown areas of inner life. www.kanding.com [Listen to Ejnar Kanding’s string quartets: www.kanding.com/string-quartets.html]
ACME musicians performing during this concert include Ben Russell, violin; Yuki Numata Resnick, violin; Caleb Burhans, viola; Clarice Jensen, cello and artistic director; plus Ejnar Kanding and Carsten Bo Eriksen, electronics and video, and additional performance on piano by Frans Bak.
Program:
MBD73 aka Carsten Bo Eriksen: Memory Pieces (5 movements) (2011/2016, world premiere)
Frans Bak: Sound of North – Suite (2016)
Ejnar Kanding: Sensitive Shades (2015)
About American Contemporary Music Ensemble: ACME was honored by ASCAP during its 10th anniversary season in 2015 for the “virtuosity, passion, and commitment with which it performs and champions American composers.” NPR calls them “contemporary music dynamos,” and The New York Times describes their performances as “vital,” “brilliant,” and “electrifying.” ACME has recorded for New World, New Amsterdam, Deutsche Grammophon, and Butterscotch Records. The ensemble’s dedication to new music extends across genres and has earned them a reputation among both classical and rock crowds. ACME’s many collaborators have included The Richard Alston Dance Company, Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance, Gibney Dance, actress Barbara Sukowa, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, Grizzly Bear, Low, Matmos, Jeff Mangum, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Roomful of Teeth, Lionheart, and Theo Bleckmann. The group has performed at leading venues including Carnegie Hall, BAM, (Le) Poisson Rouge, Miller Theatre, The Met Museum, Constellation Chicago, Stanford Live, UCLA, Peak Performances, Melbourne Recital Hall, Big Ears, and All Tomorrow’s Parties in the UK, among many others.
The concert is presented by Le Poisson Rouge, ACME and Earunit. With support from Danish Composers’ Society’s Production Pool and Koda’s Cultural Funds, and the Danish Arts Foundation.
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