Resonance Gathering
Publication (double LP + book)
Artists: Pauline Oliveros, IONE, Christopher Willes and others.
Published by Art Metropole and co-produced by Christopher Willes and Public Recordings.
Release date: June 30, 2023.
Editions: 500
Format: 2XLP (140g, black) + 64pg book (perfect bound, mix of risograph and full colour digital print) with new writing, previously unpublished text by Oliveros, score excerpts, photography + bonus Flexi Disc (transparent, 2-sided). Packaged in a custom envelope (transparent, two colour screen print) with folded wrapper / table of contents insert (red risograph print).
Purchase it on Bandcamp
Price: $60 CAD + Shipping
Size: 33 X 33cm (737g)
ISBN: 978-1-989010-11-2
Description
Resonance Gathering is a double LP and book that documents a large-scale performance project on the music of composer Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016) that occurred in Canada between 2017-2019. The project gathered nineteen interdisciplinary performers (mostly non-musicians) to interpret Oliveros’s score To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of Their Desperation (1970)—a work for sound and light that was written in response to the anxiety and political unrest of 1968 in America. Organized by artist Christopher Willes and the collective Public Recordings, the ensemble included artists from dance, theatre, music, and visual arts, all performing together as musicians in a series of open rehearsals at various community spaces in Tkaronto—Toronto.
The project concluded with a final concert of Oliveros’s piece in Council Chambers Toronto City Hall. The local political situation at the time had become unexpectedly tense: in the midst of an election the provincial conservative government redrew ward boundaries and reduced council membership almost in half. The context brought a new resonance to Oliveros’ score, which proposes a self-governing system for group music making. And so the performance took place between empty councillors’ desks, among the spectres of representational politics, in a room where debates and decisions about togetherness have tangible consequences.
Resonance Gathering extends this project into a publication. The LP opens with a new sound poem by IONE (artist and Oliveros’ spouse) that was recorded in their home in Kingston New York in 2021. Part guided meditation, part dream, the fifty one lines of text and silences evoke the passage of time between 1970-2021. Side B/C/D share a lush, 45 minute recording of the City Hall performance, captured in a quadraphonic format that subtly moves the listener into ghostly spaces throughout the ensemble. The release also includes a 64pg book with writing, a previously unpublished text by Oliveros, photography by Claire Harvie, and a Flexi Disc with a listening score that invites new listening experiments.
To Valerie... marked an important shift in Oliveros’s work, away from traditional composition and towards sonic-somatic practices that explore how listening can transform one’s sense of self and others. Deep Listening, as she would later call it, can bring out “resonant connections that lie beyond the surface of our consciousness and help us change [...] and grow.” Revisiting the piece fifty years after its premiere, this release explores how Oliveros’s ideas and music continue to resonate with our time.
Included Works
Side A: The Sound Of Awakening; a new sound poem by IONE (artist, author and Oliveros’ spouse), recorded in their home in Kingston NY, 2021.
Side B/C/D: To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of their Desperation; orchestral work by Pauline Oliveros (1970), recorded in a live performance at Council Chambers Toronto City Hall in 2019 (LP format).
Book: New writing, poetry, a previously unpublished archival text by Oliveros (1979), photography, and a Flexi Disc with listening score.
Credits
Project devised by Christopher Willes. Publication design by Jeremy McCormick. Photography by Claire Harvie. Co-produced by Christopher Willes and Public Recordings. Published by Art Metropole. Courtesy of The Pauline Oliveros Trust.
Recorded by Paul Hodge and J.L Simonson. Mix: Christopher Willes. Mastering: Brandon Hocura. Contributing Artists and Performers: Anne Bourne, Allison Cameron, Victoria Cheong, Ishan Davé, Prices Easy, Ellen Furey, Thom Gill, Claire Harvie, Ame Henderson, Ione, Brendan Jensen, Germaine Liu, Jeremy McCormick, JL Simonson, Kate Nankervis, Pauline Oliveros, Bee Pallomina, Liz Peterson, Heather Saumer, Brian Solomon, Anni Spadafora, Evan Webber, and Christopher Willes.
Created in partnership with Art Metropole, The Pauline Oliveros Trust, The Music Gallery, Séance Centre, and Happy like a flower. The Canada Council for the Arts, The Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council. Publicist: Riparian Media. Special thanks to Akash Bansal (outreach) and Thomas Gill :)
Further credits within the publication.
Resonance Gathering was included in the group exhibition Retirez vos bouchons d'oreilles / Dissolving your ear plugs at the Musée d'art de Joliette June 11 to September 4 2023.
Select Press
“A monumentally stunning piece of work… We couldn’t possibly think of a better tribute to the work of Pauline Oliveros. It carries her work toward new futures with startling insight and beauty. Absolutely fantastic and not to be missed. - Bradford Bailey, Soundohm, August 2023
“…the work rings undeniably urgent." - Xenia Benivolski, Wire Magazine, September 2023
“…one of the year’s most powerful and expansive statements of music’s ability to send a message.” - Stuart Broomer, MusicWorks Magazine
“The spirit of Oliveros’s work is beautifully honoured within...” - Tom Beedham, New Feeling, September 2023
“… the swelling waves become immersive echoes. It’s utterly enthralling. Repeated listens reveal so much depth and detail. It’s so, so rewarding. Highest recommendation." - Brad Rose, Foxy Digitalis, August 2023
Listen to an interview with Christopher Willes the Foxy Digitalis Podcast.
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Order it directly from the artists on Bandcamp.
Half of the proceeds are being donated to The Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto.
Canada:
Art Metropole
Seance Centre
Musée d’art de Joliette
USA:
Printed Matter
Autumn Records
Cone Shape Top
Estuario
Europe:
Soundohm
Discos Paradiso
Juno
Good Press