FRACTURES Recording

After a bunch of invigorating sessions the last 2 months, we are nicely wrapping up our recording of the Fractures song cycle! What an extreme pleasure it has been to make music with soprano, Meredith Hall, pianist, Brahm Goldhamer, and sound engineer, Dennis Patterson! ❤️

The idea to compose Fractures came in 2016 when I gave a presentation about environmental music at the Canadian New Music Network Forum in Ottawa. I then found the FRACTURE anthology (essays, poems and stories on fracking in America), and it inspired me to conceive this song cycle. I then approached Meredith to collaborate with me on this project. Once funding for Meredith’s commission was secured thanks to the support of the Ontario Arts Council and SOCAN Foundation, we went about selecting text for me to set to music. I am grateful that the following American and Canadian poets allowed me to set their poignant stories and perspectives about fracking to music:

Kathleen Burke, Michelle Donahue, Alison Hawthorne Deming, Lilace Mellin Guignard, Wayne Mennecke, Rachel Morgan, Mary Heather Noble, Christine Pennylegion, Michelle Regalado Deatrick, Stephanie Schultz, Mark Trechock, Susan Truxell Sauter

The composing phase that followed was a wonderful time in that I shared the songs and got Meredith’s feedback as I completed each. Meredith then began rehearsing last fall and it was a joy to attend those sessions…

Hearing Meredith sing these songs for the first time moved me to tears. This is heavy subject matter, yet she conveys the music with beauty, grace and a dramatic presence. Composing vocal music has become a bigger part of my life only in these past handful of years. I’m happy it has. The singing voice has a special way of conveying our human condition and I’m so honoured to have the opportunity to be part of that process.

In February, Meredith and Brahm presented selections of the cycle in their 1st “warm-up” performance…

Then in March, Meredith and Brahm presented all songs of the cycle in their 2nd “warm-up” performance…

…all this nicely leading to the amazingness of the world premiere in April at Humbercrest United Church in Toronto…

There was an amazing energy from the appreciative audience. We were all captivated by Meredith’s beautiful voice. After the performance, we had an informative Q&A featuring one of the poets, Michelle Regalado Deatrick, and Dr. Elaine MacDonald, from Ecojustice, an important NGO who was the beneficiary of donations from the event. I cannot emphasize enough how lucky I am to do what I do. To be a composer, to be an artivist, to be a community member – my life is blessed! ❤️

All these phases lead to our recording sessions! The album is set to be released this Fall. It would not have been possible without the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts and FACTOR.

Fractures is based on the destructive environmental practice of fracking. Never heard of fracking? Watch this short (and objective) video about how it works and the detrimental impact it has on the environment…

Fracking is an issue that often flies under the radar in the discussion about energy options since natural gas burns “cleaner” than other fossil fuels. But what I’ve learned is that the resources and chemicals required to extract natural gas through fracking are staggering and the impact it has on the land and people who live around these operations is truly heartbreaking. My hope is that the perspectives shared in this song cycle will humanize the issue.

Message from Meredith:

I am honoured and excited to be collaborating with Frank for FRACTURES. To create new art which focuses attention on fracking is both daunting and invigorating.

Artistically, I want to use my skills as a singer to reveal truths about the environmental impacts of fracking. I wish to communicate a wide range of human emotions and ideas on the subject, to sing with empathy for both sides of the controversy.

Frank is a dream collaborator. His music is sensitive, beautiful and powerful. It draws from the deep sincerity of his convictions, and his passionate desire to bring awareness to important subjects.

Personally, I hope that by joining my voice to Frank’s music, I can move hearts and minds and inspire people to take action on climate change. I am a mother and I feel such fear and grief and shame for the irreparable environmental damage my generation has not prevented. But I also feel that both courage and hopeful actions are required of me. This project gives me a rare chance to create truly meaningful art that will, I hope, motivate humans to do better.

– Meredith Hall