Cellular Songs Meredith Monk

• Meredith Monk (b. 1942):
• 1 Monk: Click Song #3 Prologue 01:51
• 2 Monk: Cell Trio I 03:53
• 3 Monk: Cell Trio II 03:29
• 4 Monk: Cell Trio III 02:47
• 5 Monk: Dyads 02:23
• 6 Monk: Happy Woman 05:01
• 7 Monk: Click Song #3 02:32
• 8 Monk: Branching 09:05
• 9 Monk: Lullaby for Lise 04:50
• 10 Monk: Generation Dance 04:57
• 11 Monk: Breathstream 01:59
• 12 Monk: Dive 03:44
• 13 Monk: Melt 03:20
• 14 Monk: Passing 05:57
• 15 Monk: Nyems 09:22
• Total Runtime 01:05:10

Info for Cellular Songs

“Cooperation, interdependence and kindness” are the qualities that Meredith Monk emphasizes in Cellular Songs, “as an antidote to the values that are being propagated right now.” Of the work’s premiere performance the New York Times wrote, “Ms. Monk spun together divergent elements so fluidly that it created an unmistakable sense of hope. It’s much easier to conceive of bridging public divides — or even containing multitudes, as an individual — when you witness a synthesis like the one created in Cellular Songs.” The second part of an interdisciplinary trilogy begun with On Behalf of Nature, Cellular Songs looks inward, at the fabric of life itself, and draws inspiration from cellular activity including replication and mutation, in the course of some of Meredith Monk’s most adventurous vocal music. The composer describes her process in spatial terms: “Earlier, my music had much more to do with layering. Now you can almost see or hear the piece rotating as if it were a sculpture in space.” Recorded at New York’s Power Station in 2022 and 2024, Cellular Songs is Meredith Monk’s thirteenth album for ECM New Series.

“As artists, we're all contending with what to do at a time like this. I wanted to make a piece that can be experienced as an alternative possibility of human behavior, where the values are cooperation, interdependence, and kindness, as an antidote to the values that are being propagated right now." (Meredith Monk)

Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble:
Meredith Monk, voice, body percussion
Ellen Fisher, voice, body percussion
Katie Geissinger, voice, body percussion
Joanna Lynn-Jacobs, voice, body percussion
Allison Sniffin, voice, body percussion, violin, piano
John Hollenbeck, vibraphone, percussion, crotales

Meredith Monk
is a composer, singer, and creator of new opera and music-theater works. Recognized as one of the most unique and influential artists of our time, she is a pioneer in what is now called “extended vocal technique”. Her groundbreaking exploration of the voice as an instrument, as an eloquent language in and of itself, expands the boundaries of musical composition, creating landscapes of sound that unearth feelings, energies, and memories for which there are no words.

Over the last six decades, Ms. Monk has been hailed as one of National Public Radio’s 50 Great Voices and “one of America’s coolest composers.” Her numerous awards and honors include a MacArthur “Genius” award and Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Republic of France. In conjunction with her 50th Season of creating and performing, she was appointed the 2014-15 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair at Carnegie Hall. Recently Monk received three of the highest honors bestowed on a living artist in the United States; induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the 2017 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, and a 2015 National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama. Celebrated internationally, her work has been presented at major venues around the world.

Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble
consists of some of the finest and most adventurous singer/instrumentalist/performers active in new music. Founded in 1978 to further expand Monk’s groundbreaking exploration of the human voice, the Ensemble has received multiple awards and critical acclaim, including a 2008 GRAMMY nomination for impermanence. Appearing in festivals, theaters and concert halls around the world, Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble can also be heard on numerous recordings on the ECM New Music Series label.

Bang on a Can All-Stars
Formed in 1992, the Bang on a Can All-Stars are recognized worldwide for their ultra-dynamic live performances and recordings of today’s most innovative music. Freely crossing the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world and experimental music, this six-member amplified ensemble has consistently forged a distinct category-defying identity, taking music into uncharted territories. Performing each year throughout the U.S. and internationally, the All-Stars have shattered the definition of what concert music is today.

Together, the All-Stars have worked in unprecedented close collaboration with some of the most important and inspiring musicians of our time, including Steve Reich, Ornette Coleman, Burmese circle drum master Kyaw Kyaw Naing, Tan Dun, DJ Spooky, and many more. The group’s celebrated projects include their landmark recordings of Brian Eno’s ambient classic Music for Airports and Terry Riley’s In C, as well as live performances with Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Don Byron, Iva Bittova, Thurston Moore, Owen Pallett and others. The All-Stars were awarded Musical America’s Ensemble of the Year in 2005 and have been heralded as “the country’s most important vehicle for contemporary music” by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Recent project highlights include Field Recordings, a major new multi media project featuring hot-off-the-press commissioned works by Tyondai Braxton, Mira Calix, Anna Clyne, Dan Deacon, Bryce Dessner, Florent Ghys, Michael Gordon, Jóhann Jóhannsson, David Lang, Christian Marclay, Paula Matthusen, Steve Reich, Todd Reynolds, Julia Wolfe, and Nick Zammuto; the world premiere, performances, and recording of Steve Reich’s 2x5 including a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall; the group’s multiple visits to China for the Beijing Music Festival and Hong Kong Arts Festival; the US tour and Carnegie Hall performance of Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer, an evening-length staged concert with Trio Mediaeval; commissioned works by Louis Andriessen, Bill Frisell, Ryuichi Sakamoto and more. With a massive repertoire of works written specifically for the group's distinctive instrumentation and style of performance, the All-Stars have grown to encompass a genre in their own right. The ensemble records on Cantaloupe Music and has released recordings on Sony, Universal and Nonesuch.

Booklet for Cellular Songs