The Well, based out of Cincinnati, offers programs that combine aspects of mindfulness, arts, social-emotional learning, play, movement, and poetry into practices for regular use within schools, hospitals, and communities. The Well’s Mindful Music Moments program delivers music and mindfulness daily to schools across the country.
Each week, entire schools listen to a single piece of music, repeated for 5 days, with creative, mindful prompts preceding each day. The Field Recording/New Music Project, supported by a grant from the Ohio Arts Council, hired 4 musicians to record sounds in their area and create new music with the sounds during the 2021/22 school year.
I am delighted to work on a piece that shares calm with students. The sounds of Lake Erie and surrounding wildlife were the theme and inspiration to this composition.
Notes about the recording
Erie Serenade samples sounds from the Lake Erie region. For this project, I recorded environmental acoustics at five different locations. Wave sounds were sampled from Magee Marsh and Edgewater Beach. Bird, bug, and frog songs were recorded from Old Woman Creek, Rocky River Reservation, and Columbia Station Reservation.
What amphibians, animals, birds, and insect calls can you identify? I can hear blue jays, chickadees, cicadas, crickets, and woodpeckers.
The percussion is made entirely of environmental field recordings; the melody is voice. All the vocals are my own. The natural percussion was clipped to fit 79 bpm and designed to be supportive of slow, steady breathing. Once the background beat was composed I meditated on what tone would fit the emotions and intentions of the song and started recording vocals. I wanted the piece to be uplifting, repetitive, and hypnotic, yet enough variation for engagement. There are many layers to the song that can serve as cues to breathe deeply. Please follow the pulse that best serves your breathing practice.
This project increased awareness of manmade sounds. Recording the natural environment is challenging because human-created cacophonies dominate the soundscape: running engines, ringing phones, passing planes, power and yard tools are much louder than wildlife. Even traffic lights hum. This project made me curious to hear the sounds of old-growth forests of the past.
I was asked, “What else do you want students to know, hear or think about when they hear this music?”
I hope this song helps students meditate in the present moment.
Listen to the layers. Breathe with the music. Let worries melt away and envision a calming happy space. Feel at peace. Today is an exciting new day. May it bring joy. Thanks for sharing this moment together.
This album is called Illicit Hymns because the recordings were unplanned and unrehearsed. The locations were not scouted nor researched, rather stumbled upon.
It started at an artist residency at Chateau Orquevaux in rural France (Read the backstory in this post).
After the residency, I drove around France and Switzerland for a few weeks playing shows and singing in churches.
I’d turn the corner and find a beautiful cathedral nearly empty. The door would open, I’d walk around wide-eyed making a few coos and hoos, until I found a good spot. I’d lean my camera and audio recorder on whatever surface was nearby and start singing sounds.
Doing was first, documenting came second. I winged it. I was in each church for under 10 minutes. The visuals are shaky because of the haphazardness. However, I embrace these imperfections. If I did this any other way, the project would not be the same.
These recordings are from Gruyères, Switzerland in the Church of St. Theodule (Eglise Saint Theodule). Gruyères is a gorgeous medieval town that happened to be hosting an art fair when I arrived. I drove there to visit the HR Giger Museum. Instead, I ate grilled cheese in the Giger Cafe and headed to this church to sing. I had the place to myself with the exception of a few fellow tourists who popped in and out.
The spaces shaped the sound. The specific echo and excitement of each experience made the melody. I had never heard or sang these songs before. If I had scheduled a show, or gotten permission this would have been a completely different performance. These pieces would have never existed.
This trip was the first time I focused all my attention on art. It was an exploratory experience. It was a quest to honor and follow my intuition. It was life-changing and shaped my decision to pursue my creative calling.
There are 3 more cathedral performances to share. Stay tuned. Listen to the recordings on Bandcamp and wherever you prefer to stream.
“Illicit Hymns” releases November 19, 2021. The BANDCAMP pre-order starts today. The album and video series are 7 improv performances in 4 cathedrals around France and Switzerland.
This album is called Illicit Hymns because I sang in cathedrals without permission. This trip was about following my intuition. The recordings were unplanned and unrehearsed. The locations were not scouted nor researched, rather stumbled upon.
Maybe you’re wondering why I was singing in these places. It started at an artist residency at Chateau Orquevaux in rural France. For two weeks I lived in a mansion with twelve other artists. During our stay, we visited Eglise Saint André, a church in Orquevaux. Only opened occasionally, I was allowed a last-minute opportunity to sing inside. I winged it. Consumed in the moment the melodies flowed freely. The other artists drew as I sang.
The church was built before electric amplification was invented. The construction of these spaces was meant to carry voices. The sound was phenomenal and the reverb resonated through my body. (View on Youtube. This recording is not a part of Illicit Hymns release because I had permission to sing).
Next we visited Cathédrale Saint-Mammès de Langres in Langres, France. Construction of Langres Cathedral began in the 11th century. The architecture was stunning and the acoustics were amazing.
Another artist from the residency encouraged me to sing. I was hesitant. Her words were along the lines of, what are the consequences? What are they going to do, ask you to stop?
I shook my shyness, took up space, and made some noise.
These are the first two pieces on the album.
After the residency I traveled solo through France and Switzerland, sharing a few performances and scoping out a few cathedrals. On my own, I visited 3 more churches. I’ll be sharing those soon.
The artist residency at Foundation House was life-changing. Foundation House offers an inspiring space and time to create for artists and activists working on projects related to their mission. I was there for 10 days and lived with 6 other artists.
My time was productive. I wrapped up 7 songs completing a long-term project and wrote 4 new pieces. I’m excited to present “Illicit Hymns”, improv cathedral performances I recorded in France and Switzerland. I’ll share a preview on November 11, with the full release on November 19, 2021 on BANDCAMP.
Two of the new songs were composed in collaboration with The Well’s Mindful Music Moments program. The song samples the sounds of Lake Erie and surrounding wildlife. I’ll be sharing those pieces in early December.
The other 2 new songs I adore. They will be on an upcoming record and are secret for now. I look forward to focusing on this album at another residency with the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation in Rockland, Maine, in December 2021.
I have lots of new songs and videos coming your way! Thanks for your support.
I want to finish this post by sharing some photos and introducing the other artists from the residency. The property was magnificent, the places I recorded sounded incredible, the food was amazing, and I am most grateful for spending time with other inspiring, empathetic, passionate artists. I genuinely love these people.
This is where I recorded
3 mics sound creamy
Christina Peabody is the best cook
Yeah I set up my equipment in the giant fireplace
Hannah Ayers & her paintings
Rosi showing her work in the greehouse
Rosi Greenberg’s work
Sarah Beth Kaye
Steph Jenkins
Victoria van der Laan’s work
Christina Peabody
Hannah Ayers is an amazing painter and mixed media artist. Small world, she lives in Cleveland too! She was working on a powerful fiber installation piece that I’m really looking forward to experiencing when it is ready to be seen.
Rosi Greenberg is an artist and author/ illustrator. She’s working on a book, “Everyone Has a Sam” about inner critics and how to move beyond the narrative. The draft legit made me cry happy tears. I recommend you read it when it comes out.
Sarah Beth Kaye is an accessible art advocate and super smart and funny. She’s the author of Climate Change Anxiety: The Zine. At the residency, she worked on Climate Change Anxiety The Musical, which she’ll co-create with community members using the devised theatre method.
Stephanie Jenkins is a producer, archivist, and lovely musician. She plays the banjo and just had a CD release in Japan. She’s a shining star and I’m so happy to be her new friend. Steph spent the time brainstorming and planning future projects and film ideas. I’m ecstatic to see what she makes.
Victoria van der Laan is a textile artist and quilt maker. Her designs are incredible, modern, and meticulous. At the residency, she tried a new method and stretched the quilts over canvas. I’m kicking myself for forgetting to buy one. They look amazing.
Christina Peabody is an artist who makes lovely handmade jewelry. She made everything happen. She is the residency developer, manager, and organizer. Her ability to pick a great mix of artists has won her the title of “vibe curator.” She spoiled us with her delicious cooking and great sense of humor. It was so nice sharing meals and space with these wonderful women.
I’m ecstatic to announce I have been selected for the artist residency program at Foundation House. I’m honored to be a part of the Foundation House’s creative, philanthropic community.
I’ll be spending a few weeks in Connecticut creating compositions and editing videos. The property is a century old great estate, with a grand manor house, old stables, and greenhouses.
Foundation House represents life at the crossroads; respecting the past, while inspiring the future. Foundation House opens its doors to artists and activists working on projects related to the mission of bettering environmental, community, and mental health. These creatives of all disciplines – painters, writers, sculptors, designers, visionary thinkers and doers – are offered an inspiring retreat, space and time to create (FoundationHousect.org).
I’ll keep you posted on what I’m working on and more about the residency as the details unfold. If you’d like to support my travel to the residency you can through venmo @TheUnoLady and paypal UnoLadyMusic@gmail.com
Thank you Foundation House. I am grateful for the opportunity.
I’m honored and ecstatic to announce I have been awarded the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Residency. I’ll be composing and creating art in Rockland, Maine in December 2021.
The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation recognizes that the arts are essential to an open, enlightened society. The residency program values innovation, experimentation and creative risk-taking in all genres, known and as yet to be discovered. They envision the residency as inclusive and diverse, prompting reflection and dialogue with other residents and the community, offering the gift of concentrated time and space in which to unveil new ideas and imagine new ways of working. More at www.Ellis-BeauregardFoundation.org
If you’d like to donate and help me get to the residency you can through venmo @TheUnoLady and paypal UnoLadyMusic@gmail.com I’ll keep you posted on what I’m working on and more about the residency as the details unfold. Thanks for your support.
