Dreams & Prayers, the first album on A Far Cry's in-house record label Crier Records, has received a Grammy® nomination, the group's first, in the category "Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance."
A Far Cry's Grammy® nomination also includes clarinetist David Krakauer, described by The New York Times as playing "with soul and passion in Osvaldo Golijov's 'The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind.'"
Notably, in its category, Crier Records is the only in-house label represented, and Dreams & Prayers is the only album to have been successfully funded by fans through a Kickstarter campaign.
"Since its conception, Dreams & Prayers has been about connecting with listeners on a very intimate level," says Crier Miki-Sophia Cloud, the recording's curator. "I'm delighted that with the nomination, this album of intensely personal and spiritual music will now be reaching a wider audience."
David Krakauer states, "I'm thrilled to receive a Grammy® nomination along with the amazing self-conducted chamber orchestra A Far Cry. Almost 19 years ago I recorded Osvaldo Golijov's? monumental masterpiece The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind with the Kronos Quartet. It's been an amazing journey with both versions of this piece ever since!"
Mr. Golijov adds, "I hope the nomination will bring new listeners to this sweeping vision of an album."
Composer Mehmet Ali Sanl?kol says, "While hanging out in the dusty streets of Bursa, Turkey, back in the late 80s, all I could think of was becoming a composer. About three years ago I finally got back into composing both jazz and contemporary classical music, with a particular sense of 'Turkishness'. When
A Far Cry commissioned me to compose Vecd, not only did they give me an amazing opportunity to showcase my 'multilingual' skills as a composer but also presented me with the possibility of taking a giant step towards achieving my dream. I am proud, humbled and grateful."
WQXR/Q2 writes about Mr. Sanl?kol's Vecd that it "fits nicely alongside Golijov's klezmer-inspired work. The piece seems to ooze shmaltz as you listen to it, with rhythmic dance grooves reminiscent of Piazzolla's Nuevo Tango and languid modal melodies that weave through and around one another." Of the chant by Hildegard von Bingen that opens Dreams & Prayers, the
Raleigh (North Carolina) News & Observer writes, "This non-vocal arrangement has hypnotic focus, the melody's repetitive undulations coaxing the listener into a trance-like state." Commenting on Beethoven's Heiliger Dankgesang, which closes the CD, the same reviewer noted, "the quiet uplift of its harmonious lyricism exemplifies music's ability to take us into higher realms, away from everyday woes."
Crier Megumi Stohs Lewis, who also serves as label manager for Crier Records, sums up: "We've always felt that this album was uniquely personal to A Far Cry, and that it would make a perfect launch for our own label. It's exciting for us to have this initial offering find such an enthusiastic reception, especially because it was such a collective effort among Criers, composers, and Kickstarter backers."
The 2015 Grammy® Awards will be announced on Sunday, February 8.
About A Far Cry
A Far Cry stands at the forefront of an exciting new generation in classical music. According to The New York Times, the self-conducted orchestra "brims with personality or, better, personalities, many and varied."
A Far Cry was founded in 2007 by a tightly-knit collective of 17 young professional musicians, and since the beginning has fostered those personalities. A Far Cry has developed an innovative process where decisions are made collectively and leadership rotates among the "Criers." For each piece, a group of principals is elected by the members, and these five musicians guide the rehearsal process and shape the interpretation. Since each program includes multiple works, this multiplicity of leaders adds tremendous musical variety to the concerts.
Their omnivorous approach has led them to collaborations with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Jake Shimabukuro, Urbanity Dance, and Roomful of Teeth. By expanding the boundaries of orchestral repertoire and experimenting with the ways music is prepared, performed, and experienced, A Far Cry has been embraced throughout the world with more than three hundred performances coast to coast and across the globe, exciting recordings, and a powerful presence on the internet. The Criers are proud to call Boston home, and maintain strong roots in the city, rehearsing at their storefront music center in Jamaica Plain and fulfilling the role of Chamber Orchestra in Residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Collaborating with local students through an educational partnership with the New England Conservatory, A Far Cry aims to pass on the spirit of collaboratively-empowered music to the next generation. http://www.afarcry.org/
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