Ellis Ludwig-Leone (San Fermin) Shares 'Our Lady of the Dunes'

Ellis Ludwig-Leone, composer and creative force behind San Fermin, has shared "Our Lady Of The Dunes," another new single from False We Hope, his first album of concert works. The album, which arrives February 24, 2023 via Better Company Records, features Ludwig-Leone on piano and synthesizer, as well as string accompaniment by the GRAMMY-winning Attacca Quartet and vocalist Eliza Bagg (Lisel, Roomful of Teeth).

"Our Lady Of The Dunes" is available now on all DSPs and is accompanied by a high-quality live performance video that showcases a new side of the celebrated songwriter and composer's musical imagination.

"This song was a fun one to write, because the trick was to keep the music very simple and transparent in order for the haunting images of Karen and Carey's lyrics to land," Ludwig-Leone explains. "The piano moves in 10ths, warm and reassuring, but the harmonies start to slip, imperceptibly at first, until the song twists into a new key: an unexpected moment of revelation; a brief glimpse of a ghost."

False We Hope's movements flicker through themes of hope and loss, connection and isolation: a prayer book for the nonbeliever. Featuring lyrics by MacArthur recipient and Pulitzer finalist Karen Russell (Swamplandia!) and poet Carey McHugh, False We Hope is an attempt for ritual and human connection in the face of cosmic indifference and the white noise of isolation.

Comprised of two larger works: the song cycle "False We Hope" and the string quartet "Speech after the Removal of the Larynx," the album's musical and narrative elements echo back and forth like a seance, centering Bagg's ethereal vocals against the gnarled, sometimes terrifying response of the presence on the other side.

For Ludwig-Leone, False We Hope is both an expansion and departure from the aesthetic and musical language that launched him to success as a bandleader. The music on False We Hope was written in solitude, in a moment of disquiet and fear. This new community of collaborators, assembled to bring the deeply relevant themes of these works to life, unflinchingly presents an expression of hope in an uncertain world.

False We Hope received its debut via a coveted slot at Big Ears 2022, where it was met with widespread early acclaim. The album is just one of the collaborations between Ludwig-Leone and Karen Russell slated for this year - the two are also gearing up for the release of their opera The Night Falls, which will premiere at PEAK Performances @ Montclair State University and features choreography from Troy Schumacher (New York City Ballet).

Listen to the new single here:

Photo Credit: Catharina Gerritsen