pyr048 sarah j ritch – string theory

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invocation. radio signals from deep space. pizzicato plucks over drones. process. a pure tone emerges. builds and fades and drops. re-establishes and re-strengthens. a pulse in the background. release and descent. evening acoustics. swirling wood. strings breathing long tones.

string theory is an exploration of the acoustic structures of strings and sines. the tracks range from strictly notated tonal music (sonata de kinor) to improvised noise (duo for solo cello).

music by
sarah j ritch – electronics, cello, composition.

notes:
the violin on 400g live was performed by carmel raz and was recorded in 2008 at the musica nova festival in tel aviv, israel. the violin on sonata de kinor – 1st movement was performed by aurelien pederzoli and was recorded live in 2011 at ganz hall, chicago. 16 days was originally released as a single by absence of wax.

tracklist
01. celli 02. 400g live 03. 16 days 04. sonata de kinor – 1st movement 05. duo for solo cello

press

“Duo for Solo Cello” – a thoroughly engaging composition: thoughtful, sometimes brooding, sometimes explicitly sorrowful, always rife with a radically divergent compositional style akin to Sara Galán … This is the type of exemplary work for which Creative Commons Netaudio releases could one day also be known… – stag records.

…Ritch wanders across the galaxy of spectral-motionlessness-cum-throbbing-pulse, remaining there for long moments of magnetic sine wave-induced stasis (“16 Days”). On the other, the classic expertise of this inquiring mind emerges in “Sonata De Kinor – 1st Movement”, a soloist piece replete with echoes from a past age without romantic saccharine. In the middle of silence stands “Duo For Solo Cello”: “delicately strong” music halfway through timbral x-ray and very essential study of melodic collapse, confirming the validity of this woman’s talent…
– touching extremes

The five tracks on String Theory offer a brief overview into Ritch’s development as a composer and skillful manipulator of electronics and cello. Aside from the notated tonal music of Sonata de Kinor and the violin on “400g live,” played by Carmel Raz and captured at an Israeli festival, the three other tracks on the album are played by the composer herself. The free-form noise of the 14-minute Duo for Solo Cello explores the properties of strings, transforming an acoustic instrument into the crackling static of a Tesla coil. The epic “16 Days” constructs an astral starscape of eerie drones. String Theory beautifully captures the ongoing bloom of one of Chicago’s most daring young composers. – time out chicago