Gabriel Kahane’s new album, Book of Travelers, stems from an almost 9,000 mile journey by train where Kahane disconnected from digital life and connected with people, in person. Kahane was interviewed on PBS about the piece, and its genesis:
To hear samples of the recording, please click here.
Read The New Yorker’s Alex Ross about the piece.
A companion songbook is in preparation, and will be available soon.
The Fiction Issue, a collaboration with the string quartet Brooklyn Rider, is Gabriel Kahane’s first album of chamber music, comprising three pieces written between 2011 and 2015. The title work, featuring Shara Worden, was commissioned by Carnegie Hall, and premiered in 2012. It was revised in 2014. Bradbury Studies (2014-2015), for quartet alone, is a deconstruction of the song “Bradbury (304 Broadway)” from The Ambassador, and is dedicated to Brooklyn Rider. Finally, Come On All You Ghosts (2011), on poems by Matthew Zapruder, closes the set.
Read Nate Chinen’s review in the New York Times here.
Sheet music for The Fiction Issue is available here.
Sheet music for Come On All You Ghosts is available here.
From Die Hard to the architecture of Richard Neutra and R.M. Schindler, from Blade Runner to the fiction of James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler, and from fires, riots, and earthquakes to the lives of so many Americans who have looked to Southern California as a panacea, Gabriel Kahane’s The Ambassador draws its inspiration from a multitude of sources to tell intimate, human stories against the backdrop of Los Angeles architecture and popular culture.
Order the CD here.
Commissioned by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for their 40th anniversary, Gabriel’s Guide to the 48 States is a tribute to the New Deal’s W.P.A. project. Compiled from text in the American Guide series, a collection of guidebooks that were commissioned to provide employment for writers during the depression, they provide a fascinating picture of America by some of its best writers. Scored for baritone and chamber orchestra (Flute/Piccolo, Oboe/English Horn, 2 Clarinets/Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, Trumpet, Trombone, Percussion, Electric Guitar/Banjo Strings) the work is 45 minutes long. The text is compiled from the American Guide Series and the Sacred Harp hymn “Marlborough.” The world premiere performance was given at Dartmouth College on April 19, 2013. Orpheus will give the New York premiere on April 27 2013 at Carnegie Hall.
After its extended run at New York City’s Public Theater, the original cast recording of February House has been released on the Storysound label. The show is based on Sherill Tippins’ book, which brings to life the story of what was possibly the most fertile and improbable live-in salon of the twentieth century. Known as “February House,” its residents included, among others, Carson McCullers, W. H. Auden, Paul Bowles, and the famed burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee. This ramshackle Brooklyn brownstone was host to an explosion of creativity, an extraordinary experiment in communal living, and a nonstop yearlong party fueled by the appetites of youth. Here these burgeoning talents composed many of their most famous, iconic literary works while experiencing together a crucial historical moment–America on the threshold of World War II.
With music and lyrics by Gabriel Kahane and book by Seth Bockley, the show ran to packed houses and rave reviews.
“IT’S THE MUSIC THAT MAKES THE MAGIC… the music artfully captures the spirit of the years in which FEBRUARY HOUSE is set.”
– Ben Brantley, The New York Times
“IMAGINATIVE AND BEGUILING. Directed with sweeping, thoughtful flair by Davis McCallum, the production is visually and aurally rich.”
– Jennifer Farrar, Associated Press
“Gabriel Kahane’s songs range wide and deep. The score adroitly balances lush romanticism and sharp wit. FEBRUARY HOUSE has introduced a vital new voice to the musical theater.”
– Jeremy Gerard, Bloomberg
“Seth Bockley’s dialogue is funny and quick, but also has something on its mind. Kahane’s music and exceptional lyrics carry the production into the sublime.”
– Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly
“Where Carson McCullers is concerned, Kahane achieves a kind of art-song nirvana, gorgeously rendered by Kristen Sieh, whose upper register recalls Joni Mitchell’s.”
– Elizabeth Vincentelli, New York Post
Kahane on February House
FEBRUARY HOUSE was recently featured in The New York Times! click here to read the article.
NewMusicBox reviews the recording.
