TIC

Common Sense Composers' Collective and New Millennium Ensemble

Catalog #: TROY0899
Release Date: February 1, 2007
Format: Digital
Chamber

It's been nearly a decade since the music of the Common Sense Composers' Collective first surfaced on CD. Their first disc challenged the rarified asceticism of the then still-reigning though waning contemporary music orthodoxy with joyous abandon. Even the disc's cover, featuring eight clearly fun-loving folks, already dented the wall of solemnity that is suggested by the ubiquitous dour tweed-suit mug shots on the covers of many contemporary music recordings. But, ultimately, it was the sheer persuasiveness of the music that crashed down those walls. This group is now entering its second decade and so far has commissioned 62 new works. The pieces contained on this new release were originally written in 1996 in collaboration with the members of the Alternate Currents Performance Ensemble. They are joined on this CD by the New Millennium Ensemble, a mixed sextet of winds, strings, piano and percussion founded in 1990. The mission of all the performers heard on this disc, remains one of collaboration and community. They workshop the compositions through a process one would find more in the dance world than in the classical music world. Many of these works, which began with Common Sense, have found a new home with The New Millennium Ensemble, underlining a new collaborative dynamic and sense of joy in music-making.

Stream/Buy

Choose your platform

Track Listing

Title Composer Performer
Spam Marc Mellits New Millennium Ensemble
coming aroundÉ Belinda Reynolds New Millennium Ensemble
not a single night's sky Ed Harsh New Millennium Ensemble
Alternative Music Randall Woolf New Millennium Ensemble
S.T.I.C. Dan Becker New Millennium Ensemble
Lapis Lazuli Carolyn Yarnell New Millennium Ensemble
Vox Pop John Halle New Millennium Ensemble

Reviews

  • "If the major musical architects of the 20th century establishment designed intimidating skyscrapers with no windows or ventilation systems, the members of the [Common Sense Composers Collective] are designing miniature doll houses with human appeal and careful attention to detail. The...New Millennium Ensemble...performs each piece with an expert combination of focus and playfulness."

    – Time Out Chicago

*Album cover provided for Editorial use only. ©Albany Records. The Albany Imprint is a registered trademark of PARMA Recordings LLC. The views and opinions expressed in this media are those of the artist and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views and opinions held by PARMA Recordings LLC and its label imprints, subsidiaries, and affiliates.