Steel Hammer by Julia Wolfe. Bang on a can All-Stars and Trio Mediæval at Tivoli Vredenburg, Utrecht
14 February 2025/ Netherlands / Utrecht
Artistes
Bang on a Can All-Stars
Vicky Chow piano, melodica
David Cossin drums, percussion
Arlen Hlusko violoncelle
Mark Stewart electric guitar, banjo, mountain dulcimer, jaw harp, harmonica
Ken Thomson clarinet, harmonica
Kebra-Seyoun Charles double bass
Bang on a Can All-Stars
Vicky Chow piano, melodica
David Cossin drums, percussion
Arlen Hlusko violoncelle
Mark Stewart electric guitar, banjo, mountain dulcimer, jaw harp, harmonica
Ken Thomson clarinet, harmonica
Kebra-Seyoun Charles double bass
Trio Mediæval vocal ensemble
Anna Maria Friman
Linn Andrea Fuglseth
Jorunn Lovise Husan
Even when it comes to the state of the art, there are legends - like the Bang on a Can All-Stars, who are always on the lookout for highly topical and exciting music, regardless of genre categories. Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk and Ornette Coleman are just some of the artists who have already collaborated with the New York collective. For their debut at the Elbphilharmonie, the musicians have chosen a work by founding member and Pulitzer Prize winner Julia Wolfe, which recounts the myth of the American folk hero John Henry in the form of an oratorio combining minimal music and country.
There are hundreds of versions of this story, passed down by word of mouth and already set to music many times over, whether by Johnny Cash, Van Morrison or Bruce Springsteen: at the end of the 19th century, a labourer is supposed to have used his muscles to confront a new type of steam hammer used in railway construction and to have won - only to pay for it with his life.
Julia Wolfe has composed a meta-myth with ‘Steel Hammer’: ‘The work is inspired by my love of Appalachian legends and music. I fragmented the many different and somewhat contradictory versions of the ballad and wove them into a completely new format. The music often revolves around individual words or phrases to tell the final story and its different paths.
The Appalachian dulcimer (a type of zither) joins Bang on a Can's usual line-up of clarinet, lots of percussion, guitars, piano, cello and double bass, providing the American country sound. The Mediæval Trio, a first-rate Norwegian a-cappella ensemble, complete the picture with their clear soprano and alto voices, which Julia Wolfe particularly appreciates for their extensive experience of the vocal tradition of their native country.
Anna Maria Friman
Linn Andrea Fuglseth
Jorunn Lovise Husan
Even when it comes to the state of the art, there are legends - like the Bang on a Can All-Stars, who are always on the lookout for highly topical and exciting music, regardless of genre categories. Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk and Ornette Coleman are just some of the artists who have already collaborated with the New York collective. For their debut at the Elbphilharmonie, the musicians have chosen a work by founding member and Pulitzer Prize winner Julia Wolfe, which recounts the myth of the American folk hero John Henry in the form of an oratorio combining minimal music and country.
There are hundreds of versions of this story, passed down by word of mouth and already set to music many times over, whether by Johnny Cash, Van Morrison or Bruce Springsteen: at the end of the 19th century, a labourer is supposed to have used his muscles to confront a new type of steam hammer used in railway construction and to have won - only to pay for it with his life.
Julia Wolfe has composed a meta-myth with ‘Steel Hammer’: ‘The work is inspired by my love of Appalachian legends and music. I fragmented the many different and somewhat contradictory versions of the ballad and wove them into a completely new format. The music often revolves around individual words or phrases to tell the final story and its different paths.
The Appalachian dulcimer (a type of zither) joins Bang on a Can's usual line-up of clarinet, lots of percussion, guitars, piano, cello and double bass, providing the American country sound. The Mediæval Trio, a first-rate Norwegian a-cappella ensemble, complete the picture with their clear soprano and alto voices, which Julia Wolfe particularly appreciates for their extensive experience of the vocal tradition of their native country.
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