"Over the past two years I was deciding what sort of artistic
statement I wanted to make with my debut album. The idea of my home being a safe, warm, and loving place to live plays a prominent role in my life. When we were getting ready to leave our New York City neighborhood of 15 years, I found myself having long conversations with my seven year old about what “home” is. I told him that it isn’t just a place, but the love of the people inside the home as well as a feeling of the community outside a home. Around this time we started hearing all of these horrific stories from the border about people trying to find a safe place to live, and children being separated from their parents. It occurred to me that all of this is still happening today, after thousands of years of people being exiled from their homes and creating new ones. It stirred a feeling within me that rippled outwards. It became clear to me that the concept of home is what I wanted to explore with my album. When I approached the composers & writers this resonated with them as well; both personally, and in a larger social sense. I was starting plans to record the album as COVID-19 emerged and it became apparent that all of this was more relevant than ever. We all now have a different view of the word HOME forever." -Blythe Gaissert 2021
credits
released May 7, 2021
Featuring works by David T. Little, Rene Orth, Martin Hennessy, Laura Kaminsky, John Glover, Kamala Sankaram, Ricky Ian Gordon, and Mikael Karlsson, HOME includes performances by award-winning members of the Attacca and Aizuri quartets; Sybarite5, and Imani Winds;
and is produced by 11-time Grammy® Award-winner, Judith Sherman.
NEW YORK, NY–On May 7, 2021, Bright Shiny Things releases HOME [BSTC-0137], the solo debut album of the “dramatically powerful, vocally stunning” (Opera News) mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert. The album consists of eight world premiere recordings which reflect on the broader social implications of “home,” including dislocation, immigration, love and mourning, all written expressly written for Ms. Gaissert by Ricky Ian Gordon, John Glover, Martin Hennessy, David T. Little, Laura Kaminsky, Mikael Karlsson, Rene Orth, and Kamala Sankaram. The opening track features lyrics by Pulitzer Prize winning librettist Royce Vavrek. The collaborative musicians on the album include Grammy®-winning & Grammy®-nominated musicians from the Attacca Quartet, Aizuri Quartet, Sybarite5, & Imani winds. At the helm is 11 time Grammy award winning producer of the year, Judith Sherman.
Mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert has established herself as one of the preeminent interpreters of some of the brightest stars
of new classical music. A true singing actress, she has received critical acclaim for her interpretations of both new and traditional repertoire in opera, concert, and chamber repertoire. “Gaissert gave a dramatically powerful, vocally stunning...more at bit.ly/3trgAel...more
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