No. 1 — “the labor of forgetting”

Artists

Repertoire

Dante De Silva (b. 1978)

Shibui—a dirge in memory of my mentor, Deborah Clasquin (2009) for solo piano

Four Years of Fog (2016) for just-tuned piano

Ryan MacEvoy McCullough, piano

Katherine Balch (b. 1991)
& Katie Ford (b. 1975)

estrangement (2020) for voice and piano

Lucy Fitz Gibbon, soprano
Ryan MacEvoy McCullough, piano

Linda S. Fitz Gibbon (b. 1958)

Brainiac (2019), ceramic art featured on cover

Reviews

The program so sincerely produced on the labor of forgetting, the debut release from False Azure Records, reminds me of Pauline Oliveros, who once said, “Listening is selecting and interpreting and acting and making decisions.”

—Tyran Grillo, full review at Sequenza21

While both performers distinguish themselves, Fitz Gibbon dazzles with a riveting performance that gives commanding voice to the emotional terrain and meets the considerable vocal challenges posed by the material.

—Ron Schepper, Textura

Notes on the album

Recording Details

Shibui and Four Years of Fog—
Recorded June 30th to July 3rd, 2018, in Barnes Hall Auditorium, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Session producer: Dante De Silva
Piano technician: Ken Walkup
Instruments: Shibui—Steinway & Sons “D” Concert Grand, New York, 1908 (“Kovner”), rebuilt by Jim Reeder, 1985, restored by Ken Walkup; Four Years of Fog and Shibui (reprise)—Steinway & Sons “D” Concert Grand, New York, 1958 (“Old Bailey”), restored by Ken Walkup, 2006

estrangement—
Recorded March 10th, 2022, in Barnes Hall Auditorium, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Session producer: Katherine Balch
Piano technician: Ken Walkup
Instrument: Steinway & Sons “D” Concert Grand, New York, 1908 (“Kovner”), rebuilt by Jim Reeder, 1985, restored by Ken Walkup

Audio engineering, editing, mixing, and mastering by Windowpane Audio

Acknowledgements

Deborah Clasquin in memoriam

Thanks to the following people for making this album possible:

Michael Brofman and Brooklyn Art Song Society for their work in commissioning estrangement;
the Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards, which maintains the instruments used in this album;
Katie Ford, for her beautiful poetry and generous time proof-reading;
Laurel Gilmer and the administrative staff at the Cornell Music Department for their patient help with scheduling;
the National Endowment for the Arts for its financial support commissioning estrangement;
and Ken Walkup, piano technician, who really made these pianos sing.

Stats for Nerds

Microphones—
Shibui and Four Years of Fog : Microphone-Parts S12 matched pair (overheads, omni AB), Line Audio CM3 matched pair (piano close, subcardioid ORTF)
estrangement : Microphone-Parts S12 matched pair (overheads, omni AB), Microphone-Parts SDC matched pair (voice close, cardioid AB), Line Audio CM3 matched pair (piano close, subcardioid ORTF), LOM Audio Uši Pro matched pair (piano keytops, omni AB)