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| Artist Statistics |
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Artistopia Rank : 227
Member Since : 9/2008
Last Login : 11/24/2008
Views : 4,959
Songs : 1
Events : 0
Alliances : 0
Releases : 1
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Artistopia URL :
http://www.artistopia.com/matthewreid |
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| Latest Music By Matthew Reid |
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Courtyards and Fairgrounds
Published Date : 09/2008
Total Downloads : 9
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Browse Artist Music |
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News Article |
Artist News Home |
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Album Release Interview with Matthew Reid |
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| Published on 9/30/2008 |
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| By Artistopia |
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Q. To set the tone for the readers, how would you describe your sound?
A. Depending on what inspires the composition, it varies. As a composer for theatre, I've been expected to produce a great deal of pieces from all over the musical map.
My favourite pieces are from my serious classical music inspired by great masters through history. My greatest influences for these pieces have been Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Prokofiev and Hindemith. Although on the album, which I'll discuss shortly, the influences were Perotin, Dufay, Machaut and Palestrina.
Q. So you are about to release a new album, tell us everything about it starting with the name of the album.
A. Courtyards and Fairgrounds is a collection of pieces that I composed between '91 and '99, and re-orchestrated in 2008.
What they all have in common is their musical depiction of the distant past.
Many of the pieces use the same forms and methods of composition that would have been used in the 12th through 16th centuries. Others bend or play with those methods and forms.
The orchestration, on the other hand, is modern.
In spite of the academic angle of many of the pieces it is, one hundred percent, an album that is to be enjoyed by hearing it. The theory behind the music is important, but that can be appreciated after the listening. All in all, it's attractive, mood music. You can make out with someone when you listen to it.
Q. Who else was involved in helping you bring this album to fruition?
A. Many of the pieces were originally commissioned by theatrical directors for historical plays from the Medieval and Renaissance eras, particularly Shakespeare, so I'm thankful to them. And to Shakespeare.
Q. What would you say some of the challenges you encountered in doing this album were?
A. The biggest challenge was in the re-orchestration of some of the pieces. Even though the pieces have enough in common to belong on the same album, I wanted to make sure that each of the pieces' arrangements were distinct, surprising even.
Q. Can you give us some insight into where, what or who motivated you to do the album?
A. I have a huge catalogue of music that has been just waiting to be organized into album form.
The music on Courtyards was a good place to start.
Q. What would you say is the best single and why do you think it is?
A. What, you want me to tell you which child I love best? What kind of monster are you?
The pieces were not meant to focus around a hit. People will have to decide for themselves what the best single is. I like each piece for different reasons.
Q. Are you planning to produce videos for any of the songs on this album?
A. Yes, and all of them will be filthy, filthy, filthy!
Kidding. We'll see. Some of the mid-sized pieces may work well with visuals.
Q. Are you planning to tour to promote this album? If so, when and where will you be performing?
A. I personally won't, but individuals and ensembles are always welcome to perform these pieces.
Q. So how do you see this album propelling your career in the music industry?
A. It'll toss me into the musical ring like a wild bull with two eyes full of red cape.
I'm teasing again, don't get that look.
I'm happy with my current career position, so essentially any positive reaction to Courtyards is just gravy. Creating music that I like to hear just makes the world that much nicer to me.
Q. And we can’t forget to ask, of course, when and where can fans buy this album?
A. Right now, the best place to get it is on iTunes. CD baby'll have it listed shortly. It should be available soon in most digital download stores.
Q. One last question for you: What other great things or projects can we look forward to hearing about from you in the future?
A. There will be other classical albums coming from me in the near future for certain. The next one will likely be a collection of modern chamber music focussing on wind instruments.
Following that, I am going to create a forty-five minute dance version of "Happy Birthday" played backwards. After that, I can retire.
A. We would like to thank you for talking with us and we wish you all the best!
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| Article Credits and References |
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| No Credits or References were provided by publisher |
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