She Lost Her Voice, That’s How We Knew
Frances White composer
Valeria Vasilevski libretto
Kristin Norderval soprano
The profound events of our lives, including death, birth, trauma, and wonder, often provoke experiences that transcend words, creating moments better suited to the encapsulating depths of silence. Inspired by insights and personal stories, Ravello Records presents the theatrical work for soprano and electronic sound, SHE LOST HER VOICE, THAT’S HOW WE KNEW.
Composed by Frances White, written and directed by Valeria Vasilevski, and performed by vocalist Kristin Norderval, the work is open to the universal issues that are implied by the idea of this loss of voice. Described by WQXR’s Operavore as an “avant-garde diva,” Norderval’s voice provides the fingerprint for the electronic score. The album contains no explicit narrative, rather it offers an interior drama with an emerging persona, which carries many voices: an inner voice, a voice of memory, a singing voice, a silenced voice, and more. This persona is also a listener, hearing the cries of all these different voices.
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Artist Information
Frances White
Frances White writes instrumental, vocal, and electronic music. She studied at the University of Maryland, Brooklyn College, and Princeton University. She has received awards, commissions, grants, and fellowships from organizations such as The Guggenheim Foundation, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the Ditson Fund, the Mary Flagler Cary Trust, the Copland Fund, Prix Ars Electronica, the International Computer Music Association, Hungarian Radio, ASCAP, the Bang On A Can Festival, the Other Minds Festival, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Dale Warland Singers, the American Music Center, the MacDowell Colony, and the Djerassi Resident Artists Program. Recent works include commissions from the Third Practice Festival for the ensemble eighth blackbird, the Fromm Foundation, the MAP Fund, the Solaris Vocal Ensemble, Commissioning Music USA (formerly Meet the Composer), and The Crossing chamber choir.