The Leap
Richard Carr composer, violin, piano, electronics
Czech National Symphony Orchestra | Vladimir Martinka conductor
THE LEAP from composer Richard Carr is a bold collection of works for violin, piano, electronics, and orchestra. Carr’s adventurous career as a musician has led him to perform a broad range of genres on stage — from rock and folk to classical and jazz, with plenty of stops along the way. Carr invites us to imagine each of this work’s six sections as portraying a step in the act of creation, from the forming of initial ideas (Gathering Light), to giving those ideas their form and shape (Confluence), and finally to the breakthrough of Frontier. THE LEAP is an undaunted exercise in creative risk-taking, fusing traditional orchestration technique and modern digital sound design enhanced by multiple improvisations on both violin and piano.
Track Listing & Credits
| # | Title | Composer | Performer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Leap: I. Gathering Light | Richard Carr | Richard Carr, violin, piano, electronics; Czech National Symphony Orchestra | Vladimir Martinka, conductor | 3:27 |
| 02 | The Leap: II. Confluence | Richard Carr | Richard Carr, violin, piano, electronics; Czech National Symphony Orchestra | Vladimir Martinka, conductor | 7:23 |
| 03 | The Leap: III. Probing the Depths | Richard Carr | Richard Carr, violin, piano, electronics; Czech National Symphony Orchestra | Vladimir Martinka, conductor | 6:31 |
| 04 | The Leap: IV. Acceleration to the Precipice | Richard Carr | Richard Carr, violin, piano, electronics; Czech National Symphony Orchestra | Vladimir Martinka, conductor | 5:41 |
| 05 | The Leap: V. Mid-air Regrets | Richard Carr | Richard Carr, violin, piano, electronics; Czech National Symphony Orchestra | Vladimir Martinka, conductor | 7:14 |
| 06 | The Leap: VI. The Frontier | Richard Carr | Richard Carr, violin, piano, electronics; Czech National Symphony Orchestra | Vladimir Martinka, conductor | 5:46 |
Recorded August 30, 2023
Executive Session Producer Rita Tulha
Session Producer Alex Palmer
Sound Engineer Stanislav Baroch
Executive Producer Bob Lord
A&R Director Brandon MacNeil
A&R Chris Robinson
VP of Production Jan Košulič
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Kacie Brown
Digital Marketing Manager Brett Iannucci
Artist Information
Richard Carr
Richard Carr is a violinist, composer, and music educator. He holds a Doctorate in Music Education from Columbia University. He studied composition with Donald Martino and Jonathan Kramer as well as violin at New England Conservatory with Eric Rosenblith. He has recorded numerous albums under his own name and with artists such as Bill Laswell, Fred Frith, Bootsy Collins, Sly & Robbie, The Swans, Milt Hinton, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli Jr., American Contemporary Music Ensemble, Caleb Burhans, Clarice Jensen, Alan Dawson, Howard Alden, and Karl Berger.
Notes
Anyone who knows my music (a small but special group) can tell you that I have gone from one thing to another in what I hoped would be a forward progression. In the 1970s I played mostly rock and roll at school dances, and then folk/blues in the alehouses of Maine. In the 1980s it was classical violin with the Boston Philharmonic and straight ahead jazz at the popular clubs of Boston and Cambridge. In the 1990s it was edgy jazz in the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. In the early parts of the 21st century I went genre-free and took leaps all over the musical landscape.
This recording was made in August of 2023. It was an interwoven texture of written and improved sounds with violin, piano, electronics and orchestra.
To keep moving forward, those who create, be it visual art, literature, or music, must take periodic leaps of faith, based not on pure reason, but intuition. It’s a Kierkegaard thing.
Following an emergent structure, I took just such a leap with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Although I’ve played in orchestras over the years, I’ve never actually written for the medium. Sadly, the number of orchestras that commission music for unknown old-guy composers is a small one. The number of high caliber composers however, is immense. There are so many people who are capable of creating compelling work for Orchestra, and most of them have decided against it due to impracticality. It is far easier to get music for a smaller ensemble included in the program. It was therefore my leap of faith to put together this coordination with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.
There are six sections. Ones that involve the larger ensemble are written, but the other sections that feature smaller instrumental subsets of the whole are improvised.
“Gathering Light,” with its gentle harmonics, low ostinati, and subtle electronics, represents the initial incubation of ideas, like the first line in a drawing.
“Confluence” is where the next lines are drawn and begin to suggest something more specific.
A sense of shining one’s headlamp into the dark corners characterizes section III, “Probing the Depths.” The low, droning strings, set the backdrop for the melodic explorations into the murky cavity.
In the fourth section, “Acceleration to the Precipice,” ideas congeal and the tempo increases as the listener approaches the edge. It’s not surprising in section V that there are “Mid-air Regrets” after the initial leap. If we are lucky and don’t crash we will reach the “Frontier” and begin to explore.
— Richard Carr