Home / Arts and Entertainment / Shaw/Yee: A Musical Friendship Blooms
Shaw/Yee: A Musical Friendship Blooms
22 May
Summary
- The album features new compositions and arrangements by Shaw and Yee.
- The score for Wu Tsang's Moby-Dick film is a central element.
- Intimate artistic collaboration and joy in music-making are palpable.
The collaboration between composer-vocalist Caroline Shaw and cellist-composer Andrew Yee offers "Or, the Whale," a collection of eight evocative tracks. This project highlights their deep artistic friendship, drawing inspiration from Melville's Moby-Dick and Wu Tsang's silent film adaptation, for which they created the score. The album features a suite blending cello, electronics, and ethereal vocals to capture the essence of the novel and whale song.
Further explorations on the album include Yee's "The Trees of Green-Wood," with Shaw cataloging trees by trunk diameter, set to music that crescendos with girth. Sophisticated audio processing enhances the rich atmosphere. A tender arrangement of the traditional shanty "Shenandoah" showcases their intimate approach. Shaw's vocals and Yee's cello are central, with notable pieces including a Messiaen movement adapted for vocal harmonizer and a Shaw composition incorporating audio from North Carolina quilters.
