The Indie Singer-Harpist Who Met the Orchestra
By Megan • Jan 29th, 2008 • Category: Music, News for Creatives (archives)Jon Pareles reports for The New York Times:
“Violence may not be the first thing that comes to mind from the pristine sound of a harp, a woman’s elfin voice and the genteel, elaborate backup of a symphony orchestra. But for Joanna Newsom, the songwriter, singer and harpist who will be performing her entire 2006 album “Ys” (pronounced ees) with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra on Thursday and Friday nights at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, “emotional violence and brutality” are at the core of the songs, from their cataclysmic lyrics to their jumpy harmonies.
Ms. Newsom’s Brooklyn concerts this week are an individual milestone: the last performances of a worldwide tour on which she has sung “Ys” with her band and, as often as possible, with symphony orchestras from London to Sydney to Milwaukee. Half of the Brooklyn concert will be “Ys,” while the rest will be selections from “The Milk-Eyed Mender,” and a new song or two, with her Ys Street Band.”
Megan is a creative producer at Wise Elephant.
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