Uploaded May 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A special release of two performance from May 2019.
“And I heard a voice that said to me: If you care about the state of your soul, if you care about anything at all, if you want to continue to be a good person: Get out.” David T. Little’s 'and the sky was still there' with a film by R. Luke DuBois challenges the US army’s controversial ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy towards gay and lesbian soldiers.
Tim Wright’s sparse and tense music for a 1929 silent film by Charles Vidor tells the dramatic story of a spy sentenced to be hanged from a bridge.
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and the sky was still there
Music composed by David T. Little (born 1978)
Sound Track Produced by Todd Reynolds & David T. Little
Video by R. Luke DuBois
Psappha Ensemble - Benedict Holland, Live violin
Learn more about Psappha: psappha.com
Written in 2010 for violinist Todd Reynolds, 'and the sky was still there' tells the story of an old friend, Amber Ferenz, and the epiphany that led her to embrace her true self, confront the US Army, and accept a dishonorable discharge under the Army’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy. Amber tells her own story in this work, while the violin plays along, providing a sometimes-somber, sometimes-whimsical sub-text. Amber’s story, though unique, represents a struggle we all face on some level, whether to conform to cultural expectations, or defy them in pursuit of greater truths.
Learn more about David T. Little: davidtlittle.com
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The Bridge (1929)
Music composed by Tim Wright
Film directed by Charles Vidor
Psappha Ensemble - Jennifer Langridge, Live cello
Learn more about Psappha: psappha.com
The music for The Bridge was written as a commission for Opera North as part of their ‘Back to the Electric Palace” project in 2009 - a collaboration with Psappha. The composition started life as a formal exercise, mapping several perceived qualities of the film to the tempo of streams of clicks.
The notes played by the cello were the output of a pitch selection algorithm acting on a cluster/chord which was chosen by the composer. A realisation of the arbitrary nature of this mapping led to a more expressionistic approach to finishing the composition. Dense chords are built up by the cello with the use of a digital delay, and the atmosphere is enhanced by the subtle use of electronic drones.
Tim Wright (b. 1969) is probably best known for his career on the fringes of the electronic dance music scene. He has an extensive back catalogue under this own name, Germ, Pin and Tube Jerk and was a founder member of the group SAND (Soul Jazz Records). In recent years his composition has become recognised in its own right, with collaborations with the noted Japanese choreographer Saburo Teshigawara for Gothenburg Opera (Metamorphosis 2014, Tranquil 2016) and for le Ballet de l’Opera de Paris at Palais Garnier (Darkness is Hiding Black Horses 2013). He is currently a lecturer in Music Production at the University of York.
Learn more about Tim Wright: tubejerk.bandcamp.com
A special release of two performance from May 2019.
“And I heard a voice that said to me: If you care about the state of your soul, if you care about anything at all, if you want to continue to be a good person: Get out.” David T. Little’s 'and the sky was still there' with a film by R. Luke DuBois challenges the US army’s controversial ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy towards gay and lesbian soldiers.
Tim Wright’s sparse and tense music for a 1929 silent film by Charles Vidor tells the dramatic story of a spy sentenced to be hanged from a bridge.
----------------------------
and the sky was still there
Music composed by David T. Little (born 1978)
Sound Track Produced by Todd Reynolds & David T. Little
Video by R. Luke DuBois
Psappha Ensemble - Benedict Holland, Live violin
Learn more about Psappha: psappha.com
Written in 2010 for violinist Todd Reynolds, 'and the sky was still there' tells the story of an old friend, Amber Ferenz, and the epiphany that led her to embrace her true self, confront the US Army, and accept a dishonorable discharge under the Army’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy. Amber tells her own story in this work, while the violin plays along, providing a sometimes-somber, sometimes-whimsical sub-text. Amber’s story, though unique, represents a struggle we all face on some level, whether to conform to cultural expectations, or defy them in pursuit of greater truths.
Learn more about David T. Little: davidtlittle.com
----------------------------
The Bridge (1929)
Music composed by Tim Wright
Film directed by Charles Vidor
Psappha Ensemble - Jennifer Langridge, Live cello
Learn more about Psappha: psappha.com
The music for The Bridge was written as a commission for Opera North as part of their ‘Back to the Electric Palace” project in 2009 - a collaboration with Psappha. The composition started life as a formal exercise, mapping several perceived qualities of the film to the tempo of streams of clicks.
The notes played by the cello were the output of a pitch selection algorithm acting on a cluster/chord which was chosen by the composer. A realisation of the arbitrary nature of this mapping led to a more expressionistic approach to finishing the composition. Dense chords are built up by the cello with the use of a digital delay, and the atmosphere is enhanced by the subtle use of electronic drones.
Tim Wright (b. 1969) is probably best known for his career on the fringes of the electronic dance music scene. He has an extensive back catalogue under this own name, Germ, Pin and Tube Jerk and was a founder member of the group SAND (Soul Jazz Records). In recent years his composition has become recognised in its own right, with collaborations with the noted Japanese choreographer Saburo Teshigawara for Gothenburg Opera (Metamorphosis 2014, Tranquil 2016) and for le Ballet de l’Opera de Paris at Palais Garnier (Darkness is Hiding Black Horses 2013). He is currently a lecturer in Music Production at the University of York.
Learn more about Tim Wright: tubejerk.bandcamp.com
