“I broke into an ancient dream of humanity”
Dream of the Pines, Tr 8 \ Poetry by Ruiqi Wang
Originally from Hangzhou 杭州, China, currently based in Tiohti:áke / Montreal, Ruiqi Wang embodies the tension and beauty of the ancient juxtaposed against the contemporary. She composes in the sophisticated language of Jazz, and, in this album she presents three versions of an ancient Chinese song, Xiang Leng Jin Ni. The poetry, written by the 11th century female poet Qingzhao Li, is performed by Ruiqi with great intimacy - a sensibility that carries throughout the entire album.
“Remembering a Flute Song”
Xiang Leng Jin Ni , Tr 1, 6 \ Poetry by Qingzhao Li (1084-1155)
Feminist composer Pauline Oliveros reminds us to “remember to remember to listen:” to give meaning to every sound, to listen to memories of sound and to listen beyond the boundaries of our own imagination. Ruiqi, an original and creative composer and vocalist, brings this remembrance into every note she sings or writes.
“like red waves”
Xiang Leng Jin Ni , Tr 1, 6 \ Poetry by Qingzhao Li (1084-1155)
A nearly-all-female-made project (with the exception of the recording and mastering engineers), Ruiqi brought together a tremendous cast in order to bring her vision to life. She masterfully composed music for a double quartet that signifies the plurality of her sound-world. A contemporary Euro-classical string quartet based in Boston playing parallel to her Tiohti:áke-based Jazz trio. The art, hand-drawn by her friend, UK based artist Bianko Li, reflects the acoustic, tactile feeling of this gently fierce album.
“The powers of language are the solitary ladies who sing”
Fragments For Subduing The Silence, Tr 11 \ Poetry by Alejandra Pizarnik
Orchard of Pomegranates is an international community of improvisers, deep listeners and vocalists that I founded in 2019. Ruiqi entered this space at the start of the pandemic in 2020. As her mentor and producer, I have witnessed her voice evolve, deepen and grow confident and powerful. I find this work to be one of great significance in its subtleties, delicate details and poetry. You are invited to enter her first sound journey here. With its powerful softness, it will surely ripple in your soul.
Ayelet Rose Gottlieb
Tiohti:áke / Montreal
March 6, 2023
credits
released October 27, 2023
All music compositions by Ruiqi Wang
Except 香冷金猊 Xiang Leng Jin Ni (Tr. 1, 6, 10), composer unknown. Music score found in《东皋琴谱》(Dong Gao Gu Qin Score Collection), collected and edited by 蒋兴俦 Xingchou Jiang(东皋心越禅师 Chan Master Donggao Xinyue)(1639-1694); arranged by Ruiqi Wang
Ruiqi Wang - voice/compositions/arrangements
Stephanie Urquhart - piano
Summer Kodama - bass
Mili Hong - drums
Producer: Ayelet Rose Gottlieb, Orchard of Pomegranates
Jazz quartet recorded at Studio A, McGill University, Montreal, Canada on 22nd-23rd & 28th November, 2022
Recording Engineer: Shuoran Zhou
Assistant Engineers: Ben Hadley, Julian Geisterfer
Craft Ensemble recorded at Dimension Sound Studios, Boston, USA on 5th December, 2022
Recording Engineer: Daniel Cardinal
Mixing Engineer: Ky Brooks
Mastering Engineer: Chris Gestrin
Art work: Bianco Li
Album art design: Chelsey Maher
Poetry:
Tr. 1, 6 by 李清照 Qingzhao Li (1084-1155)
Tr. 8 Ruiqi Wang
Tr. 11 by Alejandra Pizarnik (1936-1972)
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