Tim Hagans' "In the Key of Synesthesia" now available on all music steaming services.
https://open.spotify.com/album/49HdL32hrHJyjH79EssuyN
Tim Hagans: In the Key of Synesthesia
NDR Bigband
Conducted by Tim Hagans
1. Mystical yellow, of the pale spark and flurry
2. Glide the rayon orange, echoing our waking chime-chants
3. We dance in the shades of Messiaen-whispers
4. The silvery sliver of the impossible blue of bluest unblue
5. Bounding-up, leaping sideways, trailing green my yellow, again
Composer Tim Hagans draws on his experience of synesthesia to explore the intense and mysterious relationship of human emotions to the perception of colors in his compelling new five-movement suite. In the Key of Synesthesia was commissioned by NDR Bigband (Hamburg Radio Jazz Orchestra) and received its premiere on October 13, 2023 at the Rolf-Liebermann Studio in Hamburg.
For composer Tim Hagans, emotions, ideas, and all elements musical, are associated with specific colors. This is the perceptual phenomenon known as synesthesia. Celebrated musical artists such as Olivier Messiaen, Jean Sibelius, and Elvin Jones also had synesthesia. For this commission from the NDR Bigband, Hagans decided to explore more deeply these connections of thoughts to colors that appear in his mind's eye.
Tim Hagans has been a frequent collaborator with the NDR Bigband over the past 20 years. He explains: " For me, the compositions commissioned by the NDR Bigband are a great honor to write. It is a joy to collaborate with these accomplished and expressive musicians, and to incorporate the unique abilities and talents of each individual band member, as well as their gorgeous ensemble sound, into the work. All the music I write comes from a deeply personal place, but this work in particular evolves out of my how my mind perceives the world. It has been thrilling to see the band conjure the color palette that I see and feel."
In his In the Key of Synesthesia the NDR Bigband floats through the calm of yellow, fires up the vibrancy of orange and the ambiguousness of red, soars through the sublime of silver blue, and arrives at the welcoming hope of green. Lush, complex, and constantly evolving in unexpected ways, the orchestration carries forth Hagans' unique melodic voice.
Poem by Michele Brangwen for In the Key of Synesthesia
Where are you taking me
O mystical yellow, of the pale spark and flurry
Will we perch on the dream-edges, swaying
Or glide the rayon orange, echoing our waking chime-chants
Red, orange, black, in a cry that traverses the evening
We dance in the shades of Messiaen-whispers
My words are for you, for you, they are for you
The silvery sliver of the impossible blue of the bluest unblue
And yet again, again and again, again we fill
Bounding-up, leaping sideways, trailing green my yellow, again
Vocals: Sissel Vera Pettersen
Trumpets:
Thorsten Benkenstein
Ingolf Burkhardt
Claus Stötter
Percy Pursglove
Trombones:
Dan Gottshall
Klaus Heidenreich
Stefan Lottermann
Ingo Lahme
Woodwinds:
Fiete Felsch
Peter Bolte
Julius Gawlik (Feb. 12th-14th)
Björn Berger (Feb. 15th+16th)
Frank Delle
Luigi Grasso
Guitar: Sandra Hempel
Bass: Ingmar Heller
Piano: Florian Weber
Drums: Jukkis Uotila
Percussion:
Marcio Doctor
Samuel Wootton
Recording Supervisor & Editing: Hrólfur Vagnsson
Recording engineer: Sven Kohlwage (NDR)
Mixed by Hrólfur Vagnsson and Sven Kohlwage (NDR)
Mastered by Sven Kohlwage
Executive producers: Michael Dreyer (NDR), Stefan Gerdes (NDR)
Recorded at NDR Studio 1, Hamburg, Germany
February 12th - 16.th, 2024
Special thanks to Axel Dürr for his initial support for this project.