Mary Ellen Childs - Dream House (2007)

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Mary Ellen Childs - Dream House (2007)

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Mary Ellen Childs (b. 1957) has been acclaimed for creating both rhythmic, exuberant instrumental works and bold, kinetic compositions that integrate music, dance and theater in fresh and unexpected ways. Dream House lives in the same land that the New York string quartet Ethel has been exploring in recent years, a frontier where modern classical and alternative rock meet and mingle. One could note Childs’ apparent influence on the players in Ethel in some of their own compositions on the recent album , particularly first violinist Cornelius Dufallo’s “Lighthouse.” Like that album, Dream House strikes a balance between accessibility and challenge, sounding utterly of its time without having an expiration date stamped on its side. This is music that has potential appeal for both the open-minded classical listener and the rock music fan who enjoys the daring edge. -- www.musicweb-international.com

Composer Mary Ellen Childs recently undertook a major renovation of her home. Surrounded for months by repetitive work rhythms, the beauty of rough-hewn hands at work, and walls once there, now gone, she responded by creating the 14-movement Dream House. Dream House serves as a commentary on cycles of time, rhythms of work, and the intertwined nature of destruction and creation. Performed by the acclaimed New York-based ETHEL, several of the movements incorporate recorded and manipulated sounds of destruction and construction, woven into a lush and dynamic string quartet texture. In live performance Dream House includes stunning multi-image video that surrounds the string quartet (based on time-lapse and real-time video images of destruction and construction) and this CD includes one bonus track with video by Daniel Polsfuss that can be viewed in your computer. Sound montage is by Neverwas (aka Chris Cunningham). -- www.innova.mu