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Mimi Goese and Ben Neill: Songs for Persephone

Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 8:30
Target Free Thursdays
David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center

Celebrating the release of the album, Songs for Persephone, this drop-dead beautiful collaboration between vocalist Mimi Goese and musician Ben Neill that combines Goese’s emotionally charged vocals and lyrics with Neill’s uniquely hi-tech musical instrumentation. Inspired by the expressive possibilities of new technology as well as the natural beauty of New York’s Hudson Valley and the Hudson River School of painting, Goese and Neill used a fragment of a different 19th century romantic piece as the basis for each their songs. Reflecting the increasing influence of classical music in the work of contemporary artists such as Sufjan Stevens, the Decemberists, and the National, Goese and Neill reference Mahler, Berlioz, Bruckner, and others of the Romantic era to create a new form of lyricism that is distinctly contemporary, but colored with the dynamics and a patina of the older music filtered through digital processing. The end result is a heady musical blend of sounds that ranges from the chilled-out electronica of Air and Miike Snow to the symphonic grandeur of Sigur Ros, M83, and Mew. Goese’s lyrics bring an emotional power that reflects her fascination with nature and contemplative thought, themes that exemplify the 19th century romantic sensibility. Songs for Persephone creates an ideal vehicle for Goese’s powerfully evocative vocal and performance style, as well as for Neill’s performance on his self-designed instrument, the mutantrumpet.

The songs on the album are taken from the duo’s music theater piece Persephone, premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival 2010.