Norman Meehan | Buddhist Rain - downloadable MP3 ALBUM

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Selected poems by Bill Manhire are here set in a beguiling musical framework by pianist Norman Meehen and vocalist Hannah Griffin.

“Having set, performed, and recorded some poems by e. e. cummings, I was interested in working with material closer to home. A friend gave me a pile of New Zealand poetry books, and as much as I enjoyed them, the poems didn’t really spark musical ideas for me until I started reading Bill Manhire’s ‘Collected Poems’.

The composition process first involved reading the poems to get a feeling for them ‘as themselves’, but all the while keeping an eye open for ones that were musically resonant. I’m not sure what that is exactly, but sometimes they were evocative in ways that music can be evocative – I think “Song” was like that – or else there was something about the meaning of the verse or the way the lines scanned that made me feel they’d work well as songs.” — Norman Meehan, 2010

Featuring:

Hannah Griffin (voice)
Colin Hemmingsen (reeds)
Norman Meehan (piano)
Bill Manhire (words)

Track listing:

1. Across the Water 01:49
   
2. The Oreti River 04:27
   
3. Poem 03:50
   
4. My Sunshine 04:18
   
5. Pacific Raft 03:31
   
6. The Voyage 03:53
7. To Begin 02:24
   
8. Song 03:21
   
9. The Occupation Against Time 05:05
   
10. The Proof 03:55
11. Garden Gate 03:36
    
12. The River 03:07
13. Buddhist Rain 06:23
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