Maya Beiser
TranceClassical

trans trance classical scrawl
music is a trance music as a trance music
transcends
let it
take you out of your body
no longer
chronological
no longer
physical
no longer
rational, cynical, ideological
no
time / dimension / scale

hildegard and bach,
the sounds of old LP, electronic delays
the massive reverb of an old
church in upstate New York
the imperfection of
my voice
merges with a cello

Air - J.S. Bach arr. by Maya Beiser (from Orchestral Suite No. 3 BWV 1068)
Bach as I heard it in a distant morning,
my father’s turntable,
the 20th century
sort of a retro Bach, a childhood Bach: the
purity of this iconic melody as it emerges
through the crackling noises of an old LP.

All Vows - Michael Gordon
an ancient prayer
multiple microphones through the church
the
lone voice of a cello
the growing reverb
a distant echo
atone!

Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap arr. by Maya Beiser
cello harmonies trigger
the computer
software
processes transforming my
voice
as I sing a-cappella in three parts with my cello

Three Parts Wisdom - Glenn Kotche
one cello line
seven layers
of computer generated delays
affecting the sound
in real time

Heroin - Lou Reed, arr. by David Lang
I don’t know where I’m going
but I am going to try for the kingdom if I can
because it makes me feel like I’m a woman
when I put a spike into my vein
I tell you things aren’t quite the same
when I’m rushing on my run
I feel like Jesus’ son
And I guess
I just don’t know
I have made a big decision
I am going to try to nullify my life
because when the blood begins to flow
when the blood shoots up the dropper’s neck
when I’m closing in on death
you can’t help me not you guys
or you sweet girls with your sweet talk
and I guess
I just don’t know
Heroin
be the death of me
I thank god i am not aware
and I thank your god that I don’t care
and I guess
I just don’t care

Heroin by Lou Reed, published by Oakfield Avenue Music
version for Bang on a Can arranged by David Lang
lyrics by Lou Reed, adapted by David Lang

Emunah - Julia Wolfe
(translate: belief)
the friction between a cello and
a voice  
floating in closely colliding intervals
occasionally surrendering to a perfect
unison
the cello in an endless tremolo,
fast movement of the bow against the long breathy notes
of the voice
translucent cello

Kol Nidrei - Mohammed Fairouz
a prayer
about human imperfection
about stumbling and making mistakes
about humility
of the prayer
the words are personal
the melody is Universal
the words divide, the music unites.

Hellhound - David T. Little
“inspired by Robert Johnson’ song ‘hellhound on my trail’ which tells the story of a man pursued by demons, unable to rest. in the johnson mythology, this song reinforces the famous tale of the Crossroads, in which he reportedly sold his soul to the devil in exchange for musical abilities. hellhound is a meditation on the emotional elements of this story-the terror, the inability to stop, the soulless emptiness-and on the notion of having crossed a point of no return, pursued by demons, likely of one’s own making.” - D.T.L.

Guest Electric Guitar: Andrew McKenna Lee
Guest Vocals: Morean from Dark Fortress

This work features pitch-shifted versions of the “buzzer” sample by Philip Daniels, used under the Creative Commons Attributions license.

O Virtus Sapientae - Hildegard von Bingen / arr. by Maya Beiser

“we cannot live in a world that is not our own, in a world that is interpreted for us by others. an interpreted world is not a home. part of the terror is to take back our own listening, to use our own voice, to see our own light.” hildegard von bingen (1098-1179)

Notes by Maya Beiser

album credits:
producer: maya beiser
cello, vocals, electronics: maya beiser
recording and mixing engineer: dave cook
mastering: scott hull
photography: lili alma
album design: dm stith
pr: christina jensen

dedication: to dorian and aureole

thank you: to the extraordinary composers that wrote music for this album: Julia Wolfe, Mohammed Fairouz, Michael Gordon, Glenn Kotche, David T. Little and David Lang; to Imogen Heap and Hildegard von Bingen for inspiring me, to J.S. Bach for teaching me that music is boundless.

Innova is supported by an endowment from the McKnight Foundation.
Philip Blackburn, director
Chris Campbell, operations director
Steve McPherson, publicist

1. Air - J.S. Bach / arr. by Maya Beiser 5:05 2. All Vows - Michael Gordon 9:22 3. Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap / arr. by Maya Beiser 5:08 4. Three Parts Wisdom - Glenn Kotche 10:40 5. Heroin - Lou Reed / arr. David Lang 9:34 6. Emunah - Julia Wolfe 8:01 7. Kol Nidrei - Mohammed Fairouz 7:49 8. Hellhound - David T. Little 6:15 9. O Virtus Sapientae - Hildegard von Bingen / arr. by Maya Beiser 3:47