Marcus Goddard: Three Wings & Other Chamber Works for Strings Archytas Ensemble

• Marcus Goddard (b. 1973): Allaqi:
• 1 Allaqi 12:34
• Wind, Sand & Stars (Version for String Trio):
• 2 Wind, Sand & Stars (Version for String Trio): I. Wind 06:23
• 3 Wind, Sand & Stars (Version for String Trio): II. Night Music I [Sands of Destiny] 02:18
• 4 Wind, Sand & Stars (Version for String Trio): III. Celestial Mechanics 03:08
• 5 Wind, Sand & Stars (Version for String Trio): IV. Night Music II [Elegies] 01:39
• 6 Wind, Sand & Stars (Version for String Trio): V. Stars [In the Lap of the Gods] 05:51
• Three Wings:
• 7 Three Wings 12:12
• Total Runtime 44:05

Info for Marcus Goddard: Three Wings & Other Chamber Works for Strings

“Marcus Goddard’s music has a way of connecting with and expressing the essence of the elemental forces of nature. He manifests in sound a sense of the inevitable; of what was, what is, and what shall be, with a deep emotional connection to the wonders of existence.” This is how cellist Ariel Barnes, artistic director of the Archytas Ensemble, describes the music of the Canadian composer. This recording combines three works to a triptych, “one continuous journey to three different landscapes spoken in one common language” (Goddard). Marcus Goddard currently has 36 works in his catalog, including four recent pieces for large orchestra and works for various chamber ensembles. Marcus received his undergraduate training from the University of Michigan and pursued graduate studies at Indiana University. He has participated in seminars with William Bolcom, William Albright and Krystof Penderecki and has attended lectures of Philip Glass and Samuel Adler. Marcus is an associate composer with the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

“Marcus Goddard’s music has a way of connecting with and expressing the essence of the elemental forces of nature. He manifests in sound a sense of the inevitable; of what was, what is, and what shall be, with a deep emotional connection to the wonders of existence.” (Ariel Barnes, Artistic Director)

“A triptych. One continuous journey to three different landscapes spoken in one common language. That is how I would describe three of my best works out of a catalogue of over fifty pieces: Allaqi; Wind, Sand and Stars; and Three Wings were created over the past seven years in collaboration with extraordinary musi- cians and with generous assistance from commission- ers both private and public. Allaqi was inspired by Inu- it throat singing and the Arctic landscape, while Wind, Sand and Stars visits Saint-Exupéry’s brightly lit night sky and the saharan desert from his autobiographi- cal novel of the same title. Three Wings takes its title from the beautiful text of Hildegard von Bingen’s vo- cal work, O Virtus Sapientiae.” (A Note From the Composer)

Archytas Ensemble:

Dale Barltrop, violin I (tracks 1, 7)
David Gillham, violin II (tracks 1, 7), violin (tracks 2-6)
David Harding, viola
Ariel Barnes, cello

Archytas Ensemble
Inspired by friendship and their innate musical chemistry, The Archytas Ensemble officially formed in 2016 as an international roster of world class chamber musicians. Some members have known each other since childhood and have since gone on to win such accolades as the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal for contribution to the arts in Canada, the Sir John Barbirolli Award at the Lionel Turtis International Viola Competition, and 1st Prize in the 24th International Johannes Brahms Competition. As seasoned chamber musicians and soloists, Archytas members have appeared in concert halls throughout the world including the Berlin Philharmonie, Tokyo Opera City, Taiwan National Concert Hall, and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, while collaborations with artists such as James Ehnes, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Johannes Moser, Atar Arad, Jane Coop, the Dover String Quartet, and the Zodiac Trio speak to their artistic temperment. With bases in Europe, North America and Australia, the Ensemble collects in various parts of the world on a project to project basis.

Supported by a private patron with the desire to commission a new quartet, Archytas was able to indulge in their love of creating contemporary music from the very inception of their ensemble, with their initial project including two great historic works from the literature and a new work from American-Canadian Composer Marcus Goddard. Immediately following the World Premier of Goddard’s second string quartet, “Three Wings”, the Ensemble was invited by Grammy and Juno Award winning Producer Denise Ball to air the new work on CBC Radio 2’s “In Performance”. Following this premier broadcast, host Paolo Petropaulo declared Archytas’ style as “gripping…soulful playing”.

Spring 2019 will see the Ensemble’s debut recording released internationally by Paladino Media GmbH in Vienna, Austria. This recording features the chamber music of Marcus Goddard in a Tryptich of works written for strings.

The Archytas Ensemble takes it’s name after the great Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Astronomer, Statesman and Strategist, Archytas, who has been attributed with being the first to quantify the distance between a semi-tone in music.

Booklet for Marcus Goddard: Three Wings & Other Chamber Works for Strings