Ted Hearne - Ted Hearne: Place (2020)

Created with poet/librettist Saul Williams, Ted Hearne's newest album, Place, considers gentrification through an inspired oratorio originally commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Barbican Centre and Beth Morrison Project. Commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Barbican Centre and Beth Morrison Projects, and scored for 18 instrumentalists and 6 vocalists, Place was premiered to critical acclaim in October 2018 in Fall 2018 the BAM Next Wave Festival. Place takes shape in songs that emerge like a graffiti mural as repetitive gestures gradually bloom into vibrant, brash statements in high-volume color. The six singers bring with them deep familiarity with diverse vocal styles but it was impossible to ignore the presence of the real Mr. Hearne at his command post conducting the musicians, manipulating the sound and driving the auto-da-fé of his own orchestration It always felt as if Hearne was questioning his own comfort and in the final moment his own power (The New York Times).