Program notes:
Brocade (2013) for harpsichord and piano
In combining these two keyboard instruments, I felt I was interlacing two distinctly different colors into a single fabric; the two separate and very beautiful sound worlds wrap around each other, woven but never completely blended. Brocade, a thick, interwoven silk fabric, came to mind as I was working, as it seemed to reflect both the weightiness of the instruments and the delicacy of their colours. I am indebted to Katelyn Clark and Luciane Cardassi for their beautiful interpretation, and to the Canada Council for the Arts for supporting the commission. – Linda Catlin Smith.

Breaker (2012) for piano and electronics
Breaker is part of a cycle of pieces entitled on faith, work, leisure & sleep, for various combinations of piano, pianist’s voice, text, electronics, and video. The project was written in close collaboration with pianist Luciane Cardassi. The works employ poetry by Canadian Sue Sinclair as the source material for the content of the work, such as structure, pacing, and thematic content. – Emilie LeBel

?! !? (interrobang) (2015) for harpsichord, piano and electronics
a mixture of query and interjection” [http://www.dictionary.com/browse/interrobang], interrobang playfully investigates the complicated and multifaceted relationship between the harpsichord and the piano. Through an interlocking of mechanical, dynamic, and sonic distinctions, the two instruments continuously become one another in this composition: the electronic part of the piece presents a kind of shadow of the notes as played by the performers; each moment of key-release triggers a restatement of the previous note, projected onto the other instrument, and therefore becomes a moment of creation, renewal, and metamorphosis. – Annette Brosin

…the obsessive circularity of thought… (2015) for amplified harpsichord
This piece explores our tendency to replay real and imagined conversations, wishing that we said something different and analyzing each phrase from a million different angles. We are tormented by what was and could have been until we find a way to break the cycle and release ourselves. Musically, the piece explores the slight differences in colour and tuning between the strings of the two manuals, obsessively recycling the same notes and patterns with gradual changes. – Anna Pidgorna

TK457 © 2017 Redshift Music

Rockeys duo: harpsichord & piano

Photo credit Kim Williams.

rockeys duo takes its name from the majestic Rocky Mountains of Canada. This project is a unique collaboration between harpsichordist Katelyn Clark (Montréal) and pianist Luciane Cardassi (Banff) that explores the unexpected combination of piano, harpsichord and electronics. The duo uncovers and develops the endless possibilities of their keyboard instruments through performance, improvisation, and commissioning new works. After meeting and collaborating at the Banff Centre during several artist residencies, the duo began their current project of commissioning a series of new works for harpsichord, piano and electronics by Canadian composers, which includes Brocade by Linda Catlin Smith, funded through the Canada Council for the Arts.
rockeysduo.com