Frank Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation Frank Horvat (Various Artists)

• Frank Horvat: Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation:
• 1 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Cello 01:46
• 2 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Piano 2 02:13
• 3 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Flute 03:26
• 4 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Marimba 02:20
• 5 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Voice 2 A Cappella 01:40
• 6 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: String Duo for Violin & Viola 02:09
• 7 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Classical Guitar 02:02
• 8 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Saxophone 01:35
• 9 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Violin 01:37
• 10 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Piano 3 (Duet) 01:58
• 11 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Voice A Cappella 01:27
• 12 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Bassoon 02:19
• 13 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Horn 02:42
• 14 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Double Bass 01:42
• 15 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Electric Guitar 02:45
• 16 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Voice 3 with Guitar 02:23
• 17 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Harp 01:54
• 18 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Trombone 01:48
• 19 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Oboe 02:16
• 20 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: String Duo 2 for Violin & Cello 02:07
• 21 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Piano 02:02
• 22 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Tuba 02:13
• 23 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Voice 5 (Duet) 00:44
• 24 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Vibraphone 02:23
• 25 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Accordion 02:54
• 26 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Trumpet 01:52
• 27 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Bass Clarinet 02:32
• 28 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Clarinet 01:45
• 29 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Viola 01:59
• 30 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Violin 2 02:45
• 31 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Voice 4 with Piano 03:01
• 32 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation: Together in Spirit 03:57
• Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation, Pandemic Stories:
• 33 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation, Pandemic Stories: Jeanne Côté 04:46
• 34 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation, Pandemic Stories: Scott MacInnes 07:09
• 35 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation, Pandemic Stories: A. Lish Lindsey 06:13
• 36 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation, Pandemic Stories: William McLeish 07:16
• 37 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation, Pandemic Stories: Katherine Carleton 10:02
• 38 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation, Pandemic Stories: Larry Williams 10:11
• 39 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation, Pandemic Stories: Karen Wierzba 08:18
• 40 Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation, Pandemic Stories: Nicola Mogavero 04:25
• Total Runtime 02:08:36

Info for Frank Horvat: Music for Self-Isolation

The Music for Self-Isolation project is a multi-faceted, collaborative music project conceived by Canadian composer and pianist, Frank Horvat. At the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic in March 2020, Horvat composed 31 short solo and duo pieces for varying instruments and voice dedicated to his musician friends as they dealt with the uncertainty of the new reality of cancelled concerts. Since that launch, over 150 videos have been posted by musicians from around the world performing these Music for Self-Isolation pieces.

The sharing of performances online prompted conversations about the challenges musicians were facing during the pandemic. This inspired Frank to start “Phase 2” of Music for Self-Isolation. Thanks to the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, he interviewed 8 musicians who had posted videos and produced audio documentary compositions telling their Pandemic Stories.

With the pandemic still raging on and musicians still not being able to get back to work, Horvat produced an album of the compositions to help capture this moment in history. Recording the album in Toronto’s iconic Roy Thomson Hall, Horvat wanted to collaborate with his colleagues to produce an album with pristine acoustics while at the same time capturing the poignancy of musicians performing in a cavernous empty hall. A documentary is currently in production capturing this process and chronicling more of the musicians’ stories of the pandemic. With the support of the Toronto Arts Council and FACTOR, the album is set to be released on the Centrediscs label on April 9, 2021 commemorating the first anniversary of the start of the pandemic lockdown in Canada.

"Over the past year, most of us have been in and out of national lockdowns, or other forms of isolation. Some have jumped in at the deep end, learning new skills or confronting old challenges. Many have struggled just to keep their heads above water. Most of us have been forced to find new ways of operating, personally, professionally, or creatively. Canadian composer, Frank Horvat, has brought friends and collaborators together against the odds, creating the kind of album none of us knew would be necessary.

Music for Self-Isolation centres on a suite of thirty-one short pieces, composed by Horvat to occupy the minds and diverse instruments of isolated musicians. Six of the pieces are duets, but the majority are for one performer alone. Practiced at home, played into the digital void, these thirty-one compositions were finally unveiled at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. The stage was set. The two-thousand seats remained empty. The musicians came out one by one (or two by two) and worked their magic in an empty, cavernous space. Now that the recording has arrived, we can give them the ovation they deserve.

Horvat’s pieces cover many of the major instruments of the classical repertoire, with a few surprises along the way. We might expect to hear a piecemeal symphony. But on the contrary, these are distinct, lonesome miniatures, capturing the thoughts, hopes, and exhaustions of a difficult time. An opening track for cello establishes a mournful mood. But we burst headlong into jubilant piano, with boundless confidence for a new future. Horvat’s music traverses the full gamut of emotion. When an instrument stands alone, all the potential of its individual timbre and tradition is on offer.

Perhaps the most expressive tracks are those for piano and for voice. On track 21 (for piano), Lisa Tahara leads us through self-doubt and despair, before teetering on the edge of resolution. Track 31 (for voice and piano) pairs Tahara with Meredith Hall, whose wonderful, lyrical delivery transfigures Kathleen Burke’s text, “A Stone”. In this irrefutable yearning for the experience of a pocketed stone, is it the solidity, the tactility, or the simple company that appeals most?

Richard Moore is another standout, on track 4 (for marimba) and especially track 24 (for vibraphone). These percussive tracks rattle around the house with restless energy, but somehow lift us into anthemic optimism. Somewhat rare as solo instruments, Jennifer Stephen’s tuba (track 22) and Kathryn Ladano’s bass clarinet (track 27) offer odes to themselves, stretching deeply and restfully into the space between our desks and our beds. Meanwhile, Joseph Petric’s accordion (track 25) is a welcome addition to the classical concert hall: its mournful tune both saddens and delights, like a familiar story enlivened by retelling.

The album ends with “Together in Spirit”, a uniting of the musicians through technical wizardry. Of course, a Zoom call is a poor substitute for a family reunion. But it hardly detracts from the overall joy of this record. This music may have been composed in isolation; the recording may have taken place in an empty hall. But the listening brings intimate contact with Horvat and his troupe. We hear their inhalations between notes; we sense their seasoned touch over strings and valves. Contrary to the title, this is music against social isolation." (Samuel Rogers, acloserlisten.com)

Amahl Arulanandam (cello)
Tara Baxendale (voice)
John Campbell (voice)
Theodore Chan (double bass)
Tanya Charles Iveniuk (violin)
Brent Crawford (classical guitar)
Kristin Day (bassoon)
Michael Fedyshyn (trumpet)
Vanessa Fralick (trombone)
Audrey Good (horn)
Meredith Hall (voice)
Frank Horvat (piano)
Kathryn Ladano (bass clarinet)
Christopher Lee (flute)
Richard Moore (marimba, vibraphone)
Andrew Noseworthy (electric guitar)
Joseph Petric (accordion)
Anthony Rapoport (viola)
Aleh Remezau (oboe)
Iris Rodrigues (voice)
Jennifer Stephen (tuba)
Peter Stoll (clarinet)
Lisa Tahara (piano)
Jennifer Tran (saxophone)
Sharlene Wallace (harp)

Frank Horvat
Emotional and intense, Frank Horvat is an accomplished multi-genre composer who has made the tricky musical leap that allows him to pursue a niche of his own (Edmonton Journal). Frank gives his audiences time and space to reflect in this fast-paced world. His compositions tell deeply personal stories while permitting audiences to ponder their own.

His pieces have been featured on more than a dozen albums on labels such as ATMA Classique, Really Records, and Centrediscs. With composition premieres on four continents, he has performed in a variety of venues and festivals worldwide including the Glenn Gould Studio, Massey Hall, Music and Beyond Festival, NXNE, Nuit Blanche, NYC’s St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery and his compositions have been featured in plays, films and on television networks including the CBC, CBS, HBO, Vice & Bravo, as well as radio stations internationally.

He ignores boundaries and isn’t afraid to mix politics with art (Ludwig van Toronto) as many of his composition projects revolve around social issues, specifically the environment. In 2019 he was invited to talk about his music and Artivism at the Classical:NEXT conference in Rotterdam.

Some of his environmental projects include the album, For Those Who Died Trying (“the resulting [musical] tributes are poignant” – BBC Music Magazine), and social media awareness campaign #music4HRDs that musically looked at the stories of 37 environmental human rights defenders (HRDs) who have been murdered in Thailand. Almost 50 string quartets participated in the awareness campaign sharing their performance of a movement from the album with their social media followers. Participating quartets included: Juilliard String Quartet, Merel Quartet, Mivos Quartet, Utrecht String Quartet, and Zemlinsky Quartet as well as members from symphony orchestras around the world including the London Symphony.

Horvat’s very first environmental project was his album, A Little Dark Music (2010), which led to 60+ performances across North America, always in the dark, of his critically acclaimed hour-long solo piano piece, Earth Hour, on his sustainably-minded Green Keys Tour.

“Horvat’s work is exquisitely eventful and almost insidiously effective.” (WholeNote Magazine)

Born in Ottawa, a graduate in composition at the University of Toronto under Walter Buczynski and Christos Hatzis, he now lives and composes by the lake in Toronto with his wife/manager. Frank is fortunate to have received funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, FACTOR, SOCAN Foundation, Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council. Frank is an Associate Composer at the Canadian Music Centre, a member of the Canadian League of Composers, and the inaugural recipient of the Kathleen McMorrow Music Award for contemporary composition.

This album contains no booklet.