“Rigwreck”: Music by Gabriel Jackson; Poem by Pierre Joris

“Rigwreck” – Gabriel Jackson (b. 1962, UK)

The Crossing gives the world premiere of Gabriel Jackson’s “Rigwreck” on the third concert of our fifth annual Month of Moderns Festival at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill on June 30th, 2013.

“Rigwreck” was commissioned as part of “The Gulf (between you and me),” a series of 3 works from 3 separate composers dealing with the BP Oil Spill Crisis in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. One piece was premiered on each of the three Month of Moderns concerts in 2013. The text of “Rigwreck” was originally composed by Pierre Joris.

Jackson writes of the work:

Pierre Joris’s poem is, for me, both petrified and dynamic. I have tried to reflect that in the setting, which is somewhat halting at first, acquiring greater momentum towards the end. The internal repetitions of the text, its assonances and alliterations, its complex wordplay are, I hope, given their musical due without being overly schematic. Some words or phrases are always set to the same music, sometimes the resonances are more allusive. In some ways the word “love” is the most important; it is certainly given the most expansive musical treatment, for that is, surely, as it should be.

Learn more about Gabriel Jackson and his music here: http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/category/m…

Sound recording by Digital Mission Audio Services: http://digitalmissiononline.com/

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