Sō Percussion with Caroline Shaw: Rectangles and Circumstance
Sō Percussion joins forces with Caroline Shaw, Continuing their mission to redefine chamber music, to perform music from their upcoming album, Rectangles and Circumstance.
Sō Percussion and Caroline Shaw’s latest collaboration is Rectangles and Circumstance, their new album from Nonesuch Records. The current tour of the album is augmented by songs from their previous collaborative work Let the Soil Play its Simple Part, as well as an interlude from Caroline’s cinematic pop duo Ringdown, featuring co-songwriter and partner
Danni Lee, plus recent compositions for Sō by members Jason Treuting and Eric Cha-Beach.
The evening-length performance is a band-generated theatrical experience, featuring staging and design by director Mark DeChiazza. The musicians gradually place lights and reveal novel instruments as the show builds from a lone spotlight on Shaw singing ‘I’ll Fly Away’ to the ecstatic full ensemble performing up-tempo songs such as ‘Sing On’ and ‘To the Sky’, as films by Sō Percussion member Jason Treuting splash across canvases throughout the stage. This production melds DIY design with dazzling original songs, to sensational effect.
Details
Programme and Performers
Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion Songs from Rectangles and Circumstance (2024)
and Let the Soil Play its Simple Part (2021)
Some Bright Morning
Let the Soil
This
Silently Invisibly
Long Ago
Sing On
Who Turns Out the Light
Slow Motion
Ringdown featuring Danni Lee Parpan and Caroline Shaw
Sō Percussion
Jason Treuting Sense (2024)
Eric Cha-Beach 4+9 (2017)
Lay All Your Love on Me
To Music
To the Sky
Rectangles and Circumstance
The Parting Glass
Sō Percussion
Caroline Shaw vocals
Danni Lee vocals
Ringdown
Mark DeChiazza staging and design
Song texts
Some bright morning
When this life is over
I’ll fly away
To that home on that
celestial shore
I’ll fly away
When the shadows
of this life are over,
I’ll …
Oh glory
Oh morning
When I die
Hallelujah by and by
I’ll fly away
Lyrics by Albert E. Brumley
from I’ll Fly Away (1929)
every angle has its fabled
tangent tied behind the backs of
folded hours found about the
rounded corners
counted towards what never
quite arrived in time
an asymptote
a rhyme
unfurled and
further curling
further finding
cursive foiling
wrapped around
this mortal coil
let the soil
let the soil
let the soil
let the soil
let the soil play its simple part
Do you ever think of me?
I hope that you are well.
lyrically we seem to be
sympatrically derived from
integers insistent on a
keen resistance
pen in hand you handed me
your altogether pen in hand
you handed me your further
curling further finding cursive
foiling wrapped around this mortal
coil
let the soil
let the soil
let the soil
let the soil
let the soil play it simple part
Do you ever think of me?
I hope that you are well.
Lyrics by Caroline Shaw
This This
This This
This This
This This
This This
This This
This This
This This
The night is darkening round me,
The wild winds coldly blow;
But a tyrant spell has bound me,
And I cannot, cannot,
cannot, cannot,
cannot go.
The giant trees are bending
Their bare boughs weighed with snow;
And the storm is fast descending,
And yet I cannot, cannot,
cannot, cannot,
cannot go.
Clouds beyond
Clouds above
Wastes beyond
Wastes below
Clouds beyond above me
Wastes beyond below
But nothing drear can move me
I will not will not
cannot go
The night is darkening round me
The wild winds coldly blow
A tyrant spell has bound me
And I
Cannot, cannot
Cannot, cannot
Cannot, cannot
Cannot go
Lyrics by Emily Brontë and Jason Treuting
Never seek to tell thy love
Love that never told can be
For the gentle wind does move
Silently invisibly
I told my love I told my love
I told my love I told my love
I told my love
I told her all my heart
Trembling cold in ghastly fears
Ah she doth depart
I told my love I told my love
I told
I told
I told my love
I told my love I
I told her all my heart
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Lyrics by William Blake
Ago, ago, ago
Time until
Ago, ago, ago
Hours fill
Long ago we counted
One, two, three, four, five, six
Ago, ago, ago, ago, ago
Hours find
Ago, ago, ago, ago, ago
Fit the line
Long ago we …
One, three
Until, until, until
Side by side
Until, until, until
By and by
Again, again, again
Long ago we …
One
Lyrics by Caroline Shaw
I don’t hear the wind
I don’t feel the rain
But I’ll sing on sing on until I find
The first verse and refrain
I won’t hear the thunder
I’m not here to entertain
Sing on sing on until you realise
I am not your weathervane
Sing on sing on
And find me in the evergreen
Sing on sing on
And know these shadows won’t be seen
Sing on Sing on Sing on
Sing on Sing on
But sing no sad songs for me
Twilight doesn’t rise or set
You remember, I forget
Don’t plant your roses by my head
The grass will grow above my bed
Sing on sing on
And find me in the evergreen
Sing on sing on
And know these shadows won’t be seen
Sing on Sing on Sing on
Sing on Sing on
But sing no sad songs for me
Sing on sing on
And find me in the evergreen
Sing on sing on
And know these shadows won’t be seen
Sing on Sing on Sing on
Sing on Sing on
But sing no sad songs for me
Lyrics by Caroline Shaw and Eric Cha-Beach, after Christina Rossetti
Two books
Two songs
Wet air
Deep breath
One kiss
One hug
Hold time
Deep breath
Hold time
Deep breath
Two books
Two songs
One kiss
One hug
Wet air
Deep breath
Hold time
Deep breath
Hold time
Deep breath
Hold time
Deep breath
Who turns out the light
Reach to touch the ceiling
Don’t learn to say it right, just yet
Just yet
Just yet
Who turns out the light
Reach to touch the ceiling
I’ll be right upstairs
Laying on the floor
Circles, triangles and squares
Wish my mind could hold a little more
White noise hums behind my ears
Night light glows across my eyes
Colours letters shapes and fears
Stack of scattered paper lies
Whisper tears away
Bring my head down low
One deep breath to end the day
Hold time, then I go
Who turns out the light
Reach to touch the ceiling
Don’t learn to say it right, just yet
I’ll be right upstairs
Lyrics by Eric Cha-Beach
Lay it all down
Search party for a noun
While they run around
Little vowels on the playground
Hands outstretched for a sip
Just a drip
One small taste of the missing adjective
Walking the line
Everything’s fine
Internal rhyme of a lie
I’m searching the streets
Finding beats of deceit
Bare skin on clean sheets
Slow motion realization
Unfurl my abbreviation
Walking the line
Everything’s fine
Internal rhyme of a lie
I’m searching the streets
Finding beats of deceit
Bare skin on clean sheets
Overly sophisticated
Occupied, exaggerated
Walking the line
Everything’s fine
Internal rhyme of a lie
I’m searching the streets
Finding beats of deceit
Bare skin on clean sheets
This This This
This This This This
Slow motion realisation
Unfurl this suspension
Lyrics by Caroline Shaw, Danni Lee, and Eric Cha-Beach
Don’t go wasting your emotion
Lay all your love on me
Don’t go sharing your devotion
Lay all your love on me
Lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (ABBA)
Beloved art, in how many a bleak hour,
when I am enmeshed in life’s tumultuous round,
have you kindled my heart to the warmth of love,
and borne me away to a better world!
Often a sigh, escaping from your harp,
a sweet, celestial chord
has revealed to me a heaven of happier times.
Beloved art, for this I thank you!
Instrumental, inspired by Franz Schubert
Original lyrics by Franz von Schober
English translation Richard Wigmore
So fades the lovely blooming flow’r
Frail solace of an hour
So soon our transient comforts fly
And pleasure blooms to die
Is there no kind, no healing art
To soothe my anguished heart
Spirit of grace be ever nigh
Thy comforts not to die
Let gentle patience smile on pain
Till hope revives again
Hope wipes the tear from sorrow’s eye
And faith points to the sky
Lyrics by Anne Steele
from The Sacred Harp Hymnal (1760)
What’s this solitary game you play
What are you content to say
What’s your slot machine ballet
Have your fears refreshed today?
Feeding content to display
Has it always been this way?
Has it always been this way?
Windy talkers advertise
Wearing suits bought with lies
Nothing comes as a surprise
They are lost but you are wise
Navigating what arises
Look into a stranger’s eyes
Trying kindness on for size
Tell me what you recognise
Tell me what you recognise
Every single day’s a chance
To see humanity advance
But bitter gods look down at ants
Scrolling through the avalanche
Of politics and quick romance
Navigating the expanse
Of rectangles and circumstance
Of rectangles and circumstance
Lyrics by Caroline Shaw, Danni Lee and Sō Percussion
Of all the money that e’er I had
I spent it in good company
And all the harm that e’er I’ve done
Alas it was to none but me
And all I’ve done for want of wit
To mem’ry now I can’t recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be to you all
So fill to me the parting glass
And gather as the evening falls
And gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
If I had money enough to spend
And leisure time to sit awhile
There is a fair maid in this town
She surely has my heart beguiled.
Her rosy cheeks, her ruby lips
I know she has my heart enthralled
So fill me to the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all.
So fill me to the parting glass
And gather as the evening falls
And gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
Of all the comrades that e’er I’ve had
They’re sorry for my going away
And all the sweethearts that e’er I’ve had
They’d wish me one more day to stay
But since it fell into my lot
That I should rise and you should not
I’ll gently rise and I’ll softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
So fill to me the parting glass
And gather as the evening falls
And gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
Scottish traditional
Artist biographies
For 20 years and counting, Sō Percussion have redefined chamber music for the 21st century through an ‘exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigour and bedlam’ (The New Yorker).
Sō’s commitment to the creation of new work, and their powers of communication have made them a trusted partner for composers such as Caroline Shaw, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Nathalie Joachim, Dan Trueman, Kendall K Williams, Angélica Negrón, Shodekeh Talifero, Claire Rousay, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Bora Yoon, Olivier Tarpaga, Bobby Previte, Matmos and many others.
This season Sō and Caroline Shaw perform a programme based around their newest album, Rectangles and Circumstance, here at the Barbican, at BOZAR in Brussels, Saffron Hall in Essex, and 92NY in New York City. Recent Sō highlights have included performances at Carnegie Hall, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Big Ears, Cal Performances, Barcelona’s Palau de la Música Catalana, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Penn Live Arts in Philadelphia, the Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa and the Library of Congress, as well as touring Benin and Burkina Faso with Olivier Tarpaga.
In addition to Rectangles and Circumstances, their recent albums with Caroline Shaw include Let the Soil Play its Simple Part and the Grammy award-winning Narrow Sea with Dawn Upshaw and Gilbert Kalish (all on Nonesuch Records). Other recent albums include an acclaimed version of Julius Eastman’s Stay On It, and Darian Donovan Thomas’s Individuate, adding to a catalogue of more than 25 albums featuring landmark recordings of works by Steve Reich, Steven Mackey and David Lang, among others.
This autumn Sō Percussion began their 11th year as the Edward T Cone performers-in-residence at Princeton University. Rooted in the belief that music is an elemental form of human communication, and galvanized by forces for social change, Sō pursue a range of social and community outreach through their nonprofit umbrella, including partnerships with local ensembles such as Brooklyn’s Pan in Motion; their Sō Laboratories concert series; a studio residency programme in Brooklyn; fundraising for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen; and the Sō Percussion Summer Institute, an intensive two-week chamber music seminar for percussionists and composers.
Sō Percussion’s 2024–25 season is supported in part by awards from:
The National Endowment for the Arts.
The New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the
New York State Legislature;
The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council
The Aaron Copland Fund for Music
The Alice M Ditson Fund of Columbia University
The Amphion Foundation
The Brookby Foundation
The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
The Fan Fox and Leslie R Samuels Foundation
The Howard Gilman Foundation
The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
Sō Percussion uses:
Pearl/Adams Instruments
Vic Firth Drumsticks and Mallets
Zildjian Cymbals
Blackswamp Accessories
Remo Drumheads
Estey Organs
Kyle Dunleavy Steel Pans
MalletMan Steel Drum Mallets
Sō Percussion would like to thank Vic Firth, Pearl Adams, Remo and Zildjian for their generous support.
Caroline Shaw is a musician who moves among roles, genres and media, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. She often collaborates with others as producer, composer, violinist and vocalist. She is the recipient of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music, several Grammy awards, an honorary doctorate from Yale and a Thomas J Watson Fellowship.
Current and recent projects include the score to Fleishman is in Trouble (FX/Hulu), vocal work with Rosalía (MOTOMAMI), the score to Josephine Decker’s The Sky Is Everywhere (A24/Apple), music for the National Theatre’s production of The Crucible (directed by Lyndsey Turner), Justin Peck’s Partita with New York City Ballet, a new stage work LIFE (Gandini Juggling/Merce Cunningham Trust), the premiere of Microfictions, Vol 3 for the New York Philharmonic and Roomful of Teeth, a live orchestral score for Wu Tsang’s silent film Moby Dick, co-composed with Andrew Yee, two albums for Nonesuch (Evergreen and
The Blue Hour), the score for Helen Simoneau’s dance work Delicate Power, tours of Graveyards and Gardens (co-created with Vanessa Goodman) and the current tour with Sō Percussion, as well as occasional chamber music appearances as violist with the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota and La Jolla Music Society.
In the past decade Caroline Shaw has written over 100 works for artists and ensembles such as Anne Sofie von Otter, Davóne Tines, Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Baroque, Cincinnati and Seattle Symphony orchestras, Aizuri, Calidore, Dover and Miro quartets, The Crossing, Brooklyn Rider, I Giardini, Ars Nova Copenhagen, Ariadne Greif, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Britt Festival and the Vail Dance Festival.
She has contributed production to albums by Rosalía, Woodkid and Nas. Her work as vocalist or composer has featured in several films, TV series and podcasts, including The Humans, Bombshell, Yellowjackets, Maid, Dark, Beyoncé’s Homecoming, Tár, Dolly Parton’s America and More Perfect.
Ringdown, featuring composer-musicians Caroline Shaw and Danni Lee Parpan, are a cinematic electro-pop duo creating music that floats up from the dusty record bin between Brahms and Brandi Carlile, and centres around joy and human connection.
The duo were drawn to one another through mutual admiration of each other’s work: Shaw having won a Pulitzer Prize and several Grammy Awards for her boundary-breaking compositions and film music, and Parpan being a dynamic vocalist and folk-pop singer-songwriter who writes emotionally stirring lyrics and relishes in challenging how instruments are ‘supposed’ to be played. Together as Ringdown, they forge a new way of unlocking ways to write, sing and perform, encouraging each to loosen their grip on the
music they have created previously and revel in the intricate pop music they have always loved. Their songs, sonically merging Shaw’s pull toward the abstract with Parpan’s directness, result, they hope, in music that invites deep listening but also welcomes you to sing along.
As for the band’s name: A ringdown is the theorised sound two black holes make in the final microseconds when they merge, a sub-bass whoosh and glide that suggest the world’s biggest synthesizer, sighing in contentment.
Ringdown are working on a debut album for Nonesuch Records and have performed across the US and internationally. The duo, who are partners on and off the stage, split their time between Portland, Oregon, and New York.
