Restless Nation: The Music of Andy Teirstein out February 4* on Navona Records
Album celebrates composer's works inspired by world music traditions, featuring oud, nyckelharpa, and dulcimer with string quartet
Performers include Mivos & Cassatt String Quartets, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, master musicians Marco Ambrosini (nyckelharpa) and Yair Dalal (Oud), and Teirstein himself (dulcimer, harmonica)
Revised Release Date
Oud. Nyckelharpa. Dulcimer. Andy Teirstein infuses his compositions with impulses – and instruments – drawn from several world music traditions. His new album, Restless Nation: The Music of Andy Teirstein (Navona NV6397, revised rel. February 4, 2022), spans the globe with chamber and orchestral music inspired by music from the Middle East to Europe to the New World, performed by a host of world-renowned musicians.
The Cassatt Quartet evokes the fiery energy of American fiddling on the title track; the intriguing Nyckelharpa (traditional Swedish fiddle) joins the Mivos Quartet for Secrets of the North; and an exotic combination of oud, dulcimer and string quartet light up Azazme Songs, composed after Teirstein’s trek with a family of Bedouins across an Israeli desert. The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra with the composer on harmonica bring to life one of Woody Guthrie’s love letters to his future wife in Letter from Woody.
Teirstein conceived the quartet Restless Nation when he and his wife took their two children on a home-schooling expedition across America. Each movement reflects different aspects of the adventure from the children’s perspective: the open road, the sounds of insects and night animals, rambunctious and reflective moments, wilderness, and the journey home. Teirstein's longtime collaborator, the Cassatt String Quartet, commissioned, premiered and recorded the work.
The folk influences in Secrets of the North and Azazme Songs are evident in the instrumentation and modalities, as played by the Mivos Quartet with two master soloists, Marco Ambrosini on nyckelharpa and Yair Dalal playing the oud (a lute-like instrument prominent in Middle Eastern music). Secrets of the North is inspired by a short story by Isak Dinesen, The Sailor Boy’s Tale in which an old Sami woman turns into a hawk and helps a boy. Azazme Songs was composed after Teirstein joined a four-day trek with Yair Dalal and a Bedouin family across the Aravah desert in Israel. At each meal, ouds and violins were taken down from the camels, and the travelers played “Hjennies,” old tunes the camel drivers sing to themselves on their journeys across the Aravah. Azazme Songs is not intended as authentic transcription, but as the musical offering of a beginner, whose impressions were gleaned from listening around the fire after walking across an ancient landscape. Teirstein joins Dalal and Mivos on Appalachian lap dulcimer, which evokes the sound of the Bedouin Sumsumia, a strummed psaltery-like instrument.
Letter from Woody is inspired by a love letter, which Teirstein discovered in the Woody Guthrie archives. From A Hobo’s Lullaby to Love You Down to Your Feet, Guthrie woos his future wife, Marjorie Mazia. The composer plays harmonica, joining the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jiří Petrdlík.
Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.
Restless Nation: The Music of Andy Teirstein
with Mivos Quartet, Cassatt String Quartet, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Andy Teirstein (Harmonica, Hammer dulcimer), Marco Ambrosini (Nyckelharpa), and Yair Dalal (Oud)
Navona Records (NV6397)
Revised release date: February 4, 2022
Learn more about Andy Teirstein
Bios, photos and more on Teirstein's Digital Press Kit
Composer Andy Teirstein's music has been described by The New York Times as “magically atmospheric,” “glimmering, restless,” and “tumultuously exuberant.” A student of Leonard Bernstein and Henry Brant, Teirstein has composed film scores for BBC and PBS, the operas Winter Man and A Blessing on the Moon, and movement theater pieces including The Wild (La MaMa E.T.C.) and The Vagabonds inspired by William Blake. The Village Voice wrote that his music “seems to speak in celestial accents of some utopia whose chief industry is dancing,” and he composes often for choreographers, including Stephen Petronio, Donald Byrd, and Liz Lerman. As a performer, he has appeared with Paul Simon, Pete Seeger, and The Vanaver Caravan. He has acted in the Broadway show Barnum, the TV series Search for Tomorrow, the film Sophie’s Choice, and Woody Sez, an off-Broadway show about Woody Guthrie.
Restless Nation
Cassatt String Quartet (Muneko Otani, Violin; Jennifer Leshnower, Violin; Ah Ling Neu, Viola; Elizabeth Anderson, Cello)
[01] I. My Eyes Were Hungry
[02] II. Flora and Fauna
[03] III. Recess
[04] IV. Goree Island
[05] V. Of Rocks and Rivers
[06] VI. The Way Home
Secrets of the North
Suite for String Quartet and Nyckelharpa
Marco Ambrosini, Nyckelharpa; The Mivos String Quartet (Olivia De Prato, Violin; Lauren Cauley Kalal, Violin; Victor Lowry Tafoya, Viola; Mariel Roberts, Cello)
[07] Gamel Vals
[08] Polska
[09] Vita Märrn
[10] Fiery
[11] Driven
[12] Sarabanda
[13] Dance
[14] Jarvovalser
[15] Escape
Azazme Songs
Suite for String Quartet, Oud and Dulcimer
Yair Dalal, Oud; Andy Teirstein, Dulcimer; Mivos String Quartet (Olivia De Prato, Violin; Lauren Cauley Kalal, Violin; Victor Lowry Tafoya, Viola; Mariel Roberts, Cello)
[16] Sheregi
[17] Hjenni
[18] The Naboteans
[19] Dance of the Camel Drivers
Letter From Woody
Andy Teirstein, Harmonica; Janacek Philharmonic
[20] Pastures of Plenty
[21] Hobo’s Lullabye
[22] The Growling Old Man and Woman
[23] I Love You Down to Your Feet
[24] The Scribbling Will Remain