Lavender Kite Audio Research Hour: Norma Beecroft

Norma Beecroft (1934-) is a living legend of Canadian music. A master of early electronic and electro-acoustic composition, she has written for the concert stage and electronic scores for theatre, co-founded New Music Concerts in Toronto with Robert Aitken, and is an award-winning radio producer. Her book "Conversations with Post World War II Pioneers of Electronic Music" had a print release in 2018. The pieces in this mix represent a range of Norma's writing, from 1968 to 1992, all incorporating some element of electronic sound with the exception of The Living Flame of Love Consequences for 5 (1977): written for horn, trumpet, trombone, piano, 4 synthesizers Piece for Bob (1975): solo flute with tape and percussion, dedicated to Robert Aitken The Living Flame of Love (1968): a capella 9+ voices, text translated from the original Spanish text by 16th century mystic St John of the Cross Jeu II (1985): for flute, viola, tape, live electronic manipulation, uses fragments of Berg's Violin Concerto and Bach's A Minor Flute Sonata and Cello Suite No. 1 Amplified String Quartet (1992): this piece was premiered in the 1994/95 season of New Music Concerts, celebrating Beecroft's 60th birthday Evocations - Images of Canada (1991): an entirely digital composition, commissioned by CBC to be created in their new production facilities