Life Returns Liner Notes

Matthew Evan Taylor Life Returns

Metropolis Ensemble | RAJAS | Andrew Cyr | Ganavya

Pinpoints of Light 20:54

Stirrings Amid Stillness 8:32

Quickening and Enlivening 14:46

Life Returns!

11:34

It all starts with a breath. And then that breath turns into a tone. And that tone contains multitudes.

That sound, both supremely understood through the study of physics, but still mysterious in the power it has to hold our attention, survives long past the time we heard it.

The low C bellowed by two colliding black holes has been reverberating longer than the Earth has existed.

And to think, an alto flute uses the same molecules…

March 2021

Unless we listen to our hearts, Time will pass imperceptibly.

Once we listen to our hearts We vocalize the future we wish to see.

The challenge – to make our marks within the time we have June 2021

We emerge from isolation into a world both familiar And alien.

We work tirelessly to keep the demons at bay, But still the damage is done.

The smoke from the west reaches the east, and makes the south more violent The north less predictable.

One way out of this reality – Stay grounded Be attentive Connect And BREATHE July 2021

Root, stem, leaf – Earth, air, sky…

Water moves through all, nourishes all – We would do well to honor it: in our breath, in our movements and in our Souls August 2021

Up here, nature proclaims life’s return in a spectacular fashion – A world of white and brown bursts with infinite hues of green, flecked with yellow, framed by the blue sky We hear the new cries of the young birds and see the baby mammals forage for the First time When all begins to go dormant, nature puts on an even more spectacular show The din of the calls of migrating birds increases, A fanfare of reds and yellows as they overtake the green from spring There is true cacophony, nature’s own second line.

Shouldn’t we celebrate in a similar manner?

October 2021

Each day we move farther away from the solstice, the more the promise of light and life g

r

o

w

s.

It is our job to shake off the lethargy and introversion that served us well ~during the dark time~ and stroll confidently into the warmth, the green, and the cacophony of rebirth.

February 2022

poetry by M.E.T.

Credits Music by Matthew Evan Taylor.

Performed by Metropolis Ensemble (Andrew Cyr, conductor / artistic director and Matthew Evan Taylor, solo flutes / saxophone) and RAJAS (Ganavya, solo voice and Rajna Swaminathan, mrudangam).

Mixing by Machines with Magnets.

Mastering by Silas Brown, Legacy Sound.

Recorded on March 24, 2022 at Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium.

A MetLiveArts and Metropolis Ensemble 2021-2022 co-commission.

Life Returns is commissioned and produced by MetLiveArts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Live Arts, bringing the Museum into conversation with contemporary creators and encouraging the discovery of untested modes of performance.

This project is made possible by the Adrienne Arsht Fund for Resilience through Art. Artwork by Juniper Creative LLC, commissioned by Metropolis Ensemble (2021).

Photos by Stephanie Berger, courtesey of The Metropolitan Museum of Art / MetLiveArts.

Album design by Armistead Booker.

About the Project Life Returns was written in the years between 2020 and 2022, a time of isolation, fear, and forced introspection.

When musicians opened their parts, this is the message they saw: This is a piece about resilience.

This is a piece about restoration.

This is a piece about resurrection.

This is a piece about re-entry.

This is a piece about growth.

This is a piece about meditation.

This is a piece about repose.

This is a piece about action.

This is a piece about light.

This is a piece about flowers.

This is a piece about seasons.

This is a piece for celebration.

This is a piece celebrating love.

Special Thanks Heartfelt thanks to Leslie Berman, Herman Taylor, Jasmine Taylor, Limor Tomer, Kate Gilmore, Eric Brewster, The Hermitage Artist Retreat, and Shashtra Summer Collaborative.

Metropolis Ensemble Timothy Angulo, percussion Sasha Berliner, percussion Andrew Cyr, artistic director / conductor Mark Dover, clarinet Emi Ferguson, flute Emma Frucht, viola Jay Julio, viola Jia Kim, cello Ayane Kozasa, viola Karen Ouzounian, cello Evan Runyon, bass Matthew Evan Taylor, saxophones / flutes Theo Walentiny, piano Paul Wiancko, cello Aaron Wolff, cello

RAJAS Dave Adewumi, trumpet Stephan Crump, bass Ganavya, solo voice Utsav Lal, piano Miles Okazaki, guitar Rajna Swaminathan, mrudangam