Gravitation and Other Graces
Part documentary, part rumination, and part fairy tale.
2016 / Stephanie Rowden / TCF, USA
Part documentary, part rumination, and part fairy tale.
Once upon a time, producer Stephanie Rowden stumbled upon an elderly, gnome-ish, armchair philosopher named Wolfgang. As a young man, Wolfgang escaped Nazi Germany with his family. Now, ailing and living alone, he'd attracted a devoted circle of much-younger friends and caretakers.
Stephanie found herself unexpectedly drawn into Wolfgang's orbit, and, in this audio essay, she retraces her path from documentarian to caretaker herself, eventually in search of a very distinctive tree that was to be Wolfgang's resting place.
Learn how Stephanie worked closely with a musician to create an original score for the piece... in our behind-the-scenes interview.
You can learn more about Stephanie and her work here. The website for Gravitation and Other Graces has photos, backstory, and audio extras (scroll down).
Gravitation 's music was developed under the direction of composer and improviser Andrew Bishop (clarinet, bass clarinet) with additional improvisations by Julian Bridges (marimba) and Dave Haughey (cello).The music recording was engineered by Jason Corey and Austin Stawowczyk in the Duderstadt Center at the University of Michigan.
The final mix was engineered by Rob Byers.
produced by
Stephanie Rowden’s work in sound encompasses projects for installation, public art, radio documentary and performance.
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