Commissioned by eighth blackbird and Lunapark and funded by The Doelen Concert Hall, Rotterdam, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam, and Muziekgebouw Frits Philips, Eindhoven, with the financial support of The Van Beinum Foundation, The Netherlands.

  • fl(afl).cl(bcl)/perc/pf/vn.vc
  • 20 min
    • 12th April 2025, National Concert Hall, Dublin 2, Ireland
    View all

Programme Note

Oh, listen to my story, I’ll tell you no lies,
How John Lewis did murder poor little Omie Wise.

The murder ballad has its roots in a European tradition, in which grisly details of bloody homicides are recounted through song. When this tradition came to America, it developed its own vernacular. In Murder Ballades, Dessner crafts original music inspired by the seductive strains, violent stories, and playing styles of these ballads. His Omie WiseYoung Emily, and Pretty Polly are loosely inspired by classic tunes, while Dark Holler is Dessner’s own melody, and draws on the sound of the clawhammer banjo style often heard in performances of these songs. Brushy Fork is a Civil War-era murder ballad/fiddle tune. Wave the Sea and Tears for Sister Polly are original compositions woven out of the depths of this strange corner of American music. Bryce Dessner (born 1976) is a composer, electric guitarist, and artistic director, at home in many musical worlds. His compositions draw on elements of Baroque and folk music, late Romanticism and modernism, minimalism, and the blues. Murder Ballades was commissioned by eighth blackbird and Lunapark and funded by The Doelen Concert Hall, Rotterdam, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam, and Muziekgebouw Frits Philips, Eindhoven, with the financial support of The Van Beinum Foundation, The Netherlands, with additional support from Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and also by LA Dance Project, 2013 for the work of the same name choreographed by Justin Peck.

brycedessner.com

Media

Murder Ballades: Omie Wise
Murder Ballades: Young Emily
Murder Ballades: Dark Holler
Murder Ballades: Wave The Sea
Murder Ballades: Brushy Fork
Murder Ballades: Pretty Polly
Murder Ballades: Tears For Sister Polly

Scores

Preview the score

Reviews

Murder Ballades by composer and guitarist Bryce Dessner was inspired by folk songs about real and imagined killings from America’s early settlement. Dessner takes the song’s melodic material as a starting point, wrapping it in evocative accompaniments to create a highly charged atmosphere. With the use of inside piano techniques, wailing string glissandos, stamping chords and other effects, he crafts a wonderfully imaginative sound palette. Brushy Fork, a Civil War fiddle tune, brought the house down with its driving rhythm and foot-stomping jollity.
Mark Coughlan, The Weekend Australian
23rd February 2017
Murder Ballads from 'star of the New York City Ballet' Justin Peck accompanied by music from Bryce Dessner, composer and guitarist known for his work in rock band The National, is easy on the eye and ear, a mix of old and new. American folk tradition replicated in modern style- Agnes de Mille, Aaron Copland, wide-open Oklahoma prairie lands occupy my imagination.
Vera Liber, British Theatre Guide
4th October 2013
Bryce Dessner's fascinating score is based on American ballads about murder, and I saw choreography of buoyant energy, with gesture sweetly and skilfully set within movement, which sailed along with its music, lived in it, and engaged its cast in actions that sat happily, flatteringly on their bodies, and bothered not at all with a carrier-pigeon task as "messenger".
Clement Crisp, Financial Times
4th October 2013

Discography

Filament

Filament
  • Label
    Cedille
  • Catalogue Number
    CDR 90000 157
  • Ensemble
    Eighth Blackbird
  • Released
    1st September 2015

More Info