Michael Gordon’s new album Van Gogh is based on the letters between Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo. The recording doubles as the follow-up to Alarm Will Sound's Acoustica: Music of Aphex Twin, which placed in the top 25 of Billboard's classical-crossover chart. Alan Pierson, the conductor of that unique 20-member band, says of Van Gogh: “I wasn’t much of a Vincent Van Gogh fan when I first heard the piece, but I was very moved by the story that Michael Gordon tells of the artist’s life. There’s a directness, immediacy, and intimacy that Michael brings to Van Gogh’s story by sharing it entirely through his private letters, intensifying Van Gogh’s already staggering story."

Composer MICHAEL GORDON & ALARM WILL SOUND Team-Up for Van Gogh

In early 2008, Cantaloupe Music will release Michael Gordon’s new album Van Gogh based on the letters between Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo. This recording doubles as Alarm Will Sound’s follow-up to their album Acoustica: Music of Aphex Twin (2005, CA21028) which placed in the top 25 of Billboard's classical-crossover chart.

Gordon has written numerous well-known orchestral works, including Decasia (2002, CA21008), a multimedia orchestral work with film by Bill Morrison. Most recently, he is partnering with Morrison for a Los Angeles Philharmonic-commissioned piece for the upcoming Concrete Frequency Festival in January 2008 and a commission at the Brooklyn Academy Music in December 2008.

Michael Gordon says of his new release: “I started writing Van Gogh because of my obsession with Vincent Van Gogh's letters to his brother, Theo. I made trips to Holland and Southern France to explore and get the vibe of the area. I wrote Borinage first and used to sing it myself. There was a long lag between the early performances in the 1990s and fall 2003, when the Crash Ensemble did it in Dublin without the video. I re-orchestrated the piece for that performance, adding 3 instruments (cello, bass, piano). Alarm Will Sound played that version in April 2005 at Merkin Hall, after which they suggested that we record the piece. Their performance and recording is everything I could have dreamed of.”

Alan Pierson of the unique 20-member band, Alarm Will Sounds, says about Van Gogh: “I wasn’t much of a Vincent Van Gogh fan when I first heard the piece, but I was very moved by the story that Michael Gordon tells of the artist’s life—his adolescent anxieties, professional challenges, and a kind of transcendence that comes with his eventual institutionalization. There’s a directness and intimacy that Michael brings to Van Gogh’s story by sharing it entirely through Van Gogh’s private letters. And the immediacy of those words intensifies Van Gogh’s already staggering story.”