Waves and Particles, by John Luther Adams

Waves and Particles

by John Luther Adams

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$12 USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Includes unlimited streaming of Waves and Particles via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

shipping out on or around May 10, 2024

$16 USD or more
Full Digital Discography

11

releases

Get all 11 John Luther Adams releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Waves and Particles, Darkness and Scattered Light, Houses of the Wind, Arctic Dreams, Lines Made by Walking, Everything That Rises, The Wind in High Places, Four Thousand Holes, and 3 more. , and , .

Purchasable with gift card

$105.60 USD or more (20% OFF)

1.	Waves and Particles - I. Particle Dust 09:17	buy track
2.	Waves and Particles - II. Spectral Waves 07:34	buy track
3.	Waves and Particles - III. Velocity Waves 09:07	buy track
4.	Waves and Particles - IV. Triadic Waves 05:24	buy track
5.	Waves and Particles - V. Murmurs in a Chromatic Field 07:54	buy track
6.	Waves and Particles - VI. Particles Rising 09:07	buy track

about

"Waves and Particles" is a shimmering, virtuosic string quartet, performed by the extraordinary JACK Quartet.

Adams writes about the piece:
"'Waves and Particles' was inspired by quantum physics, fractal geometry, and noise—which function as elemental metaphors in my music.
"Quantum physics tells us that the universe is more like music than matter. And the musical material of this piece traverses a continuum from silence articulated by points of sound to rolling waves of pitch, timbre, intensity, and velocity.
"A simple fractal form shapes each of the six movements, which I hope imparts a quality less like personal expression than like inevitable force.
"The noise I had in mind was as an acoustician might define it: complex aperiodic sound.
"Composing 'Waves and Particles' in this time of cultural disintegration, I also remembered Jacques Attali, who heralded music as prophetic noise that can signal creative disruption. 'What is noise to the old order is harmony to the new.' (Jacques Attali)"

John Luther Adams is a Pulitzer- and Grammy-winning composer who lived for many years in Alaska, where his work derived much of its unique character from the landscape and weather of the Great North. Some years ago, he moved from Alaska, living in various desert and mountain areas in South and Central America—places that also inspired and found expression in his music. He currently resides in rural New Mexico.
He is a long-time associate of the Cold Blue label; his music has appeared on nine previous Cold Blue CDs, including the Grammy nominated "Darkness and Scattered Light," "Houses of the Wind," "Arctic Dreams," "Everything That Rises," and the Grammy-nominated "Lines Made by Walking."

“John Luther Adams . . . one of the most original musical thinkers of the new century.” — Alex Ross, The New Yorker

“His music becomes more than a metaphor for natural forces: it is an elemental experience in its own right.” —Tom Service, The Guardian

“His music perfectly echoes the landscape he loves: impersonal, relentless, larger than human scale, yet gorgeous, a quiet chaos of colors, suffused with light.” —Kyle Gann, Chamber Music Magazine

“Adams’ manner is that of Thoreau—to be in a place, incorporate it into his memory and values, and recreate that through music. It misses the point to say he is inspired by nature—Adams is changed by nature and his music is a catalogue of the places that changed him. . . . Adams [is] an important and necessary musician for our time.” —New York Classical Review

JACK Quartet has been deemed “superheroes of the new music world” (Boston Globe), “the go-to quartet for contemporary music, tying impeccable musicianship to intellectual ferocity and a take-no-prisoners sense of commitment” (The Washington Post), and “a musical vehicle of choice to the next great composers who walk among us” (Toronto Star). The group is focused on the commissioning and performance of new works, leading it to work closely with composers John Luther Adams, Derek Bermel, Chaya Czernowin, James Dillon, Brian Ferneyhough, Beat Furrer, Georg Friedrich Haas, Vijay Iyer, György Kurtág, Helmut Lachenmann, George Lewis, Steve Mackey, Matthias Pintscher, Steve Reich, Roger Reynolds, Wolfgang Rihm, Salvatore Sciarrino, Julia Wolfe, John Zorn, and many others. JACK has recorded three earlier albums of Adams’s music for Cold Blue: Lines Made by Walking (CB0058), Everything That Rises(CB0051), and The Wind in High Places(CB0041).

“The string quartet may be a 250-year-old contraption, but young, brilliant groups like the JACK Quartet are keeping it thrillingly vital.”—The Washington Post

credits

releases May 17, 2024

JACK Quartet
Christopher Otto, violin
Austin Wulliman, violin
John Richards, viola
Jay Campbell, cello

Produced by John Luther Adams, Nathaniel Reichman, and Jim Fox.
Recorded by Nathaniel Reichman and Edwin Kenzo Huet at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon, NY, June 2, 2023.
Edited, mixed, and mastered for stereo and immersive audio by Nathaniel Reichman, Delmar, NY.

Design by Jim Fox; photos: NASA

Compositions © Taiga Music 2024
CD p & © 2024 Cold Blue Music
www.coldbluemusic.com

license

about

John Luther Adams New Mexico

John Luther Adams’ music has won both a Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy Award and has been performed by such ensembles as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, and Int'l Contemporary Ensemble. Cold Blue Music has released seven albums of his work, including Lines Made by Walking, The Wind in High Places, The Light That Fills the World, and Red Arc/Blue Veil. ... more

contact / help

Contact John Luther Adams

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like John Luther Adams, you may also like:

Sila: The Breath of the World
by John Luther Adams

supported by 22 fans who also own “Waves and Particles”
go to album
The Become Trilogy
by John Luther Adams

supported by 14 fans who also own “Waves and Particles”

Gorgeous. I adore this music. Favorite track: Become Desert. Minivan Riots
go to album
Become Desert
by John Luther Adams & Seattle Symphony

supported by 13 fans who also own “Waves and Particles”

Yet another wonderful epic post-minimalist work by the master of environmental trandenscentalism. The obvious companion piece to his majestic 'Become Ocean'. polinos
go to album
Imprints 1 & 2
by Simeon Walker

These almost heartbreakingly gentle felted piano compositions have the delicacy and loveliness of slow-falling snow. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 30, 2023
go to album
Imprints
by Simeon Walker

Hushed and quietly beautiful piano compositions from Simeon Walker that are as calming as spring ran. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 31, 2021
go to album
Iris Arco (EP)
by Tristan Eckerson

Rippling and disarming piano ballads from this Cincinnati composer that knock you out with their beauty. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 23, 2021
go to album
For George Lewis | Autoschediasms
by Tyshawn Sorey & Alarm Will Sound

supported by 13 fans who also own “Waves and Particles”

Brilliant!!!!! Music I will live with for the foreseeable future. warren crichlow
go to album