Silence Martin

New sounds from silence: A deep look inside. As a possibility of reduction, of concentration on the essentials in this strange time of silence. Martin Kälberer dared him to look out from there and to become aware of his view of things and the world in a completely new way.

The distinguished Russian-born, American-resident Grigory Smirnov is, in the words of fellow composer John Corigliano "an exceptionally talented composer with a unique voice." Powerful and timeless, and not beholden to any particular stylistic affiliations, Smirnov explores the eternal questions in his music, notably so in the Dowson Songs. Taking ten poems by the English poet Ernest Dowson, he has organised them in a narrative cycle exploring, with great richness, the transformative evolution of love. In Chaconne, for cello and piano, whilst following Baroque ideas, Smirnov magically dissolves the borders between melody and harmony.

Lush ambient textures and melodies layered together with recordings of Oboe, English horn and various percussion.

The story of two Catholic missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) who face the ultimate test of faith when they travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor (Liam Neeson) - at a time when Catholicism was outlawed and their presence forbidden.

Two Portuguese priests disembark upon an anonymous Japanese shore. Under cover of nightfall, they seek to infiltrate those Christian sects driven underground by a ruthless magistracy, and re-establish the foothold of the Church on the isolated island-nation. Soon, however, the priests find themselves drawn into the mire of persecution, and gradually learn the truth behind the ominous disappearance of another Catholic missionary decades earlier…