SELECTED CRITICAL RESPONSES TO THE WORK
OF HELEN HALL
Films, compositions, and interdisciplinary projects
“Helen Hall’s Rites of Decimation , given its world premiere, was this concert’s hit, a dramatic, sprawling piece that went from gallop to lurch as it displayed the composer’s confidence in handling the band’s many resources on a grand scale.”
— Mark Miller, The Globe and Mail
“[The music for Powerlines] is …gorgeous…its simple archaisms, reminiscent of Arvo Pärt, mark a new (to me) and welcome phase in Hall’s artistic development.”
— Tamara Bernstein, National Post
“Helen Hall’s Circuits asked Ms. La Barbara to execute circular singing, essentially pitched breathing, with taped vocal tracks lending euphonious support.”
— Alex Ross, The New York Times
POWERLINES
“…she created both an exquisite acoustic-electronic soundtrack (as composer) and visuals (as filmmaker). ” – “Blue Gene” Tyranny, All Music Guide
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“…her music for the film, which takes up most of the CD that accompanies the magazine is…gorgeous…its simple archaisms, reminiscent of Arvo Pärt, mark a new (to me) and welcome phase in Hall’s artistic development.” – Tamara Bernstein, National Post
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“Helen Hall describes the sound for her film Powerlines as drone music, based on the sixty-cycle hum. Her soundtrack ingeniously combines instrumental minimalism and soundscape composition.” – Gayle Young, Musicworks Magazine
“A haunting and evocative work of dance on film — no easy task.”
Matthew Hays, Montreal Mirror, Montreal, Canada August 12 1999
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RITES OF DECIMATION
“A dramatic, sprawling piece… displaying the composer’s confidence in handling the band’s many resources on a grand scale.”
Mark Miller, The Globe and Mail
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CIRCUITS
“On the otherworldly Circuits, composed by Helen Hall, La Barbara produced a constant hum of audible, pitched breathing” – Jordan Levin, The Miami Herald
“Helen Hall’s Circuits asked Ms. La Barbara to execute circular singing, essentially pitched breathing, with taped vocal tracks lending euphonious support.” – Alex Ross, New York Times
” Soprano Helen Pridmore achieved a tour de force in Helen Hall’s difficult Circuits. Her interpretation…was quite beautiful.” — Stephen Pedersen, Chronicle Herald
” Notable among the concerts involving scored music was New Brunswick soprano Helen Pridmore’s performance of Montreal composer Helen Hall’s ‘Circuits‘…. Pridmore’s measured exploration of the cyclical process of breathing contained an extraordinary resonance of endurance and renewal.” — Tim Dallett, Arts Atlantic
STOICHEIA, PHOTOSKIA, WINTER TREES
“On side A, the music of Canadian composer Helen Hall is intertwined with Orthodox liturgical chanting in a surprising and challenging dialogue… one is left imagining the relation: the universally evocative power of phonemes; the women keeping the community alive; the sacred dimension of music.”
Continuo’s Weblog — Review of Musicworks #38: Bridging Language
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OF RADIANT STREAMS
The most complex work was Of Radiant Streams by Helen Hall, whose score calls on four very busy percussionists, one of whom produced a heavy duty chain, in an exploration of timbre.”
Carl Urquart — The Gazette (Montreal)
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