247. Krai

The Concert - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Work for string orchestra and voice by Olga Bell, performed by A Far Cry and Olga Bell on November 1, 2016.

• Bell, Olga: Krai arranged for A Far Cry

Today, we’re going on a journey across the vast expanse of Russia: lush forests and blustery tundra, uninhabited landscapes and small villages. Our guide is composer Olga Bell, whose evening-length work Krai had its string orchestra version premiere at the Gardner in March 2016, with A Far Cry.

Bell was born in Moscow. She moved with her mother to Anchorage, Alaska at the age of seven, but Russia has always loomed large in her memory and her imagination. In this work—premiered a few years ago at the Walker Art Center, and then released as an album—she combines folk-influenced melodies with a modern sense of rhythmic drive and classical orchestration, drawing on her diverse background. Following her childhood in Russia, she studied classical piano in Alaska and Boston, and later toured as a vocalist and keyboard player with indie bands like the Dirty Projectors and Chairlift. All those influences are present in this work, which is a unique mash-up of indie, folk, and classical.

We’ll hear more about the piece from the composer herself, whose comments are interspersed throughout the recording. She is also featured on vocals.