Butterfly Lightning Shakes the Earth
India Gailey; Symphony Nova Scotia; Karl Herzer
Redshift Records TK552 (redshiftmusicsociety.bandcamp.com/album/butterfly-lightning-shakes-the-earth)
Cellist India Gailey’s latest album continues her dedication to the fusion of natural and supernatural worlds, depicting powerful images of our changing environment while revealing early influences of her Buddhist lineage.
Opening with three miniatures, Mountainweeps (originally written for cellist Arlen Hluska for Instagram posts needing to be around 1 min each), Gailey uses her vast range of minimalist colours to paint the scene of melting glaciers and the migration of creatures following the disappearing ice. With the use of fleeting harmonics, the composer sets the scene for frigid temperatures, and the flowing arpeggiated passages describe fleeing plants and animals.
This short set aptly sets the stage for Gailey’s first symphonic composition Butterfly Lightening Shakes the Earth, a concerto for cello and orchestra composed during a Banff Residency and premiered with Symphony Nova Scotia under the baton of Karl Hirzer. The first movement, SKY, beginning with heavenly high notes on the cello paired with fluttering harmonics and high triangle chimes throughout the orchestra, is textural while supporting the melody of the cello. The second movement, GOLDEN, blends the double basses and lowest reeds to bring a dark and mysterious element behind the gorgeous melody in the cello, morphing into tonal shifts and scattered drums like oncoming rain and a sudden storm, leading to the third movement, JOINING, where we hear a rainstorm beautifully rendered throughout the orchestra. The heavens seem to break open with a string quartet of almost plaintive chant which quickly grows throughout the ensemble, when the cello bursts into the group with a storm of its own. The sound of birds ebbs and swells again to end in a majestic firestorm of cello pyrotechnics and a mountain of sound. It’s worth a trip over to YouTube to see the capture of this performance as the storm effects are wonderous to watch, and Gailey’s playing is exact and clear while maintaining a natural and relaxed delivery. The future looks very bright for this exceptional artist.
