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“It is rare to find a performance of my piece The Sinking of the Titanic that has the spirit and sense of engagement of those that I have done with my own musicians over the years, but created independently and without any direct involvement from me. This recording by Sonic Open Orchestra directed by Jason Martin Castillo is very fine indeed with a rich overall sound and with all the detail beautifully observed. Heart-felt thanks and congratulations!”

- Gavin Bryars

“more contemporary-sounding than the original, a fresh look at an evocative piece that can apparently thrive under varying interpretations.”

- San Francisco Classical Voice

Composed by Gavin Bryars

Performed by Sonic Open Orchestra

Conducted by Jason Martin Castillo

Produced by Andre Corea

Featuring Zachary Paul, Drum & Lace and Dave Valdez

Recorded Live at The Village Studios in Los Angeles, CA

About The Sinking of the Titanic

Originally composed over 50 years ago in 1969, The Sinking of the Titanic proves to be one of most innovative & iconic pieces of program music of the 20th Century. Gavin Bryars released the original recording, produced by Brian Eno, in 1975 through Obscure Records.

From Gavin’s Notes of the Original Release:

“All the materials used in the piece are derived from research and speculations about the sinking of the “unsinkable” luxury liner. On April 14th 1912 the Titanic struck an iceberg at 11.40 PM in the North Atlantic and sank at 2.20 AM on April 15th. The initial starting point for the piece was the reported fact of the band having played a hymn tune, “Autumn”, in the final moments of the ship’s sinking. A number of other features of the disaster which generate musical or sounding performance material, or which ‘take the mind to other regions’, are also included. The final hymn played during those last 5 minutes of the ship’s life is identified in an account by Harold Bride, the junior wireless operator, in an interview for the New York Times of April 19th 1912.

This Episcopal hymn, then, becomes a basic element of the music and is subject to a variety of treatments. This hymn tune forms a base over which other material is superimposed. This includes fragments of interviews with survivors, sequences of Morse signals played on woodblocks, other arrangements of the hymn, other possible tunes for the hymn on other instruments, references to the different bagpipe players on the ship (one Irish, one Scottish), miscellaneous sound effects relating to descriptions given by survivors of the sound of the iceberg’s impact, and so on.”

- Gavin Bryars

Since its debut there have been many different versions of this piece performed and recorded. All of them with variations in length, instrumentation & form.

Sonic Open Orchestra, under the direction of Jason Martin Castillo, now takes this masterwork of program music into the 21st century as their record release debut.

Notes from Music Director, Jason Martin Castillo

The Sinking of the Titanic is an experimental work of program music that celebrates the love for the art. It is a piece that is open to artistic interpretation regarding instrumentation, length, form, and grandiosity. Because of this, I thought it would be the perfect piece to perform and record with Sonic Open Orchestra. We are a group of musicians that share a special chemistry as we all are friends and share the love for music together. As music director, I expressed my ideas, interpretation, structure, and lead the group overall. However, this piece goes far beyond the sheet music.

My interpretation of The Sinking of the Titanic was to do justice to the story of the musicians and recollections of Miss Hart (survivor of the Titanic), as composer Gavin Bryars intended. My intention for Sonic, since the beginnings of the ensemble, was to sound like my hometown Los Angeles: forward thinking, nostalgic, collaborative, powerful, emotional, dramatic with rich highs and subtle lows, and most importantly, packed with a whole lot of heart. It’s in our fashion, our ways of thinking, the movies we make and the music we love: we are emotional, storytelling people with a desire for nostalgia, yet experimental and push the boundaries of how we celebrate the art forms we cherish. This is why I decided to perform and record The Sinking of the Titanic: to tell this incredibly powerful story of the love for music and showcase what Sonic Open Orchestra is all about; collaborating and representing the forward thinking sound of Los Angeles. 

Notes from the Producer, Andre Corea

This piece of music means a lot to us as an ensemble. It’s our first record release, the start of SOO defining their sound, and we had performed it live over a year ago; which was one of our best concert performances to date. All 18 musicians were recorded at the iconic Los Angeles recording studio, The Village. To record a talented ensemble, such as SOO, at The Village is nothing short of a dream come true.

We always hear about moments of “studio magic” where an artist or band got that perfect take while recording, when all the musicians and engineers are perfectly in sync and it feels like something special is happening in front of you. This recording was exactly that for everything you hear was all done in one continuous live take (including our ambient section made up of the featured musicians; Zachary Paul, Drum & Lace and Dave Valdez). This can only be done when everyone involved is dedicated, talented and passionate about the music.

That’s exactly what Sonic Open Orchestra is; a passionate group of musicians, composers & producers that love music and are dedicated to making something beautiful together.

About Sonic Open Orchestra

SOO is a modern orchestra, led by music director Jason Martin Castillo, redefining what it means to be a classical ensemble in the 21st century. Based in Los Angeles, CA. Founded in 2017, although being a young orchestra, SOO has had an array of concerts focusing on new music from composers who are active today.

Performing works from composers such as Phillip Glass, Steve Reich, Gavin Bryars, Caroline Shaw, Max Richter, Kaija Saariaho & Jonny Greenwood along with guest composers performances by Carolina Eyck, Drum & Lace and Lara Somogyi. Sonic Open Orchestra has been making its mark as a modern orchestra showcasing the music of today.

The Sinking of the Titanic - Record Credits

Composer | Gavin Bryars

Conductor / Music Director | Jason Martin Castillo

Producers | Andre Corea, Dave Valdez & Jason Martin Castillo

Mixing Engineer | Andre Corea

Mastering Engineer | Taylor Deupree

Recording Engineer | Ricardo Ortiz

Arrangement | Jason Martin Castillo

Artwork | Salva Baizlaigua

Recorded Live at The Village Studios

Ensemble - Sonic Open Orchestra

Featuring

Zachary Paul (Solo Violin)

Drum & Lace (Synthesizer)

Dave Valdez (Guitar)

Violin

Steve C. Chiu

JR Schwartz

Emily Call

Allison Marino

Madeline Falcon

Viola

Marta Sofia Honer

Rita Andrade

Hui-Ping Lee

Cello

Ro Rowan

Katt Newlon

Oliver Walton

Bass

Frank Marino

Percussion

Joe Pusateri

Bass Clarinet

Micah Wright

Flugelhorn

Aaron Esposito

Email sonicopenorchestra@gmail.com to request any additional information