![\"Saor\"](\"https:\/\/www.ambientblog.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/cover-Claire-M-Singer-Saor.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nCLAIRE M. SINGER \u2013 SAOR<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0![\"Also](\"https:\/\/www.ambientblog.net\/blog\/images\/spotify-logo.jpg\" "\\"Also")
<\/a><\/h3>\nSaor<\/em><\/strong> (pronounced Sieur, <\/em>as in Monsieur<\/em>, and meaning \u2018free\u2019 in Scottish Gaelic) is the first of a triptych of releases inspired by the peaks of Claire M Singer<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u2018s<\/em> homeland (she grew up in Aberdeenshire). For this album she wanted to capture the dramatic visions of the landscape she grew up in, but at the same time it\u2019s an exploration to get to know the organ more intimately. <\/p>\nSinger<\/em><\/strong> started playing the cello when she was six but got hooked on the sound of the church organ after a commission to write an organ piece in 2006.
Currently, she is the music director of the 1877 \u2018Father\u2019 Henry Willis organ at the world-famous Union Chapel, but this is not the only organ she plays on this album. Much of it was written and recorded in her home country Aberdeenshire, and the title track is recorded in Amsterdam\u2019s Orgelpark (where the album release party<\/a> will be held, with Claire<\/em><\/strong> performing on five organs simultaneously!). <\/p>\n\u201cI realised by controlling how much wind enters the pipe affects the tuning and you can create rich harmonic textures and complex overtones that create ever-shifting melodic and rhythmic patterns. It was incredible to produce a sound which came from the same sonic palette I was working with in the studio but was completely acoustic\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\nDon\u2019t expect \u2018traditional\u2019 music for church organ, obviously: Singer<\/em><\/strong> approaches the instrument as a sound source with almost limitless possibilities. And on the 70 minutes of this album featuring nine tracks of varying lengths (the title track almost 25 minutes, the shortest only 17 seconds) these possibilities are demonstrated convincingly.
However, the organ is not the only instrument used. Claire <\/em><\/strong>also plays mellotron, harmonium, cello, and electronics, and the sound palette is completed by Brian Shook <\/em>(trumpet on Cairn Toul), Yann Ghiro<\/em> (clarinet), Andy Saunders <\/em>(French horn), and Patsy Reid <\/em>(strings on C\u00e0rn).<\/p>\n
Singer<\/em><\/strong> started playing the cello when she was six but got hooked on the sound of the church organ after a commission to write an organ piece in 2006. \u201cI realised by controlling how much wind enters the pipe affects the tuning and you can create rich harmonic textures and complex overtones that create ever-shifting melodic and rhythmic patterns. It was incredible to produce a sound which came from the same sonic palette I was working with in the studio but was completely acoustic\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n Don\u2019t expect \u2018traditional\u2019 music for church organ, obviously: Singer<\/em><\/strong> approaches the instrument as a sound source with almost limitless possibilities. And on the 70 minutes of this album featuring nine tracks of varying lengths (the title track almost 25 minutes, the shortest only 17 seconds) these possibilities are demonstrated convincingly.
Currently, she is the music director of the 1877 \u2018Father\u2019 Henry Willis organ at the world-famous Union Chapel, but this is not the only organ she plays on this album. Much of it was written and recorded in her home country Aberdeenshire, and the title track is recorded in Amsterdam\u2019s Orgelpark (where the album release party<\/a> will be held, with Claire<\/em><\/strong> performing on five organs simultaneously!). <\/p>\n
However, the organ is not the only instrument used. Claire <\/em><\/strong>also plays mellotron, harmonium, cello, and electronics, and the sound palette is completed by Brian Shook <\/em>(trumpet on Cairn Toul), Yann Ghiro<\/em> (clarinet), Andy Saunders <\/em>(French horn), and Patsy Reid <\/em>(strings on C\u00e0rn).<\/p>\n