Myra Melford's Fire and Water Quintet - Hear The Light Singing

According to journalist and critic Natalie Wiener, Hear the Light Singing is “a sequel of sorts to [Melford’s] 2022 release, For The Love Of Fire And Water, featuring a nearly identical all-star cast and the same set of Cy Twombly drawings from which the first album drew its name as inspiration. This album is named specifically for Melford’s interpretation of the sunlight on the Mediterranean in Gaeta, Italy, where Twombly made those drawings, and the synesthetic sensation it creates.”

Joined by saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, drummer Lesley Mok and MacArthur Fellows Tomeka Reid (cello) and Mary Halvorson (guitar), Melford bounces off the Fire & Water repertoire to create “another set of extraordinary compositions,” or “insertions,” writes Wiener, “that Melford designed to entwine with the original suite, but still stand alone.” According to Melford, “These new insertions that I composed for the [Fire & Water] tour were super fun to play, and I think gave us all a different kind of focus.”

Like its predecessor, Hear the Light Singing was recorded at New Haven’s Firehouse 12 — this time, on the heels of the original’s cross-country CD release tour. “This music was really written for these performers,” Melford says. “The first [album] was what I imagined might be fun to do with them. The second set of material was really written to highlight who they are and how we play together in a much more intentional way than I was able to do before I got to know them.” Each member of the quintet is featured unaccompanied on one of the album’s five pieces.