Your Shadow and Inflorescence (2021)
from the composer
The process of creating this piece of music was driven by an emotional response to the two paintings in question. I was already familiar with Botticelli’s Primavera and all its beauty, but I was stuck in relation to Chloris and her imminent assault. There’s a temporal conflict between my 21st century reading and its previous, more
traditional interpretations. Enter von Heyl’s reworking of the painting. Zephyrus is labelled with the one prominent text in the work: “Your Own Shadow”, which allows him to become one’s own darkness to shed. As Zephyrus dissipates, I liberate myself from that image of non-consensual pursuit and return to the ‘here’ and ‘now’. Like coming back to the breath. In relation to the Botticelli painting, here we are in the emergent beauty of spring; a hundred and ninety species of flowers in full bloom, the colourful burst of life endlessly fascinating in its variety. The music moves through gestures that draw from contemporary folk music. The pulse of breath and heartbeat moves through the fear of pursuit and into a delighted, albeit dissonant, grace.
bio
Annabelle Chvostek is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer whose work pushes the boundaries between the worlds of folk, jazz, early swing, and contemporary sounds. She has released six full-length solo recordings,composed music for dance and film, and co-conducted/co-arranged her original material for choral performances.
Annabelle’s most recent project, String of Pearls, is a collection of songs and videos in collaboration with Canadian and Uruguayan musicians, producers, filmmakers, dancers, and actors. It was recorded and co-produced in Toronto and Montevideo, and has been featured on Putumayo World Music, Pop Matters, JAZZIZ and CBC-TV. She is currently composing the score for the feature documentary film, Tranzicija (Transition), directed by Tamara Vukov, and has composed multiple scores for NYC-based dance company, Drastic Action, including the 2018 piece The Bind.
Annabelle has collaborated with award-winning producers David Travers-Smith, Fernando Rosa, Roma Baran and Vivian Stoll, and with musicians such as Bruce Cockburn, Mary Gauthier, Bruce Molsky, and members of the Montevideo Philharmonic Orchestra.She is a former member of the band The Wailin’ Jennys, and her music has been nominated for JUNO Awards and Canadian Folk Music Awards.