Other People’s Love Songs
Other People’s Love Songs — performed by Dargel and NOW Ensemble — is based on a unique concept: all thirteen songs were commissioned by individuals as gifts to their significant others. Dargel interviewed the couples and learned all about their histories, personalities, quirks, private jokes, and emotional lives. He spun this tender data into music and lyrics that encompass a wide range of feelings. There’s not only gratitude, as one would expect from songs written as gifts, but also generous measures of wistfulness, longing, frustration, and pride – and in some cases, regret, sadness, and resignation. The real-life subjects of these songs range from celebrities to the “couple next door.” Newlyweds, long-marrieds, gay couples, siblings, daughters, mothers, and others stepped forward to commission these songs. On the CD, Dargel sings to the accompaniment of self-produced electronic tracks, but for concert performances, NOW Ensemble performs the “lively, ingenious accompaniments” (-17dots) in Dargel’s arrangements, augmented by accordionist/singer Kamala Sankaram.
“Dargel sings in a modest, sweet-toned, conversational way, and writes songs whose lyrics and melodies are at once wistful and wry, tender and irreverent… giving voice to the lives and relationships of his subjects.” -Anthony Tommasini, New York Times
“ingenious nouveau art songs” -Russell Platt, The New Yorker
“Dargel [plays] the role of a sardonic-hipster Cyrano, translating… tangled and intense feelings into artful, sophisticated pop songs… Part of the pleasure of last night’s concert was watching Dargel turn this deeply unlikely material into effortless art-pop. He has an incredibly fine-tuned ear for lyric-setting and a knack for writing melodies that twist unpredictably… This is an incredibly unique project.” -Jayson Greene, 17dots
Other People’s Love Songs can be presented by itself as a short concert (approx. 50 minutes). A longer concert can include other pieces from NOW Ensemble’s repertoire or any of Corey Dargel’s other projects.
Hailed as “a deft young group gaining attention” (Alex Ross, The New Yorker) and “a smart young chamber group that straddles a line between contemporary classical music and indie rock,” (John Schaefer, WNYC), NOW Ensemble is a collection of performers and composers dedicated to making new chamber music for the 21st century. With a unique instrumentation of flute (Alex Sopp/Andrew Rehrig), clarinet (Sara Budde), electric guitar (Mark Dancigers), double bass (Logan Coale), and piano (Michael Mizrahi), NOW Ensemble brings a fresh sound and a new perspective to the classical tradition, infused with a blend of musical influences that reflects the diverse backgrounds and listening experiences of their members. NOW has premiered over 60 works, including those by composer-members Patrick Burke, Mark Dancigers, and Judd Greenstein, along with many more by a cross-section of the top young voices in contemporary composition, such as Ryan Brown, David T. Little, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, and dozens more. NOW Ensemble has performed at a wide variety of venues, such as the Bang on a Can Marathon, the Festival Internacional de Chihuahua, Pittsburgh’s Music on the Edge, the Carlsbad Music Festival, Sarasota’s New Music New College, Wordless Music, and Look & Listen; in New York, they can regularly be heard at diverse venues such as Le Poisson Rouge, Joe’s Pub, Galapagos Art Space and the Chelsea Art Museum, as well as on WNYC radio. Their first album, NOW, was released in 2008 to rave reviews around the country, including on AllMusic.com (five stars): “a first-class debut…more of this is demanded, not requested.” Newsweek‘s Seth Colter Walls wrote, “NOW… imports a catchy inflection to classical forms… Striking a balance between the old and the new has rarely sounded this good.”
