Arx Duo; Dover Quartet; Natalie Christa Rakes; Steven Mackey - Steven Mackey: Memoir

Composer Steve Mackey's Memoir is a 75-minute work for narrator, string quartet and percussion duo based on the unpublished memoir written by his mother -- Elaine Mackey. Ms. Mackey bore witness to the tumultuous 20th Century - The Great Depression, WWII, while battling social anxiety, divorce, and alcoholism. She writes with disarming candor about her experiences, which are brought to life in son Steve's propulsive, yet tender, heartfelt score. Director Mark DeChiazza writes that The text of Elaine's memoir, provide Mackey his point of entry -- a portal through which he conducts a musical conversation with his mother, and his engagement with the document she left him. The recording features stunning performances by narrator Natalie Christa Rakes, who is joined by two of today's leading ensembles, the Dover Quartet and Arx Duo.