Niles Luther

A collection of melodies inspired by an early winter expedition in Glacier National Park (Kalispell, MT) in November of 2020.

I spent four days weathering hail and snow in the high alpine, and when I returned, I picked up my cello and for seven days composed the leitmotifs that are contained in this track. I spent the following year orchestrating and producing those leitmotifs into a fully fledged symphonic poem… the full work serving as a commissioned score for a Kehinde Wiley art film. We installed that art film at The National Gallery in London, November 2021.

Despite the grandiosity of the full orchestration, these simple melodies will always remain the impetus of discovery, the initial source of truth, and the compass pointing towards something so much larger than myself.

N48°36’00” , W113°47'30"

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Winter Hymn

Desiderium is a piece I began composing by accident. I had just inherited a painting by Gino Hollander, a painting that I had grown up with and loved dearly. I placed this painting in front of me at my studio, and before I could think, a series of soft eighth notes escaped my fingers. I spent the following 3 months turning that initial idea into the piece it is today. This is my genesis NFT as well as my first true example of art music, as the majority of my compositions have only danced around the idea. This concept of art music, and its origin within the concept of ekphrasis, is one that I’ve been gripped by... I personally find nothing more rewarding then to seek out meaning within the story, and transliterate that into music. So, this piece, Desiderium, after Gino Hollander’s 1994 ‘Untitled’, is the story that I hear. I hope it touches you.

Special thanks to Elliot Cole [elliotcole.eth], for the guidance within this burgeoning space and for making my genesis drop on Catalog a reality, as well as Siri Hollander, for granting permission to use images of her late father’s work.


SOUNDS USED

Violoncello I: Niles Luther
Violoncello II: Niles Luther

Piano I: Spitfire Audio [Olafur Arnalds Felt Grand Piano]
Piano II: Signature Sam Samples [Signature Grand]

Orchestra: Spitfire Audio [Appassionata Strings]

808: FutureAudioWorkshop [SubLab]


PAINTING DETAILS

Title: Untitled
Artist: Gino Hollander
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Year of Work: 1994
Size: 48 x 48 in

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Desiderium

New York based composer-cellist scoring paintings and other art objects

Former cellist for the national tour of broadway show Les Miserables