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Filmmaker and Master of Horror John Carpenter Releases Debut Album Titled 'Lost Themes,' Upcoming Movie Screening and Talk at BAM

The king of all things horror, John Carpenter, will be releasing his first album "Lost Themes" via Sacred Bones Records. Carpenter also revealed that he will release a digital edition featuring exclusive remixes by Zola Jesus and Dean Hurley, Blanck Mass, Bill Kouligas, Silent Servant, ohGr (Skinny Puppy) and J.G. Thirlwell.Additionally, Carpenter will be making a rare New York appearance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Feb. 5 to celebrate the release of his debut album. He will be joined by Brooke Gladstone, host of NPR’s "On the Media," for a wide-ranging discussion about his legendary film career and his musical endeavors.Boasting “one of the most consistent and coherent bodies of work in modern cinema” (Kent Jones, "Film Comment"), Carpenter injects B-movie genres — horror, sci-fi, action — with the bravura stylistic technique of classical Hollywood giants like Howard Hawks, John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock and composes the scores for nearly all his films. "Lost Themes" features music that could easily compliment any of his well-known thrillers.In conjunction with his BAM appearance, the academy will be presenting a monthlong retrospective titled “John Carpenter: Master of Fear.” The film series includes Carpenter's best-known films such as "Halloween," "The Thing," "Escape from New York" and "Starman" as well as lesser-known gems like "Assault on Precinct 13" and "They Live."
By Jaime Prisco

  • Gotham Chamber Opera Presents 'The Tempest Songbook' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Co-Production with Martha Graham Dance Company, Directed by Luca Veggetti

    Gotham Chamber Opera’s final production of the 2014-15 season will be "The Tempest Songbook.""The Tempest Songbook" is comprised of incidental music for "The Tempest" composed in 1695 and attributed to Henry Purcell and Kaija Saariaho's 2004 "Tempest Songbook" for soprano, baritone and period instrument ensemble. This is the show's U.S. and world-stage premiere.The performance will be a co-production with the Martha Graham Dance Co. The Martha Graham Dance Co. has received international acclaim from audiences in more than 50 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The Gotham Chamber Opera has also received many accolades and has been recognized as a pioneer in creating opera productions in alternative venues."The Tempest Songbook" will explore the themes of William Shakespeare’s "The Tempest" using dance, movement and song. The singers and dancers will express the words and actions of various characters, which will result in a lyrical vision of Shakespeare's iconic play."I am thrilled to be invited to share my vision for 'The Tempest Songbook' with Gotham Chamber Opera," said director and choreographer Luca Veggetti. "Through my association with Kaija Saariaho, I became acquainted with her 'Tempest Songbook' and her suggested pairings with Purcell, which serves as the starting point for the production."
    By Jaime Prisco

  • Lego Organ Being Created for Lego Replica of Durham Cathedral

    Organ builders Harrison and Harrison have begun work on the first instrument made out of Legos. A Lego organ is being built to go inside a Lego model of Durham Cathedral in England.The organ is a Lego replica of the instrument built by Henry Wallis in 1876 and restored by Harrison in 1905 and again in 1978. The brick model of Durham Cathedral is being constructed to raise money for the cathedral’s Open Treasure Project. The Open Treasure program aims to transform some of the Cathedral’s most historic spaces, creating an exhibition route that will include the Monks’ Dormitory and finish in the Great Kitchen, where the treasures of St. Cuthbert will be displayed, alongside other cathedral treasures and visiting exhibitions.Gaye Kirby, head of development at Durham Cathedral, said, “It is wonderful that Harrison’s have chosen to recreate their magnificent organ in miniature in our Lego Cathedral and we are very grateful to them for their generous donation and support of the Open Treasure appeal.”
    By Jaime Prisco