“It sends you, moves you, destroys you with beauty” (Lee Ranaldo)

MEARA O’REILLY’S HOCKETS FOR TWO VOICES PERFORMED BY MINGJIA CHEN + LINNEA SABLOSKY

Sunday’s most remarkable project will no doubt be Hockets for Two Voices by LA-based composer and artist Meara O’Reilly (US). The title refers to her EP of barely 10 minutes, in which hockets (a musical technique that involves splitting a single melody and sharing it back and forth across several voices or instruments) are front and centre.

Accomplished vocalists Mingjia Chen and Linnea Sablosky will bring O'Reilly's vision to life in an exceptional interpretation of her groundbreaking composition, as well as debut a series of new hockets that O'Reilly originally wrote for two flutes.

Chen is a member of Grammy winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth and leads the chamber ensemble Tortoise Orchestra. Her debut album of original compositions, Star, Star, was released in 2023 on New Amsterdam records.

Sablosky has toured internationally with world folk choir Northern Harmony, and released records with ensembles Stone Fruit Trio, Wheeler & Sablosky, and Wheeler, Sablosky & Pearson.

O'Reilly's music served as score for Daniel Soares’ short film Bad for a Moment, which won Mention Spéciale at Cannes in 2024. Her sound-based visual work was a part of Björk's Biophilia tour.

David Longstreth (Dirty Projectors) described Hockets for Two Voices as “Bach and Blade Runner at the same time”. Meanwhile, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth said: “[it] sends you, moves you, destroys you with beauty”. Listening to the EP might give the impression that this music only exists in a static recorded medium. Chen and Sablosky prove otherwise.