KBCS

Music from Dowland to Cage and beyond takes the spotlight in this edition of Flotation Device. Sting and Ensemble 1604 use Dowland’s Flow My Tears as a springboard for contemporary expression with a mix of old and new instruments. The Calato trio from Buenos Aries offers an updated take on Cage’s Variations II, while the late Amelia Cuni is remembered by her unique adaptation of traditional Indian dhrupad singing to Cage’s Song Books. We also dabble in the occult, via John Corigliano’s just-recorded opera The Lord of Cries, which recounts the story of The Bacchae using the characters of Dracula. We’ll use the 80th birthday of Pehr Henrik Nordgren (1944–2008) to present our case for declaring him the most important Finnish composer between Sibelius and Saariajo. And new improv from Philip Zoubek, Joe Santa Maria, Alexander Hawkins and Nicole M. Mitchell, plus dark ambient from Greece and drippy quartertone accordion music from England round out the playlist.