Through Lines by Molly Herron

On August 27, 2021, New Amsterdam Records will release Molly Herron’s Through Lines, an album for an ensemble of violas da gamba, an obscure instrument that saw its European heyday during the 16th and 17th centuries. For over two centuries, composers had largely ceased writing for the viola da gamba, or viol, making Through Lines a singular effort—a modern take on a historical instrument. As NPR noted, “[Herron] thinks deeply about motion, energy, and the physics of sound,” and on Through Lines, her thoughtfulness is on full display. “Each piece focuses on a different ‘found’ element,” says Herron. “A form, a gesture, a tuning, an articulation, or an aspect of physicality. The viol’s historical repertoire deeply influences this music.”

Born from a collaboration with Science Ficta (viola da gamba players Loren Ludwig, Zoe Weiss, and Kivie Cahn-Lipman), Through Lines was conceived at a 2016 Avaloch Farm Music Institute residency in Herron’s native New Hampshire. The album’s seven original works (and four interludes) complement one another perfectly—whether played chronologically, individually, or reordered altogether, there is a fundamental through line to Through Lines.

On Through Lines, Herron approaches the viol from myriad angles while still creating an accessible album that cohesively captures this strange and special instrument.

“The viol looks and sounds a bit like a cello and it’s fretted and tuned more like a guitar,” says Herron. “But it is in a category entirely of its own. It is sweet and harsh, rich and delicate, airy and earthy. It has a deeply human capacity for expression. I’ve been playing viol since I was a teenager, and Through Lines is me finally reckoning with the viol as a composer. I’m inspired by the versatile beauty of this instrument. It contains so many colors and characters. I think of this collection of pieces as each homing in on a different aspect of the viol.”

With iridescence and shifting colors, an approach that is organic, yet strange, Molly Herron builds a world out of detailed portraits, each distinct, yet born of deep connections.

Composer Molly Herron “thinks deeply about motion, energy, and the physics of sound” (NPR). Whether writing for baroque strings, flower pots, or newly designed instruments, her work achieves “a wonderful consideration of counterpoint and sound in time” (Seen and Heard International).

mollyherron.com