Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Cello trio to savour
ROSANTHORN Electric Cello Trio combines the talents of Dorette Roos (Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra), Carol Thorns (electric cello pioneer and Sama nominee) and Anjulie Nock (cellist and composer), who share a vision for the cello – to revisit and reposition an instrument that is often overlooked.
The result is an act that leads the way in the electric string genre.
Their their first self-titled six-track EP was released last month and is available on iTunes and at www.rosanthorn.bandcamp.com
Rosanthorn’s repertoire includes recordings and re- interpretations of works as varied as Vivaldi’s Double Concerto in G Minor, Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, and Imogen Heap’s Hide and Seek.
Nock has composed new works such as Night Journey (with a Game Of Thrones feel) and an original Tango (think Scent Of A Woman for cello). The Parting, by Helmut Meijer, is a reflective, strippeddown, soulful composition which inspired their first music video.
Thorns, a cum laude Bachelor of Music graduate from Rhodes University, is an industry pioneer of the electric string genre. Her debut solo cello album Fireflies In The Rain was nominated Best Instrumental Album 2010 at the Samas.
She is the driving force behind popular fusion band CODA Africa, and her breathtaking act, The Bubble (which presents the artist in a giant, transparent sphere). Rosanthorn Electric Cello Trio is the latest in her growing portfolio of celebrated music concepts.
“Rosanthorn came about for both social and musical reasons,” says Thorns. “Cellists don’t often get to play together in our industry, and I genuinely missed spending time with my cellist friends. Now we see each other continually in the process of writing, rehearsing and recording.”
See the trio perform live at the Youngblood Gallery, Cape Town, on May 17 at 6.30pm. Call 087 806 5856, e-mail info@foodlab.co.za, www.rosanthorn.bandcamp.com