Written by composer Kalia Vandever for violinist and improviser Katherine Kyu Hyeon Lim, Sitting With It gets its world premiere in this House Music Series video. It’s a serene piece that gradually builds momentum through the layering of full-bodied, reverberant tones. In this performance, we see Lim stationed at her desk, powerfully bowing her violin and delicately patching each of the vivid layers together.

Lim proposed to Metropolis Ensemble developing a new commission from Vandever specifically for the House Music Series after being asked to perform a solo for the series. It was a natural progression for the two friends to work together; when composing for Lim, Vandever wrote especially for her strengths as both a violinist and improviser, following the guidelines Lim gave her to compose for violin and electronics. The piece is written for violin and looping pedal, gently stacking radiant bowed pitches and melodies on top of each other to create a warm, atmospheric piece of music.

This video is Lim’s second collaboration with Metropolis Ensemble (her first was for Metropolis Ensemble’s 2020 digital festival, Free Assembly, improvising over Marie Lavis’ original animations with pianist Joey Chang) and Vandever’s second instalment in the House Music Series (her first video came out this past July and featured a performance of her own composition Everpress for trombone). The music came together entirely in the virtual realm—they workshopped the piece together on Zoom, bringing each of the colorful moments of the work to life. — Vanessa Ague

 
Episode: 66
Date: November 17, 2020
Artist: Katherine Kyu Hyeon Lim
Instrumentation: Violin
Work: "Sitting With It"
Composer: Kalia Vandever
 

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