Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry to release debut classical album

23 May 2014, 14:29

Richard Reed Parry, multi-instrumentalist with Arcade Fire, is to release his first solo classical album on Deutsche Grammophon.

The album, due for release on June 9th, will be titled 'Music for Heart and Breath'. It contains Parry's piece of the same name, which requires performers to wear a stethoscope and play notes according to their own heart rate and breathing.

Other musicians featuring on the album besides Parry himself include the Kronos Quartet, and long-time collaborators Aaron and Bryce Dessner, better known for their work in indie band The National (Bryce Dessner released his first classical solo album through Deutsche Grammophon earlier this year). Fellow composer Nico Muhly also features on the album as part of the ensemble. 

Interview: Classic FM talks to Richard Reed Parry about composing with heartbeats

A new Twitter account has appeared in the last week and is already rapidly amassing followers.

Music For Heart And Breath http://t.co/MfBVfgUyIq

— Richard Reed Parry (@ParryReed) May 21, 2014

Parry's website describes the main featured work as "A slow process of creating a new way of playing music… very soft, very quiet music, played utterly in synch with the heart rates and breathing rates of the musicians performing it."

It continues: "Every note you hear is either in synch with the heartbeat of the person playing it, the breathing of the person (or one of the surrounding persons) playing it."

Parry posted a picture of the recording session for the album his Instagram account, with all participants still wearing stethoscopes: