Earworm: "Absence"
One of my favorite ways to encounter new music is to stumble into it quite accidentally. I recently ran across a 2017 video of Carolina Eyck performing Ennio Morricone’s “The Ecstasy of Gold,” set for voice and theremin, and I was mesmerized. This stand-alone track sent me off in search of more of her music.
Ms. Eyck’s most recent release, from October 2019, is the aptly-titled “Elegies for Theremin & Voice” (available on all major streaming services). She goes off on explorations of the technical capabilities of the instrument and its compatibility with the human voice.
One of my favorite tracks on the album is "Absence." Haunting and hollow, it creating a space in the listener where longing creeps in. In one nearly five-minute track, she takes us from the quiet beginnings of separation and guides us to the edge of an empty void in our souls.
Throughout the album, her vocals are stellar as is her skill on the theremin. Even in the gentlest passages, her voice maintains a vibrant, warm sound that draws the listener in deeper. The theremin is strikingly versatile in her hands, and Ms. Eyck's ability to coax so much depth from the instrument is remarkable.
You can learn more about Ms. Eyck's performance and teaching her website, https://www.carolinaeyck.com/.