Fulton has had a generative and collaborative relationship
with the Cantata Singers for ten years before becoming the composer in
residence. He sings in the choir and the group has commissioned works such as
Prometheus and Medusa for the CBC Choral competition in the past before
becoming the current composer in residence. It was a dream of Fulton’s to have
an a capella album of his own work. “An album of choral work that is 40-60
minutes is an undertaking for everybody be it rehearsal time or money or
cost. I was in a position to make it happen if I was able to raise the funds
myself. I got the funding together privately and the timing was right to do it
at this time” states Fulton with fervor. With the support of Cantata Singers’
Artistic Director, Paula Kremer, and the Cantata choristers, they recorded over
two evenings at the Chan’s Centre for Performing Arts. They had sound engineer,
Matt Stephanson, overseeing the recording process since Fulton was busy singing
with the tenors during the recording.
Fulton states, “there’s a certain amount of perspective that
you get from singing on the album. There’s a trade-off. You give up the
objective overview in the booth. Luckily, Paula, myself, and the sound engineer
have a similar perspective on what a choral recording should and shouldn’t
sound like. We have a working relationship where our taste is similar. That was
enormously helpful.” In fact, Fulton states that he feels more anxious when he
is just sitting in an audience having heard no prior rehearsals when choirs are
performing his works. “Often it’s sometime jarring when you hear your piece and
it’s not what you had been hearing in your head. Having that rehearsal process
for me, as a performer, not just as a composer, you have to let something go if
you are going to appreciate other things as a composer,” he cites as an
advantage of providing his physical voice in his works.
It is clear that Fulton was humbled to have the voices of
his Cantata friends and colleagues record his works. “The choir was incredibly
dedicated and they had a small window of time, only three to four extra
rehearsals to fine tune the pieces. They did a wonderful job with it and I am so
happy with the result,” he gushes in his mild manner. However, there is always
another layer of stress that comes with a recording session. “Everyone goes
into a different mode, it’s different than the mode you switch into during live
performance. You raise the standard. In a live performance, you realize it’s
not going to be perfect. The expectations for a recording are different. There
are lots of people who would expect a recording to be perfect or near perfect,”
he says when reflecting upon the challenges of recording. Two moments in
particular stand out to Fulton: “In Icarus there’s a line, ‘Climbs up to the
highest cliffs of his island prison court.’ The choir really sang out with a
lot of emotion,” he says before sharing his second moment in Songs of Ariel
where the tenors have to have weave their solo line all the way up to a high A.
“It’s enormously challenging to make a good sound to nail that and the
cut-off,” he said reveling in the satisfaction of that successful take.
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| Vancouver Cantata Singers |
Scanning the titles of Fulton’s choral works such as, Icarus,
Prometheus, and Medusa; a common theme is revealed: archetypes. “I’m a huge fan
of combining old and new. Old in this case is Mythology and new would be the
aesthetics of the music I am writing. I’m attracted to archetypal characters,
modern mythologies, and what you see in comic books. We see these archetypes
over and over again and there’s a reason that they are so appealing. They
represent the very best of humans and, in some cases, the worst of us. There’s
something emotional and operatic about those archetypes. That is something that
always seems to weave its way into my work. There is a strong sense of emotion
to me. I just want people to feel something," he says. Fulton also reveals that audience members often bring up how cinematic his music sounds. Fulton states that he never sets out to say: “this will be a cinematic piece and
it’s going to sound exactly like a movie!” in his impersonation of
a pompous tone, which is a comedic contrast to his humble nature. “I think it’s
just who I am,” he says abandoning the character. “I love movies and dramatic
emotional content. For people to hear that come out in the music and for
people to come and tell me that is a huge compliment.”
Fulton maintains an open perspective when it comes to
people’s interpretation of his work. He enjoys the fact that “it means
something different to different people.” However, he does note how cool it is for
people who have never met him to feel connected to him as a person through his
work. “It’s an enormous leap when someone comes up and they feel that they know
you because of your work not having met you in person beforehand. I’m an
emotional being. I’m an artist who would want people to get to know me through
my work. They get little pieces of who I am along the way. I
never meet or speak to them but they get a part of me,” he states in an
appreciative tone.
As for what is coming up next, Fulton gives a teaser that he
has an interest in a composition for choir and orchestra. “It would be a contemporary
setting, and it would have sacred undertones, but it would not be a sacred
work,” he says in a mischievous tone. A multitude of unique projects are on Fulton’s
mind. It is apparent during this musing that he still has many character stories to tell
through his music.
The album is available for download in all digital stores such as iTunes and Bandcamp.
The album is available for download in all digital stores such as iTunes and Bandcamp.
