Rachel Grimes是90 年代後搖滾室內樂團 Rachel s 的靈魂人物,也是新古典創作者公認的實力派女性作曲家。小白兔一直以來鍾情於她,在 2014 年 P Festival 鋼琴音樂節 便邀請她來台演出,並促成 Cicada(Taiwan)與Rachel Grimes 的現場合作,在誠品展演廳,兩位仙氣女創作者四手聯彈,為1938年的默片《Our Day》呈現了精彩的現場配樂。
《The Way Forth》是Rachel Grimes的第三張專輯,我們心儀的女作曲家充滿關懷地創作了故鄉的女性故事,並結合美國南方民謠創作了歌劇形式的作品(Folk Opera),一段段故事內容來自美國肯德基州1775 年至今許多女性所留下的文字、照片、信件等歷史痕跡,那些刻骨銘心的日常有美麗、浪漫也有恐懼;Rachel Grimes創作這張專輯所依據的種種原始文件,都放在她的官網 http://www.rachelgrimespiano.com/the-way-forth/)。
Inspired by a treasure-trove of family documents, photos, and letters spanning several generations, I began in 2016 to research some of the more vexing questions that came to the surface about these people, places, and events. Fueled by intuition, travel to visit family, photographing, and filming present day rural Kentucky life, the research led to many more questions: What is missing? What is not being said here? What did she really think and feel? Primary historical accounts routinely glossed over people without titles or voting rights, and dehumanized most others by referring to them as objects of desire, savages, or slaves. Further examination formed a framework for trying to reconcile Kentuckys history and how it relates to the westward expansion and settlement of the United States and ultimately how an era of domination, denial, and pain is reflected in the complex culture of today.