catherine lamb x ghost ensemble
interius/exterius
catalog 010
release 9 may 2025
duration 33:05
formats vinyl + digital
edition 300
margaret lancaster flute
sky macklay oboe
ben richter accordion
lucia stavros harp
chris nappi hammered dulcimer
martine thomas viola
tyler j borden cello
james ilgenfritz contrabass
gregory chudzik contrabass
A striking new addition to the evolving catalog of Berlin-based composer Catherine Lamb, interius/exterius is a long-form chamber nonet developed through a sustained dialogue with New York’s Ghost Ensemble. The work’s title reflects its central organizing principle: tones move in “interior” and “exterior” directions, shifting between inward balance within the ensemble and outward expansion towards new harmonic possibilities. The result is a piece that is simultaneously precise and open, crystalline and fluid—attuned to the interplay between individual agency and collective form.
A striking new addition to the evolving catalog of Berlin-based composer Catherine Lamb, interius/exterius is a long-form chamber nonet developed through a sustained dialogue with the musicians of New York’s Ghost Ensemble. Scored for flute, oboe, accordion, viola, cello, four- and five-string contrabasses, harp, and hammered dulcimer, the work investigates how collective intentions or focal points allow various and sometimes unusual sonic pathways to emerge in an ensemble context.
At the core of interius/exterius is a unique organizing principle: tones are generated with an “in/out” relational intention, shaping the way sound moves within the ensemble. In an “interior” direction, tones balance inward, reinforcing the equilibrium of the collective, while in an “exterior” direction, tones radiate outward, inviting subtle changes in texture and a broader field of interaction. This interplay of interiority and exteriority extends beyond dynamics or articulation—it is a structural force that influences timbre, modes of listening, and the evolving harmonic architecture of the work.
interius/exterius took shape over a series of intensive workshops between composer and ensemble, supported in part by Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Program. In early 2022, Lamb traveled from Germany to present sketches and exercises based on the piece’s tonal and formal foundations. Over the course of four days, the ensemble gained fluency in Lamb’s tuning system and developed ideas that matured into some of the nontraditional elements of the work. This intimate collaborative process culminated in a premiere at Roulette Intermedium in New York City in December 2022 and a 2024 studio recording that captured the piece in vivid detail.
The harmonic material of interius/exterius is derived entirely from the harmonic series of a theoretical 10Hz fundamental—an inaudible frequency whose overtones define a resonant, interlocking lattice of sound. This base-10 tuning system allows every pitch to be understood in relation to its spectral position, creating a shared harmonic language among the performers. Ghost Ensemble’s performance reveals the otherworldly sonorities that arise from this structure, as shifting alignments, phasing relationships, and gradual timbral transformations guide the music’s unfolding.
Lamb’s compositional language is deeply shaped by her studies with composer James Tenney and Dhrupad musician Mani Kaul, as well as her ongoing engagement with microtonal performance practice. Her interest in musical perception and psychoacoustics positions interius/exterius as both an inquiry into the nature of harmonic space and a lived experience of collective attunement. As Lamb notes, “the subject of deep listening, in the spirit of Pauline Oliveros, is absolutely central to the piece.”
Ghost Ensemble—known themselves for championing the work of Oliveros—are perhaps, then, ideal collaborators, bringing both profound sensitivity and intuitive fluency to Lamb’s music.
With interius/exterius, Lamb and Ghost Ensemble have achieved a collaborative work of rare clarity and conceptual depth—simultaneously precise and open, crystalline and fluid, exquisitely attuned to the interplay between individual agency and collective form.
composed by catherine lamb
performed by ghost ensemble
produced by ben richter & catherine lamb
package design by joseph branciforte
recorded at the bunker studio, brooklyn, new york
engineered by matt sargent
mixed by matt sargent & joseph branciforte
mastered by joseph branciforte at greyfade studio
press:
BANDCAMP BEST CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL (US): [A] stellar recording. This stands as one of more electrifying accounts of [Lamb’s] sound world. It’s thrilling to witness over the last few years how Lamb’s harmonic imagination and compositional voice have been reinforcing one another as they grow inexorably more refined and powerful. (read more)
IGLOO (US): A vast, resonant world of sound, where every listening reveals infinite layers of beauty. For those already familiar with Lamb’s work, this is a stunning continuation of her artistic journey, and for newcomers, it is an ideal introduction to her transcendent sound world. (read more)
THE WIRE (UK): Long, dense and intensifying layers and microtonal arcs of sound subtly shift and evolve, occasionally transitioning into resonant notes on hammered dulcimer and deep harmonic overtones and convergences. (read more)
BANDCAMP BEST EXPERIMENTAL (US): It’s like you can feel the sound inhaling and exhaling. You don’t need to know anything about how interius/exterius was made to immerse yourself in its resonant tones, which slowly re-shape themselves as they move forward. (read more)
I CARE IF YOU LISTEN (US): Catherine Lamb’s interius/exterius positions both performers and listeners in a space that is at once mathematical, scientific, magical and serene. This music demands careful, detailed listening — it exhibits a kind of opalescence that cannot immediately be captured by the ear. Masterfully interpreted and executed by Ghost Ensemble. (read more)
AN EARFUL (US): Like sweet nectar falling on your tongue from a tropical flower. A perfect introduction to the music of Catherine Lamb. May be her most accessible music yet. (read more)
THE VINYL DISTRICT (US): A rare union of compositional brilliance and strength in execution. Drone enthusiasts will find much to love in this robust, engaging set. (read more)
POPMATTERS (US): A deeply rewarding sonic experience. Much like a thorny, dense postmodern novel – initially challenging to crack open, but eventually an immersive, transcendent journey. (read more)
BBC LATE JUNCTION (UK): Berlin-based composer Catherine Lamb combines forces with New York’s Ghost Ensemble for new work exploring slow-moving microtonalities. (read more)
PERCORSI MUSICALI (IT): In interius/exterius, Lamb projects her deep investigation of harmonic matter, reworking Greek mathematical geometric forms through an empathetic kind of experimentation, combining insights from Tenney, Amacher, and Oliveros about what listening might reveal when guided by a sequence of microtonal frequencies. (read more)
BORING LIKE A DRILL (US): The most assured and balanced composition by Lamb to date. (read more)
THE NEW NOISE (IT): The austere dissonance of the incipit of the first movement has the shapeless aspect of magma just expelled from the Earth and – exactly like molten rock – it too gradually dilutes and stabilizes, opening up to impressionistic suggestions and indefinite tonal yearnings drawn by the dulcimer and the harp. (read more)
VAN MAGAZINE: Organized in non-orthodox tuning systems, concerned with gradual unfoldings and unbroken spans, and lionizing the deep connections players find with each other. (read more)
PANM360 (CA): Unlike many works based on the drone formula, this one does not evolve in a crescendo, but rather by subtraction, the long notes held by the entire ensemble gradually giving way to short notes played by instruments that seem to gain a certain individuality, before fading into silence after a slow decomposition of 34 minutes. It goes by too quickly. (read more)
MAGNET MAGAZINE (US): Essential New Music. Ongoing, contrasting spatial effects correspond to Lamb’s intent to make sounds that relate to each other in an in/out fashion. They situate the listener smack in the middle of this exchange, simultaneously encircling and flowing past at a pace that is unhurried, but never lulling. (read more)
LOOP (CL): A myriad of harmonics and sustained notes hover in space. Ghost Ensemble demonstrates a profound sensitivity to the unfolding of Lamb’s music, aided by their commitment to Pauline Oliveros’s concept of ‘deep listening.’ (read more)
catherine lamb
In the music of Catherine Lamb (b. 1982), the mathematics of harmony are explored through the physicality of the material world. Lamb gives voice to crystalline structures of the harmonic series through subtleties of friction, pressure, breath, and bow changes that shape how the idealized harmonies speak. The musical forms she constructs connect the sonic with the tactile and the visual, rendering transparent what once was opaque, transmuting flesh to bone, passing from shadow into light.
