Vinyl: Christopher Zuar, 'Exuberance'

Artists: christopher Zuar, composer / Christopher Zuar Orchestra

Released on tonal conversations, 2024

The 60-minute song cycle consists of seven interwoven compositions performed by the 22-piece Christopher Zuar Orchestra and featuring guest soloists. The album was conceived in collaboration with animation filmmaker Anne Beal, whose hand-painted animations accompany the music in concert.

The music charts the course of their romantic relationship and is an impressionistic map of Zuar’s own personal and emotional evolution over a half-decade. The original watercolours – which I’ve combined into a layered collage for the cover – are by Anne Beal.