NPR MUSIC: The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+
NPR MUSIC: The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+
BY LARA PELLIGRINELLI
90. Caroline Shaw, "Partita For 8 Voices" (2012)
Caroline Shaw didn't need to write vocal arrangements for a remix of Kanye West's "Say You Will" to earn her street cred. She'd already won the Pulitzer Prize for music, becoming, at 30, the youngest composer in history to do so. Her "Partita for 8 Voices" was recognized as a fresh twist on Baroque musical forms, energized by spoken word, vocal effects and dense harmonies. It's a mouthful, even for the boisterous a cappella group Roomful of Teeth of which Shaw is a member.