Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 3-JUL-1990

Track Listing

1. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet: Departure
2. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet: Absence
3. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet: Return
4. Spem in Alium (also set as 'Sing and glorify'), motet for 40 voices, P. 299
5. Doom. A Sigh, for voice & Roumanian folk ensemble
6. They Are There!, song for voice & piano, S. 371 (K. 6B79)
7. String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Largo
8. String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Allegro molto
9. String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Allegretto
10. String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Largo
11. String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Largo

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51832 in Music
• Brand: KRONOS QUARTET
• Released on: 1990-06-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com essential recording
The title to Kronos's most bleak album comes from a nearly 20- minute-long composition by American composer George Crumb that unfolds over 13 distinct parts. That ominous number only hints at the horror Crumb intended as an ode to the Vietnam War. War informs the whole CD: Shostakovich's Quartet No. 8, composed near the height of the Cold War, in 1960, was dedicated "to the victims of fascism and war." "Doom. A Sigh," by Istvan Marta, incorporates field recordings of two Romanian women singing personal laments of fallen friends and relatives; their grief is so intense as to render listening incredibly difficult. The original text to 16th-century composer Thomas Tallis's "Spem in Alium" (originally a 40-voice motet) recalled a biblical battle. And late American composer Charles Ives is heard singing (yes, singing) "They Are There!"--a ditty he wrote during the Great War and revisited for World War II; he's joined here by the Kronos, half a century after his death, in an act of studio magic that is ingenious if not musically stimulating. --Marc Weidenbaum

Customer Reviews

stunning anti-war string quartets
"Black Angels," the amazing string quartet written by George Crumb in 1970 in response to the Vietnam War, is what inspired the formation of the Kronos Quartet. They set it to disc in 1990, and unfortunately it has remained a timely testament to the ongoing terror and tragedy of war. According to Crumb, "[t]he work portrays a voyage of the soul. The three stages of this voyage are Departure (fall from grace), Absence (spiritual annihilation) and Return (redemption)." It is a resolutely modern work, not the sort of thing Haydn would ever have expected. The opening is called "Night of the Electric Insects," and that gives you an idea. Absolutely brilliant

"Black Angels" is 18 minutes long, and opens the disc, and Shostakovich's 8th quartet, at 20 minutes, is the closer. Kronos gives a hard-edged reading of the famous piece, dedicated to "the victims of war and fascism." It is strongest in the louder, faster sections, and not quite as effective in the slower sections, where the Borodin Quartet conveys more feeling, more poignancy (see my review of their 1990 recording of DSCH quartets 2, 3, 7, 8, 10 & 12). A fine performance, though, of a 20th century classic.

Unfortunately I don't have much good to say about the three shorter pieces in between. I've listened to this disc many times now, and I am just not won over by the Tallis, Marta or Ives. It's fun to hear a hoarse Charlie Ives shouting and ranting about the soldiers "Fighting for the People's New Free World," but it reminds you that he was probably a manic-depressive, and you want to tell him to take his medicine. Other than checking in now and then to see if these 3 have grown on me, I typically play either "Black Angels" or the 8th as stand-alone works, and so the 4 stars reflects the fact that the disc as a whole is less than satisfying.

Difficult to express in words
Upon the initial listening, I felt that "Black Angels" was the only piece presented on this album that was worthwhile listening. Initially, I felt that the Tallis, Marta, and Ives pieces were useless filler tracks, and that Kronos simply didn't do a particularly good job with the Shostakovich (which, along with Black Angels, is one of the most important contributions to the string quartet this past century).

However, the entire CD begins to fall into place in one's mind. First, the Tallis piece "Spem in Alium"'s positioning in the album is fascinating and effective. After the emotionally disturbing and draining Black Angels, we hear this piece, which reaffirms much of the faith in people we lost upon hearing Black Angels.

The Istvan Marta piece is a good middle piece. It is in the same vein as Black Angels and String Quartet No 8 in that it is meant to disturb and provoke. The voice that we hear throughout the piece is not annoying, as some people have said. Listen more closely - it is a deeply moving and personal work.

The Ives lightens the mood slightly. On an album such as this, it's important to have at least one bright (ie happy) spot. Here it is in this scherzo-esque piece.

Now we come to the Shostakovich. Truthfully, I'm still not sure if I like Kronos's reading of it. Frequently it feels as though they missed the point, as though the pain and anguish never fully got through to them. It's an awfully fast reading, which is interesting in some respects. I'm still working on this, which is a good sign - it means their reading isn't bad, just different from what I'm used to.

That's sort of what this album is all about though - presenting you with a side of music you aren't generally used to. It's extremely dark and anguished, but it's important to hear this music. It's a reminder that life has a dark side.

Biased?
Perhaps I'm biased regarding this recording. After all, this CD switched my passion from large orchestral works to 20th Century Chamber Music. The two towers on this CD are "Black Angels" by Crumb and String Quartet No 8 by Shostakovich. Tallis, Ives, and Marta's works fill the track spaces between (quite well). The Shostakovich is...how should we say...an "American" view of this piece. They play it with fire and ornery-ness...for example, the 2nd movement, normally marked at a whole note = 120 bpm, is play much, much faster than that (which results in a few technical slips on the performers' parts, but that's here or there). Whether or not you like a "flashier" Shostakovich is just a question of personal aesthetics. For me, while I do like this version, I feel that the Borodin String Quartet has produced the definitive recordings of the Shostakovich String Quartets...period. However, Kronos provides a new and refreshing look.

Thus, we come to Black Angels, and incredibly powerful programmatic piece of George Crumb. This piece stretches what a string quartet can do more than anything else prior to it. The performers incorporate amplifiers, percussion, and their own voices. The opening explodes with screaming violins, which suddenly disappear into echoes only to explode yet again. The work is genuinely frightening and surprising in that respect. It is also strange...amidst all these extremely modern techniques we see musical quotations of.....Schubert. What? How did this happen? Listen to the piece, because, somehow, it makes sense.