Black Angels / String Quartet

On this CD:

1. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet Threnody I: Night of the electric insects
Composed by George Crumb
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

2. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet Sounds of Bones and flutes
Composed by George Crumb
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

3. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet Lost bells
Composed by George Crumb
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

4. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet Devil music
Composed by George Crumb
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

5. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet Danse macabre
Composed by George Crumb
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

6. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet Pavana lachrymae
Composed by George Crumb
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

7. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet Threndoy II: Black Angels
Composed by George Crumb
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

8. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet Sarabanda de la muerte oscura
Composed by George Crumb
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

9. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet Lost bells-echo
Composed by George Crumb
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

10. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet God music
Composed by George Crumb
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

11. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet Ancient voices
Composed by George Crumb
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

12. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet Ancient Voices-echo
Composed by George Crumb
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

13. Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet Threnody III: Night of the electric insects
Composed by George Crumb
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

14. String Quartet, Op. 28
Composed by Anton Webern
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

15. String Quartet
Composed by Witold Lutoslawski
Performed by Cikada String Quartet

Tracks:

Black Angels: I. Departure
Black Angels: II. Absence
Black Angels: III. Return
Spem In Alium (Sing And Glorify)
Doom. A Sigh
They Are There!
Quartet No. 8: I. Largo
Quartet No. 8: II. Allegro Molto
Quartet No. 8: III. Allegretto
Quartet No. 8: IV. Largo
Quartet No. 8: V. Largo

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:

Kronos Quartet Black Angels.......2007-05-17

This is music to think by as it engages the intellect.

Black Angels has a menace which invites ideas and images into your mind.It will make you a little uncomfortable, but it will remain within you.

Doom.A Sigh has a remarkarble story behind it and invokes an emotional response because the recorded voices carry echoes of something lost. It works a strange magic,drawing you in and giving a glimpse of a forgotten world that perhaps still exists within all of us, somewhere.

The Shostakovich quartet ends this CD as Black Angels began it,completing a cycle, and you will be brought back to the point at which you started your journey but with a sense of something profound having occurred.

This is a CD that will become part of who you are and the only question you need ask yourself is, are you brave enough to listen?

An excellent idea...not the best performances though.......2007-04-04

Kronos' selections are excellent, if a bit eccentric, although I am less excited by the Tallis and Ives...arrangements. How well the main pieces are done is another matter, one being decent, the other somewhat lacking.

Black Angels is a very exciting piece, as well as dark and disturbing. However I've played it, so it doesn't disturb me as much. Kronos is a bit fast sometimes, which can be a slight problem since the numerology is highly significant in this work. Pulling this piece off is not easy, as I can attest to. They do pretty well with it, but there is some "cheating" going on, as the DVD version reveals.

One of the most interesting effects in the piece is the "consort of viols" sections, images 6 and 8, which are trios in which each player plays behind his/her left hand--basically turning the whole technique of bowing and fingering upside down. This is difficult to do, however it is not actually very hard if you practice it for a few minutes. I find it strange that Kronos actually does away with this amazing effect and plays it with normal technique using heavy practice mutes--no big deal for most listeners, but it does alter the sound. So, Kronos doesn't stick to the score completely.

Anyway, the Shostakovich is the performance that is lacking. I like the Fitzwilliam cycle best, and their 8th is excellent, so you might get that one. If you don't mind the odd noises and variable sound the Borodin cycle is good too, but it is harder and harder to find, which is very sad indeed.

Ups and downs.......2007-01-29

I'm amazed that not one of the preceding reviewers mentioned the Brodsky recording of the Crumb, and only two of them seemed to know about the Concord, who were, I believe, the first to record it. The Brodsky is sharp, clean, accurate. The Kronos is none of these. Their performance is fast and sloppy. If you want to hear all the details you have to listen to the Concord or the Brodsky. (I've not heard the Cikada or the new Mode disc with members of the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic.) The Brodsky is a more exciting performance and a better recording than the Concord, plus they couple the Crumb with the Schubert 14th, which makes that famous cameo in "Dark Angels."

That does not mean you shouldn't have this disc. I've heard many recordings of Shostakovich's music, the reverent "we're playing music by the great Soviet composer," the long-faced "we're playing music by a tortured soul," and the vastly superior "we're playing music." I'd put this Kronos performance in the latter category. Ironically, I like it because it's faster than most (and a little bit sloppy). Not so sloppy that details are blurred, though, and fast here means the piece is never allowed to get lugubrious, which too many performances of his music definitely are. (So many people seem unable to listen to music without thinking about nonmusical things, like politics or the composer's putative feelings, and so many performers of Shostakovich seem happy to accomodate them.)

I don't know of any other performance of the eighth that makes the quotations so clear, either. Shostakovich threw in references to several of his own pieces in this quartet, the first and fifth symphonies, the first cello concerto, and most deliciously, the second trio. Kronos plays the quotes from the trio better than anyone else I've heard.

Not for everybody.......2005-05-27

This is probably one of the least accessible Kronos albums I own, largely because of the Crumb piece. Personally, I consider it taxing but nonetheless worthwhile, but even devoted followers of the Kronos Quartet are likely to be turned off by the strident nature of the piece.

The only other piece worth noting is the Marta composition, which has a strange otherworldly quality to it. All I can say about the Tallis "Spem In Alium" is that you would be much better served by listening to the original vocal arrangement. Kronos' version is simply rather boring by comparison. Likewise, Kronos' interpretation of the well-known Shostakovich 8th quartet reveals that while they are at the forefront of modern music (commissioning new works regularly), when it comes the standard repertoire oftentimes they simply do not measure up. There are more recordings than I can count of the Shostakovich 8th that are far superior --- take your pick.

This is an album with as many misses as hits, and the hits are not exactly the most accessible music Kronos has recorded. Echoing another reviewer, it might be worth listening to this before purchasing it.

scary stuff.......2005-03-03

I listened to this piece, Black Angels, and it definitely gave me the creeps. My wife begged me to take it off; I didn't, due to my morbid fascination. In retrospect, what was even creepier was the fact that I just spontaneously played it for the 1st and only time on the night of Sept. 10, 2001 . Coincidence? It's as if something inside of me had a premonition of the true horror of the following morning. Is this possible?

Average customer rating:

Now I know why they make jokes about Hoboken (see below)
Many Undiscovered Treasures
compendium of the richness of American innovation
An interesting sampling of a musical dead end.
Fantastic Collection

American String Quartets, 1950-1970

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000001K50
Release Date: 1995-09-26

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String Quartet: 92
String Quartet: 144
String Quartet
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String Quartet In Four Parts: Slowly Rocking
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String Quartet In Four Parts: Quodlibet
Quartet No. 3 For String Quartet And Electronic Tape
Summer

Tracks:

Black Angels (Images) For Electric String Quartet: Departure: Tutti, Threnody I - Night Of The Electric Insects; Trio, Sounds Of Bones And Flutes; Duo, Lost Bells; Solo, Cadenza accompagnata Devi-Music; Duo, Dance Macabre (Due Alternative: Dies Irae)
Black Angles (Images) For Electric String Quartet: Absence (Crumb)
Black Angles (Images) For Electric String Quartet: Return (Crumb)
String Quartet No 5: Theme I (Hiller)
String Quartet No 5: Variations (Hiller)
String Quartet No 5: Theme II (Hiller)
String Quartet No 5: Varitaions (Hiller)
String Quartet No 5: Theme III (Hiller)
String Quartet No 5: Variations (Hiller)
String Quartet No 5: Theme IV (Hiller)
String Quartet No 2: (Druckman)
Structures for String Quartet (Feldman)

Customer Reviews:

Now I know why they make jokes about Hoboken (see below).......2005-10-27

Man, it's discouraging to see people piddling all over music like this. 1950-65 was a great era for American culture; sure the European influence was lingering but American composers (and artists and filmmakers) were finding a voice, an expression of some quality uniquely American that had never appeared before. American music could be something other than Hoe-Downs, Charlestons, and Nearer my God to Thee (sorry, Charles, and you know I love you anyway). This was a taut and crisp intellectual America that was finally gaining ascendancy, something new to the world, brilliant and beautiful. I think of a wonderful photo of Elliott Carter with Stravinsky in New York at some gallery or concert hall circa 1960 or so. Stravinsky looks old and seedy, like a Russian refugee even though he had years to ditch that; Carter, alert and in a sharp suit, looks like the future-on-the-half-shell. It all got blown out of the water by 60s and 70s-era lack of standards and discrimination and an unwillingness to TRY. Sixties-era, anti-culture crapola that still reigns supreme. To much pot. Hippies ruined everything.

What's startling about the bad review is these quartets are hardly over-intellectualized. In fact most are quite beautiful or evocative; the Cage stunningly so. The LPs this collection came off were among my favorites of that era and I doubt a better or more nightmarish Black Angels has ever been done despite recent attempts by Kronos and others. Amazing playing by committed performers. A deal and a bargain.

For ten bucks this is like gold for free. Have at it!

Many Undiscovered Treasures.......2003-01-08

It's almost laughable not to pick up this disc. The price alone makes the set worth it. Added to that the fact that many of these works are not available in other forms and this disc is a no-brainer for fans of the late 20th century string quartet. The sampling transcends styles, from the almost improvisatory sonic canvas of Earle Brown, to the surprisingly beautiful almost minimal quartet of Cage, the horrific depiction of war in Crumb's justly famous Black Angels, or the almost traditional sounding Schonbergisms of Stepan Wolpe, this is an eclectic collection and well worth the modest investment.

I won't review everything on the album, as there is just too much. Highlights for me include the Earle Brown quartet, which is one of Brown's strongest early works. Since Brown is poorly represented on CD, every release of his is worth having, but the Second Quartet is a masterwork of tonal subtlety. Cage's Quartet was written just before he moved into his more aleatoric phase. It is highly modal and almost a precusor to minimlism, a very pleasing work that should be more widely known. Christian Wolff is also a composer who is underrepresented on CD (though Mode is quickly redressing the imbalance.) Summer is also a protominimalist work, based on stark 5ths. The reading of Black Angels is good, though not anything to supplant the Kronos reading, which is still my favorite. Also interesting are Quartets by Wolpe and Leon Kirchner.

So if you have any interest in American string work of the late 20th century, you need this disc. It is indispensible and very beautifully played. And the Vox Box price is unbeatable.

compendium of the richness of American innovation.......2000-04-05

This is a great showcase of the American string quartet,innovation,vision,iconoclasm,all elements which we often overlook and forget easily.But only Elliot Carter is missing, and that's because he has what! Five Quartets now.Inclusion of the First Carter would have rounded things out. The Earle Brown here is a neglected masterwork. Based on graphic notation the performers don't improvise so much as are given entrance freedoms within a prescribed range. The affect can be mysterious,haunting,also innovative with a wide pallette of extended techniques, at the bridge, sul ponticello,plucking. We often forget the traditional beauty Cage engaged the early part of his career, the Forties. This Quartet is a fine consummate example of that,with soft,gentle lines, very sparce, and transparent,also he limits himself to a few tones,tossed around the various voices. Structures by Feldman is an early work here, the Quartet is treated as one monolith sound,indistinguishable voices playing harmonics,cello playing where the violin plays, same range. All of Feldman's floating gentleness is here as well,perhaps too much at times,like it overspends its welcome. Crumb's Black Angels is another classic, The Kronos has takened this around the block many times, Crumb always works well with a programmatic agenda in place, and here he transforms the Quartets introspective consititution to more a drammatic focus. Druckman as well also works well with a program but here there is none. He has a fine imagination for sonoric structures,balance,but its doesn't seem to amount to much. The Wolpe is one of his best works. His creativity was uneven, here the violence and charged motives he is found of are in place to jump, and reiterate, toss around in an environment of high energy. Wolff's Summer is an early work prior to his metamorphosis into utilization of political imagery by comparison, this is a beautiful work,but cold, Wolff also needs a program,which he profoundly found, He has alater Quartet he wrote in the Eighties that is more compelling.

An interesting sampling of a musical dead end........1999-06-18

Superb analog transfers and excellent playing, I suppose. (I mean, how can you tell with music like this?) OK, I'm not a fan of this kind of music, but at this price I thought the collection was worth chancing. So far, I've found that the best way to listen to this recording is to let the music wash over you while you enjoy the sheer variety of sounds that the composers and players create. And there are some pleasant surprises, particularly the Cage quartet (from 1950) which contains genuine emotion and ends with a brief movement chock full of--gasp!--sprightly tunes. Makes me wonder what might have been had these composers shown more interest in music and less interest in mathematical gymnastics designed to impress their colleagues at the academy. At any rate, I recommend this album as an interesting sonic experience and a good sampling of the dead-end serialist/avant-garde genre that is now being supplanted by a return to music that recognizes tonality. (If you really want great 20th century quartets, incidentally, buy the 6 by Bartok).

Fantastic Collection.......1999-03-24

This set is a must if you have the slightest interest in avant-garde music from the 50s and 60s. Not a single weak piece, excellent sound and performances, and the price can't be beat!

Average customer rating:

It's not what it appears to be
I never knew classical could sound like this
a necessary, and excellent, sampler

Released: 1985-1995
Dumisani Maraire , Astor Piazzolla , Ben Johnston , Steve Reich , Henryk Gorecki , Terry Riley , George Crumb , Arvo Part , King of Navarre Thibault IV , Tigran Tahmizyan , Samuel Barber , Raymond Scott , Anonymous , Michael Daugherty , Jimi Hendrix , Djivan Gasparian , I.F. Stone , Larry Caballero , Patty Manning , John Taylor , and Performer: Kronos Quartet
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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Short Stories
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ASIN: B000005J3V
Release Date: 1995-10-24

Tracks:

Mother Nozipo
Five Tango Sensations: Asleep
String Quartet No. 4 (Amazing Grace)
Different Trains: America - Before The War
Quasi una Fantasia - String Quartet No. 2: Arioso: adagio cantabile
Salome Dances For Peace: (Excerpt From) The Ecstasy
Black Angels: God-Music
Fratres
String Quartet No. 5: Movt. III
A Cool Wind Is Blowing
Adagio

Tracks:

Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals
How It Happens - The Voice Of I.F. Stone: It Raged
Elvis Everywhere
Purple Haze

Amazon.com essential recording

For all its wide stylistic span and just plain good listening, Kronos's Released 1985-1995 is problematic in that it doesn't acknowledge the group's decade-long pre-Nonesuch history with so much as a footnote. That aside, Released, which celebrates the first ten years of the group's association with Nonesuch, is like a great mix tape, stringing pop-song-length selections from 11 albums to wonderful effect. It opens with a joyous Zimbabwean cross-cultural composition; segues into a brief tango by Astor Piazzolla; and goes on to comprise classic minimalism (Steve Reich, Terry Reilly, Philip Glass), a broader palette of 20th-century classical (Samuel Barber, Henryk Gorecki, George Crumb, Arvo Part), and work truly unique to the Kronos repertoire (Ben Johnston's arrangement of "Amazing Grace"). A second CD includes a live recording of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze," a catchy rendering of a wacky Raymond Scott hodgepodge, a novelty homage to Elvis Presley, and a selection from Scott Johnson's extraordinary musical setting of readings by historian I.F. Stone. A great starter kit for Kronos newcomers. --Marc Weidenbaum

Customer Reviews:

It's not what it appears to be.......2006-07-17

A sampler should be priced at sampler prices to get you to sample the label or artist, usually around $10. On this set, the first CD is 77 min. but the second is only 23 and mostly worthless, except for the Hendrix piece (Purple Haze) which they claim is unreleased though it appears in nearly identical form on the "Sculthorpe, Sallinen, Glass..." album, released 5 years before this one. The first CD is excellent, however, and merits a $2 marketplace purchase.

I never knew classical could sound like this.......2005-06-22

I bought this CD with no knowledge of what Kronos Quartet was all about. I don't have a sophisticated taste in classical music, with my preferences running more to Copeland, Dvorak, Handel, Barber, and Holst.....accessible music for many people. I bought this to expose myself to a different approach to classical music and for the most part have loved the ride. The track America-Before the War alone is worth the price of the CD....its meditation on a society just emerging with optimism from economic stagnation but simultaneously rushing into war is incredibly powerful.

There are obviously many old favorites like Amazing Grace, Barber's Adagio, and a classic rendition of Jimmy Hendrix. When you listen, though, you will appreciate the diversity of classical music....there's so much more to the catalog than most writers Top Fifty lists.

a necessary, and excellent, sampler.......2000-10-09

I've been aware of the Kronos Quartet since WHITE MAN SLEEPS, but never took the plunge until now. What to do, when they've "released" so many records in the meantime? This sampler is the (near) perfect answer. It contains selections from 10 different albums. This serves both to give a sense of the breadth of the group's work (as well as the breadth of 20th century composition!), and also the flavor of some of their records if you decide to hear more. It is astounding music --RELEASED works as a unified whole, with two exceptions in my opinion, and those are the excerpts from the Reich and Glass albums. I don't like Glass at all, and the Reich piece is underwhelming, so I simply edit those selections out. Most of the other tracks are nothing less than stellar: Johnston, Gorecki, Riley, Crumb, Part, Tahmizyan, and Barber. The second disc ("Unreleased") is where my more serious dissatisfaction lies, and hence only 4 stars. You pay a 2-disc price, but this is not a full disc of music, and only 2 of the 4 selections really bear repeated listening. The Johnson track with sampled vocals by the great critic of U.S. imperialism I.F. Stone is fantastic (in a very '80s style), but the last two pieces are more novelty numbers. With all the material available, the second disc could easily contain many more cuts from the voluminous Kronos catalog. But with that caveat, I recommend this record. It sounds great in its own right, and it works quite well as a sampler.

(Since I wrote the original review I've added BLACK ANGELS, NIGHT PRAYERS, and SHORT STORIES to my collection, and all are superb -- see my reviews of all three, and my "Kronos, Reviewed and Unreviewed" list -- 9/5/04.)

Average customer rating:

A worthwhile investment
Excelent compilation!
Amazingly Now Retrospective
How Could You Not Listen?
Good for help to know up-to-date contemporaly music

25 Years: Retrospective
Suzanne Elder , Paul Hillier , David Krakauer , John Adams , Franguiz Ali-Zadeh , Ken Benshoof , George Crumb , Morton Feldman , Philip Glass , Osvaldo Golijov , Henryk Gorecki , Sofiya Gubaydulina , Arvo Part , P. Q. Phan , Astor Piazzolla , Steve Reich , Terry Riley , Alfred Schnittke , Peter Sculthorpe , Kevin Volans , Aki Takahashi , Ellen L. Hargis , Neal Rogers , and Kronos Quartet
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00000DD9B
Release Date: 1998-10-27

Tracks:

John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Judah to Ocean
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Toot Nipple
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Dogjam
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Pavane: She's So Fine
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Rag the Bone
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Habanera
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Stubble Crochet
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Hammer & Chisel
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Alligator Escalator
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Standchen: The Little Serenade
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Judah to Ocean (Reprise)
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Fratres
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Psalom
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Summa
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Missa Syllabica: Kyrie
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Gloria
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Credo
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Sanctus
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Agnus Dei
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Ite, missa est

Tracks:

Traveling Music: 1. Gentle, easy
Traveling Music: 2. Moderate
Traveling Music: 3. Driving
Song of Twenty Shadows
Five Tango Sensations: Asleep
Five Tango Sensations: Loving
Five Tango Sensations: Anxiety
Five Tango Sensations: Despertar
Five Tango Sensations: Fear
Five Tango Sensations: Four, for Tango

Tracks:

Piano And String Quartet (1985) - Various Artists

Tracks:

Quartet # 4 (Buczak, 1989): I
Quartet # 4 (Buczak, 1989): II
Quartet # 4 (Buczak, 1989): III
Mishima Quartet, Quartet #3 (1985): 1957 - Award Montage
Mishima Quartet, Quartet #3 (1985): November 25 - Ichigaya
Mishima Quartet, Quartet #3 (1985): 1934 - Grandmother and Kimitake
Mishima Quartet, Quartet #3 (1985): 192 - Body Building
Mishima Quartet, Quartet #3 (1985): Blood Oath
Mishima Quartet, Quartet #3 (1985): Mishima/Closing
Company, Quartet #2 (1983): I
Company, Quartet #2 (1983): II
Company, Quartet #2 (1983): III
Company, Quartet #2 (1983): IV
Quartet #5 (1991): I
Quartet #5 (1991): II
Quartet #5 (1991): III
Quartet #5 (1991): IV
Quartet #5 (1991): V

Tracks:

The Dreams & Prayers of Isaac the Blind: Prelude: Calmo, sospeso
The Dreams & Prayers of Isaac the Blind: I. Agitato - Con fucco - Maestoso - Senza misura, oscilante
The Dreams & Prayers of Isaac the Blind: II. Teneramente - Ruvido - Presto
The Dreams & Prayers of Isaac the Blind: III. Calmo, sospeso - Allego pesante
The Dreams & Prayers of Isaac the Blind: Postlude: Lento, liberamente
Quartet #4 (1993)
Mugam Sayagi (1993)

Tracks:

Quasi una fantasia (Quartet #2), Op.64 (1990-91): I. Largo (Sostenuto - Mesto)
Quasi una fantasia (Quartet #2), Op.64 (1990-91): II. DecisoEnergico (Marcatissimo sempre)
Quasi una fantasia (Quartet #2), Op.64 (1990-91): III. Arioso: Adagio cantabile
Quasi una fantasia (Quartet #2), Op.64 (1990-91): IV. Allegro (Sempre con grande passione e molto marcato)
Already It is Dusk (Quartet #1), Op.62 (1988)

Tracks:

Different Trains: America Before The War
Different Trains: Europe During The War
Different Trains: America After The War
Black Angels: I. Departure - 1. Thenody I: Night Of The Electric Insects - 2. Sounds Of Bones And Flutes - 3. Lost Bells - 4. Devil-Music - 5. Danse Macabre
Black Angels: II. Absence - 6. Pavana Lachrymae - 7. Threnody II: Black Angels! - 8. Sarabanda de la Muerte Oscura - 9. Losts Bells (Echo)
Black Angels: III. Return - 10. God Music - 11. Ancient Voices - 12. Ancient Voices (Echo) - 13. Thenody III: Night Of The Electric Insects

Tracks:

Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Introduction
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Cadenza: Violin I
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Where Was Wisdom When We Went West?
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Cadenza: Viola
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): March of the Old Timers Reefer Division
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Cadenza: Violin II
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Tuning to Rolling Thunder
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): The Night Cry of Black Buffalo Woman
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Cadenza: Cello
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Gathering of the Spiral Clan
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Captain Jack Has the Last Word
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): G Song
Salome Dances for Peace (1985-86) - III. The Gift: Echoes of Primordial Tim
Salome Dances for Peace (1985-86) - III. The Gift: Mongolian Winds
V. Good Medicine: Good Medicine Dance

Tracks:

Quartet No. 2 (1981): I. Moderato
Quartet No. 2 (1981): II. Agitato
Quartet No. 2 (1981): III. Mesto
Quartet No. 2 (1981): IV. Moderato
Quartet No. 4 (1989): I. Lento
Quartet No. 4 (1989): II. Allegro
Quartet No. 4 (1989): III. Lento
Quartet No. 4 (1989): IV. Vivace
Quartet No. 4 (1989): V. Lento
Collected Songs Where Every Verse Is Filled With Grief (1984-85)

Tracks:

Jabiru Dreaming, Quartet #11 (1990): I. Deciso
Jabiru Dreaming, Quartet #11 (1990): II. Amoroso
Quartet #8 (1969): I. Con dolore
Quartet #8 (1969): II. Risoluto; calmo
Quartet #8 (1969): III. Con dolore
Quartet #8 (1969): IV. Con precisione
Quartet #8 (1969): V. Con dolore
From Ubirr (1994)
Tragedy at the Opera (1995)
White Man Sleeps Quartet #1: First Dance
White Man Sleeps Quartet #1: Second Dance
White Man Sleeps Quartet #1: Third Dance
White Man Sleeps Quartet #1: Fourth Dance
White Man Sleeps Quartet #1: Fifth Dance

Amazon.com

Seems like only yesterday the Kronos Quartet stepped up their career as musical mavericks with a coveted, wide-open contract with Nonesuch Records. Now it's Nonesuch's turn to give Kronos the big-package nod, gathering key works recorded by the group--from younger composers and time-tested veterans alike--into this 10-CD box set. As one might expect, the set is stuffed with contrasts, from the first CD, with its 11-part, upstepping John Adams suite and then the far more solemn Missa Syllabica from Arvo Pärt. Nearly 20 of these pieces here were composed expressly for Kronos, pitched and sculpted for their easily-racked mixture of straightforward string quartet roles and intelligently restructured approaches to the even the simplest gestures. Perhaps most key here is George Crumb's Black Angels, in large part due to Crumb's role in inspiring David Harrington to form Kronos 25 years ago. Crumb's music spirals and chases through the air, engaging high pitches and fast pacings as if they were ends in themselves. Gone from this set are most of the short snippets that have filled some of Kronos's other fine single CD recordings. In abundance instead are some of the legendary works: Morton Feldman's long, endlessly patient Piano and String Quartet (with Aki Takahashi), Steve Reich's unnerving Different Trains, and Henryk Górecki's String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2. There are also some of the astounding Eastern European works from Night Prayers as well, including the stunning Quartet No. 4 from Sofia Gubaidulina. And of course there are the Kronos biggie pieces: Philip Glass's works fill one CD, and so do Terry Riley's. What's more, Riley's Cadenza on the Night Plain and "G Song" are presented here in entirely fresh, new recordings. What the listener gets is a huge block of music, full of shifting colors and textures but perfectly apt in giving a wide-angle vantage on what Kronos has done for contemporary music. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

A worthwhile investment.......2003-10-06

It would be an understatement to say that this is a fabulous box set. All 10 CDs are packed with some fabulous music that beautifull highlights the first 25 years of the Kronos Quartet, and the booklet included provides a great history of the group as well as nice blurbs on the composers and their pieces.

Equally nice about the box set is the inclusion of multiple new recordings, thus making this a worthwhile investment for fans. The Peter Sculthorpe Quartets are a particularly nice addition, as are the added Piazzolla, Part, and Riley compositions.

Along with this, the "classic" Kronos recordings are all here: "Black Angels" "Different Trains" "Salome Dances for Peace" (well, exceprts), and Feldman's Piano and String Quartet. Of particular note, I think is the inclusion of Gubaidulina's Quartet No 4, a fabulous recording that is otherwise hidden in Kronos' recording "Night Prayers."

Yes, this is quite an investment, but I firmly believe that it's worth it - longtime fans and newcomers alike have a lot to gain from this collection.

Excelent compilation!.......2001-09-09

I like more classic period, like Hayden, but Cronos does it very well, technicaly excelent. The ten sets are wonderful recordings and the selection is unique. It deserves the investment, If you buy it, youre going to have more than ten hours of joy.

Amazingly Now Retrospective.......2001-06-26

Since their youthful start in the NW back in the 70's, Kronos has collaborated with, commissioned, or just played such a breadth of musicians it almost seems that breadth - and especially non western world culture - is their mission. But, while this conservatively and esthetically designed 25-yr-retrospective box (with its increasingly sophisticated photo-portraits) belies the pulsation of social angst and conscience that underlies the bulk of the inclusions, the latter concern, its vitality and relevance - and not some stylish chasing after cultural breadth - is what overtakes the listener/reader, rather soon. I say reader, since the booklet is very helpful, especially to the relative novice, and well balanced in its coverage of composers, historical contexts, performers, individual texts, etc.

There are probably more non contemporaries performed by the Quartet over the years than this selection would indicate. That undercuts their ties with the sense of revolution in music throughout the ages, but it leaves more time for the present: and that is where one expects the group wishes to be, is most contributory and challenged, and is best and most fairly judged. Highly recommended, both for those who know Kronos's work well and wish a handsome tribute on their shelf, and for those who do not but are open and ready to be affected, whether impacted esthetically, reminded socio-morally, or whatever combination of both befits.

How Could You Not Listen?.......1998-12-19

My opinion pales when compared to this CD. Indeed the group's ingeniousness, its knowing and its balls are in full display here, hopefully to put to rest any lingering contention that there is little more to Kronos than form. To any person who accepts the merits of 20th-century music, this CD presents the genius of our culture and teaches that daring and ingenuity do not have to be sacrificed on the road to technical brilliance. My only regret is that the CD does not include Kronos's interpretation of Bartok. But, so what? Górecki's here, as are Part and Benshoof. Listen to this CD -- soar and struggle with it.

Good for help to know up-to-date contemporaly music.......1998-11-28

The Kronos Quartet has released many albums. There let us see what the quartet has tried new titles and arrenges in each period. But this is the best set for understand the quartet as summary of thier works. The CDs are distributed by each composers and we can see thier identities easily.Unfortunately this dose not include all but be enough to see what the quartet has been.I hope that every classical music fans(not only contemporaly music fans) listen this CDs.

Complete George Crumb Editon, Volume 7 - Unto the Hills, Black Angels

Average customer rating:

Good, but not _great_

Complete George Crumb Editon, Volume 7 - Unto the Hills, Black Angels

Manufacturer: Bridge
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Complete Crumb Edition, Vol. 6 - Echoes of Time and the River, Gnomic Variations, Four Nocturnes, Lux Aeterna
Complete Crumb Edition 9; Ancient Voices of Children, Madrigals Books I-IV, Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik
Complete Crumb Edition, Volume 5: Easter Dawning, Celestial Mechanics, A Haunted Landscape, Processional
Complete Crumb Edition, Vol. 8; Makrokosmos Books I & II, Otherwordly Resonances
George Crumb: Quest

ASIN: B0000YTPRK
Release Date: 2003-12-30

Tracks:

Poor Wayfaring Stranger
All the Pretty Little Horses An Appalachian Lullaby)
Ten Thousand Miles
Appalachian Epiphany: A Psalm for Sunset And Dusk (Instrumental Interlude)
Evry Night When the Sun Goes In
Black, Black, Black is the Color
The Riddle
Poor Wayfaring Stranger (Echo)
Threnody I: Night of the Electric Insects
Sounds of Bones and Flutes
Lost Bells
Devil-music
Danse Macabre (Duo alternativo: Dies Irae)
Pavana Lachrymae (Der Tod und das Mhen)(Solo obbligato: Insect Sounds)
Threnody II: Black Angels!
Sarabanda de la Muerte Oscura (Solo obbligato: Insect Sounds)
Lost Bells (Echo)(Duo alternativo: Sounds of Bones and Flutes)
God-music [Solo: Aria accompagnata]
Ancient Voices
Ancient Voices (Echo)
Threnody III: Night of the Electric Insects

Album Description

Volume Seven of Bridge's Complete Crumb Edition features the world premiere recording of Crumb's new Appalachian folk song cycle, "Unto the Hills". Performed by Crumb's daughter, soprano Ann Crumb, and an ensemble of percussion quartet and amplified piano, the thirty-six minute cycle features spectacularly colorful (more than 75 percussion instruments) and moving renditions of such classic folk tunes as "Black, Black, Black is the Color", "Poor Wayfaring Stranger"," The Riddle", and "All the Pretty Little Horses". Also included on this CD is a stunning new reading of Crumb's classic "Black Angels" for Electric String Quartet. Performed by the brilliant, young Miró Quartet, this performance, supervised by the composer, features a combination of early 21st Century virtuosity and state of the art recording technology.

Customer Reviews:

Good, but not _great_.......2006-07-19

I've been collecting the Crumb collection as it's been released, and like the other releases, this is a must-have for lovers of the contemporary music. Unto the Hills is easier on the ears than some of Crumb's earlier works without sacrificing the trademark Crumb array of percussion, but because he doesn't change the original melodies (besides stretching or contracting the rhythms in places), they feel a little tired and stale by the time song 5 rolls around. The interlude that comes in the middle of the 8 songs, though, is a very welcome change in pace and Crumb at his best -- moody, mysterious, dramatic.

Black Angels is the highlight -- and the letdown -- of this disc. Unlike other performances on other discs, the sound is really sharp; the quieter movements (for example, the Pavane) shine through as clearly as a live performance. But the huge disappointments are in some of the key movements. God Music and Devil Music feel very rushed and more than a little sloppy. Meanwhile, Black Angels! is played almost too crisply and loses its steam in what should be an explosive end to that movement. It's a very uneven performance.

Still, the fact that Crumb was involved in these recordings inherently means they carry authority. I'm very happy to own this disc and hope that Bridge continues to churn out the Crumb edition at the healthy pace they have done so far. But I wouldn't throw out my Kronos and Cikada Quartet recordings of Black Angels quite yet, either.

George Crumb: Black Angels; Makrokosmos III

Average customer rating:

George Crumb: Black Angels; Makrokosmos III

Manufacturer: Mode
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Roland Dahinden: Flying White
Iannis Xenakis: Percussion Works
Gerard Pape: Ascension to Purgatory
George Cacioppo: Advance of the Fungi

ASIN: B000GYHRBA
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Franz Schubert: String Quartet In D Minor D.810 "Death and the Maiden" / George Crumb: Black Angels, for Electric String Quartet, 13 Images from the Dark Land - Brodsky Quartet

Average customer rating:

Excellent performances of both
Good but not outstanding version of Schubert's 14th, fabulous Crumb

Franz Schubert: String Quartet In D Minor D.810 "Death and the Maiden" / George Crumb: Black Angels, for Electric String Quartet, 13 Images from the Dark Land - Brodsky Quartet
Paul Cassidy , Jacqueline Thomas , Michael Lee Thomas , and Brodsky Quartet
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000000SH4
Release Date: 1993-06-08

Tracks:

String Quartet in D minor, D 810: Allegro
String Quartet in D minor, D 810: Andante con moto
String Quartet in D minor, D 810: Scherzo: Allegro molto
String Quartet in D minor, D 810: Presto
I. Departure: Threndoy I: Night of the Ekectric Insects
I. Departure: Sounds of Bones and Flutes
I. Departure: Lost Bells
I. Departure: Devil-Music
I. Departure: Danse Macabre
II. Absence: Pavana Lachrymae
II. Absence: Threnody II: Black Angels
II. Absence: Sarabanda de la Muerte Oscura
II. Absence: Lost Bells
III. Return: God-Music
III. Return: Ancient Voices
III. Return: Ancient Voices
III. Return: Threnody III : Night of the Electric

Customer Reviews:

Excellent performances of both.......2007-01-26

Discophage's title is slightly misleading. The performance of the Schubert as detailed in that review makes it sound very good indeed, as indeed it is. It's the best performance of that that I've ever heard, though I must confess I've not heard the Petersen that Discophage prefers.

The Brodsky is an unbeatable combination. The performance by the Concord is good, and it's part of a splendid set of American quartet music, well worth having. I still take it out for a spin from time to time. The Kronos just seems eccentric, mostly in the wildly fast tempi and the way they slur over details. It's as if all they wanted was to get out of the studio and get home to watch the game.

The Crumb is a terrifically exciting piece, thirty seven years on, and deserves the crackling good performance the Brodsky give it. Crumb rather faded out of the spotlight there for awhile, but he's still writing fine music and recordings are still coming out, many under his supervision.

Good but not outstanding version of Schubert's 14th, fabulous Crumb.......2006-08-12

The Brodsky Quartet has had the excellent idea to couple Schubert's famous 14th quartet "Death and the Maiden" with an outstanding interpretation of Crumb's breathtaking "Black Angels", the quartet for amplified strings written by the American composer in 1970. Composed in reaction to the Vietnam war (Crumb inscribed "in tempore belli" at the end of his score), its arch-shaped three sections evoke the Fall from Grace, Spiritual annihilation, and Redemption. Crumb, one of the most original composers of the 2nd half of the last century and still alive and hopefully active today, conjures terrifying, eerie and spellbinding sound effects. Besides unusual string effects such as bowing on the wrong side of the strings, Crumb utilises voices, tam-tams and maracas, and even water-pitched crystal glasses! Unfortunately I do not have a score for close comparison, but the Brodsky's reading seems at least as good as any I've heard, which include the Kronos or the Concord quartet.

Crumb's quartet is related to Schubert's through the quotation, at the beginning of the piece's second section, of the famous theme first used by Schubert in his 1817 Lied, then again as the basis of the five variations that make up the 2nd movement of his quartet, giving it its famous title. The Brodsky's interpretation of Schubert's quartet is a good but not outstanding one. Ensemble tone is fine, with no trace of scrappiness, and tempos are "average", neither particularly fast nor particularly slow. Generally speaking the Brodskys go for weight and power rather than breathless vehemence - not necessarily the most gripping interpretive option in that piece -, but they display a commendable attention to all the details of articulation and dynamics written by Schubert. In the introductory allegro, unlike most other ensembles but according to Schubert's lack of any indication to do so, they do not slow down the tempo for the 2nd and lyrical theme at 1:59, and give it a fine rhythmic snap. Their second movement is not really true to Schubert's "Andante con moto" tempo indication and sounds rather like a funeral march - not entirely inappropriate here; the explosions of the third variation conjure images of a stampede of heavily harnessed horses rather than, as with others, Death furiously whipping its steed. They do not exaggeratedly slow down the Scherzo's central trio and are thus rather successful at avoiding the coyness often lent by others to that section. The Finale is powerful but not particularly brisk, with a fine attention to the details of phrasing and articulation.

In the same vein there is a Capriccio CD on which the Petersen quartet gives an interpretation of Schubert's quartet which I find more interesting, because it is more extreme in its interpretive choices (see my comment), coupled with "Das Mädchen und der Tod" (The Maiden and Death), the 2nd string quartet by (former East)-German composer Siegfried Matthus: a fine work, though not as striking as Crumb's incredible quartet.

In sum, a CD worth knowing for the interest of its coupling and Crumb's magisterial quartet.

Average customer rating:

Black Angels

Manufacturer: Cala Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000FDDP
Release Date: 1995-08-22

Tracks:

Thirteen Images From A Dark Land; Departure: Threnody I: Night Of The Electric Insects
Thirteen Images From A Dark Land; Departure: Sounds Of Bones And Flutes
Thirteen Images From A Dark Land; Departure: Lost Bells
Thirteen Images From A Dark Land; Departure: Devil-Music
Thirteen Images From A Dark Land; Departure: Danse Macabre
Thirteen Images From A Dark Land; Departure: Pavana Lachrymae
Thirteen Images From A Dark Land; Absence: Threnody II: Black Angels
Thirteen Images From A Dark Land; Absence: Sarabanda De La Muerte Oscura
Thirteen Images From A Dark Land; Absence: Lost Bells-Echo
Thirteen Images From A Dark Land; Return: God-Music
Thirteen Images From A Dark Land; Return: Ancient Voices
Thirteen Images From A Dark Land; Return: Ancient Voices-Echo
Thirteen Images From A Dark Land; Return: Threnody III: Night Of The Electric Insects
Str Qrt, Op.28: Massig
Str Qrt, Op.28: Gemahlich
Str Qrt, Op.28: Sehr Fliessend
Str Qrt: Introductory Mvt
Str Qrt: Main Mvt

Average customer rating:

Black Angels

Manufacturer: Cala
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000003WEC
Release Date: 1995-01-01

Average customer rating:

An interesting compilation

Music of the Twentieth Century

Manufacturer: Cala Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

The Dream Of The Cherry Blossoms
Hypothetically Murdered: Part I : Act I, Gallop
Huit Preludes: La colombe
String Quartet No. 3 - 3rd Movement
The Consolations Of Scholarship: Lamento
Flute Sonata No. 1 - 3rd Movement
Requiem: I: Salvator mundi
Romeo And Juliet - Juliet As A Young Girl
Der Unterbrochene Gedenke ('The Broken Thought')
4'33 - 1. Tacet
The Salley Gardens
White Man Sleeps: 1st Movement
Mass - 2: Gloria
Sonata For Cello And Piano: Presto
The Lamb
Black Angels - Extract
Totus Tuus

Customer Reviews:

An interesting compilation.......2007-02-06

Don't know how you got here, but good digging. This album is a sampler from United records, a company out of the UK. It contains a fairly good cross section of 20th century composers. Many pieces stand out - Keiko Abe's, the Shostakovich piece, the Schnittke sonata. The inclusion of John Cage's 4'33 is negligible. It was the piece that drove me to dig up this CD. I knew what it was (silence), but I at least expected ambient crowd noise (I don't think it was recorded live). It being included here amidst such great music, it acts like a dead weight. I think there were surely more representative John Cage pieces they could've selected. But enough of my griping.
If you're looking for an intro into some of the more avant-garde leanings of 20th century classical, this one works halfway. Overall, a good disc with some pieces that will surely find their way into your head. You might have to look hard for this - it was on my Wish List for a year and a half without any sellers- but it can be worth it.
If ANYONE reads this, click the helpful button. I'm just curious to see if anyone else finds this CD out here in the Amazon bins.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

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