00:00
East meets West, North meets South, and anniversaries meet birthdays in this edition of Radio Eclectus. We honor the natal days of cross-cultural composers Osvaldo Golijov (60), Bright Sheng (65) and Richard Felciano (90). We sample new tracks by Dewa Alit, Sam Pluta, Spektral Quartet, Taylor Brook, Laura Schuler and Xerxes the Dark, while Jeff Cosgrove and his trio play William Parker. We preview the forthcoming Adam Rudolph album with its bicontinental inputs, as well as Robert Moran’s new portrait album where he makes an explicit connection between Baroque music and minimalism.
On the historical front, our 50 Years Ago in the Avant-Garde feature commemorates the remarkable (if short-lived) avant-jazz quartet Circle, as well as Tippett’s contemporaneous opera The Knot Garden, while our Rarities Department unearths a gem from the 1990s New York trio Trousers. Three hours of radical new music—improvised, fixed-media and composed—with cherishing commentary by host Michael Schell.
Global chart history
Top position held by this upload
Comments
00:00
Annotated playlist for show #73
Intro and SET 1: New and rare albums
1. [2:09] Elaine Kaplinsky: Nightmare Express. From dice 2: a collection of contemporary women composers (1996, Ishtar Records) with Trousers: Elise Kermani (vocals), Christine Bard (percussion), Elaine Kaplinsky (keyboards). Patrick Derivaz (recording engineer)
2. [7:10] Xerxes the Dark: The Hiding (Alternate Edit). From Anthology of Persian Experimental Music Vol. 2 (Unexplained Sounds Group, 2020) with Morego Dimmer AKA Mohamadreza G. (electronics, synths, field recordings, keys, strings)
3. [13:41] Jeff Cosgrove/William Parker: Little Bird. From History Gets Ahead of the Story (Grissley Music, 2020) with Jeff Cosgrove (drums), John Medeski (organ), Jeff Lederer (saxophones, flute). NOTE: Composition by William Parker
4. [19:11] Taylor Brook: Interlude. From Apperceptions (Ouaricon Editions, 2020)
5. [22:54] Robert Moran: Frammenti di un'opera barocca perduta: Aria II. From Points of Departure (Neuma, 2020) with Daniel Bubeck (countertenor), University of Delaware Symphony Orchestra, James Allen Anderson (conductor), John Fredenburg (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2017⠀
⠀
SET 2: Three quartets [26:00]
1. [30:20] Laura Schuler Quartet: Ballad for the Unborn. From Metamorphosis (Veto, 2020) with Laura Schuler (violin), Tony Malaby (tenor saxophone), Hanspeter Pfammatter (synthesizers), Lionel Friedli (drums), David Odlum (recording engineer)
2. [37:24] Circle: Medley - Toy Room/O and A (excerpts). From Circle-1 Live In German Concert (CBS/Sony, 1971, reissued 1996 by Concord Records) with Anthony Braxton (flute, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, bass clarinet, percussion), Chick Corea (piano), Dave Holland (bass, cello), Barry Altschul (drums, percussion). NOTE: Toy Room and Q & A (typo in album) were composed by Dave Holland. Recorded live November 28, 1970 in Germany
3. [48:56] Sam Pluta: binary/momentary logics - flow state/joy state. From Experiments in Living (New Focus, 2020) with Spektral Quartet. NOTE: Composed 2016⠀
⠀
SET 3: The Knot Garden at 50 and Golijov at 60 [57:43]
1. [1:02:12] Michael Tippett: The Knot Garden (excerpts). From The Knot Garden (Philips/Decca, 1974) with Faber: Raimund Herincx, Thea: Yvonne Minton, Flora: Jill Gomez, Denise: Josephine Barstow, Mel: Thomas Carey, Dov: Robert Tear, Mangus: Thomas Hemsley, The Royal Opera, Colin Davis
2. [1:17:04] Osvaldo Golijov: Yiddishbbuk - 1a. D.W. (1932–1944), 1b. F.B. (1930–1944), 1c. T.K. (1934–1943). From Yiddishbbuk (EMI, 2002) with St Lawrence String Quartet. NOTE: Composed 1992
3. [1:20:43] Osvaldo Golijov: The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind (excerpt). From Yiddishbbuk (EMI, 2002) with Todd Palmer (clarinets), St Lawrence String Quartet. NOTE: Composed 1994
4. [1:23:59] Osvaldo Golijov: St. Mark Passion (excerpts). From La Pasión según San Marcos (Hänssler Classic, 2000) with Luciana Souza, Reynaldo González Fernández (solo voices), Schola Cantorum de Carácas, Cantoría Alberto Grau, Orquesta La Pasión, Maria Guinand (conductor)⠀
⠀
SET 4: East meets West I [1:35:36]
1. [1:42:03] Dewa Alit: Open My Door. From when i OPEN MY DOOR (Bandcamp, 2020) with Ensemble Modern. NOTE: Composed 2015, recorded 2017
2. [1:56:28] Richard Felciano: In Celebration of Golden Rain. From Glossolalia, Gending Pak Chokro, In Celebration of Golden Rain (Cambridge Records, 1978, reissued by Opus One) with Lawrence Moe (organ), Scripps Javanese Gamelan of the University of California, Richard Felciano (conductor). NOTE: Composed 1977. Golden Rain was the Indonesian name of the Javanese gamelan newly gifted to UC Berkeley⠀
⠀
SET 5: East meets West II [2:19:59]
1. [2:23:03] Bright Sheng: My Other Song - 4. Slow funeral march. From A Night at the Chinese Opera (Naxos, 2015) with Peter Serkin (piano). NOTE: Composed 2007
2. [2:33:25] Adam Rudolph: Tsuzumi (excerpts). From Focus and Field (Meta Records, 2020) with Sumie Kaneko (vocal, koto, shamisen), Stephanie Griffin (viola), Kaoru Watanabe (shinobue, noh kan, fue, taiko, percussion), Gamin (piri, saengwang), Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon), Ned Rothenberg (shakuhachi, bass clarinet), Ivan Barenboim (clarinets), Michel Gentile (flutes), Adam Rudolph (handrumset, conductor), Stephe Cooper (recording engineer)
Photo credits: Richard Felciano via the artist, Osvaldo Golijov by Stephanie Berger, William Parker by Jimmy Katz, Xerxes the Dark via Mohamad Reza, Adam Rudolph by Molly Sheridan/New Music Box, Dewa Alit via the artist, Elise Kermani via the artist, Chick Corea via the artist, Elaine Kaplinsky by Grethe Barrett Holby, Laura Schuler via the artist, Bright Sheng via the artist, Dave Holland by Brian McMillen, Sumie Kaneko via the artist, Robert Moran (and friend) via the artist.