Black Angels & Ghost Opera
Two performance pieces with the Kronos Quartet:
Black Angels by George Crumb and Ghost Opera by Tan Dun.
"This dynamic recording features the Kronos Quartet playing George Crumb’s Black Angels, the composers musical response to the Vietnam War. Through its whispered and shrieked texts, piercing outbursts, demonic fiddling and solemn episodes of piety, this haunting score expresses the relentless horror and senseless grief of war. The quartet also performs Tan Dun’s Ghost Opera, which blends sophisticated technques with folk traditions. The musicians are required to become performance artists, chanting, reciting text and playing a variety of instruments ranging from gongs dipped in water to finger-cymbals. Together, these pieces create an electrifying theatrical experience." (DVD cover)
"Combining a fearless dedication to experimentation and a fresh emphasis on visual presentation, the San Francisco-based Kronos Quartet has emerged as a leading voice for new music. Its eclectic body of work, unparalleled in its range of expression, has captured the attention of audiences worldwide and earned five Grammy Award nominations. This dynamic recording features the Kronos Quartet playing George Crumb�s musical response to the Vietnam War, "Black Angels," in which whispered and shrieked texts, demonic fiddling, and solemn episodes of piety express the relentless horror and senseless grief of war. The quartet also performs Tan Dun�s "Ghost Opera," a blend of sophisticated techniques with folk traditions which required the musicians to become peformance artists, chanting text and playing a variety of instruments from gongs dipped in water to finger-cymbals. An electrifying theatrical experience!" (amazon)A DVD is available from image entertainment.
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