Black Angels is an Electronic album by Kronos Quartet, originally released in 1990. On Gatefold: 17 pressings tracked.
About
“I wanted our audience to not be prepared,” explains Kronos Quartet’s founder and first violinist, David Harrington, to Apple Music Classical. “You just put on the recording and bang, you’re hearing ‘Night of the Electric Insect.’” That loud, frenetic screeching which opens Kronos Quartet’s <i>Black Angels</i>, first released in 1990, replicates Harrington’s own nerve-shredding experience when he first encountered the title work which inspired the creation of his quartet. One of the most extraordinary string quartets of the 20th century, <i>Black Angels</i> was American composer George Crumb’s reaction to the horrific images of the Vietnam War brought to Americans at home during the 1960. Harrington first heard that quartet broadcast in August 1973, having himself just missed being drafted into the American Army. “The American involvement had ceased,” he say, “but the effects of that war were all over our society. Our young musicians were trying to figure out the right music to play. I had the radio on by accident. This music came on. I’d found my song, and I had to start a quartet. We had to play that piece.” Crumb’s “electric string quartet” presents an extraordinary and unforgettable journey: the players are amplified, as well as being required to play various percussion instruments and to create ethereal sounds by bowing crystal glass filled with different levels of water. Kronos then effectively unpack its various qualities in the program that follow. First, a multitrack arrangement of Thomas Tallis’ 40-voice <i>Spem in alium</i>, the refined beauty of that work contrasting with the disturbing world of trauma set out in <i>Doom. A Sigh</i> by Hungarian composer István Márta. .
via Apple Music
The Clerk says
The Clerk knows this whole record — the pressing quirks, the credits, the take.
Tracklist
- 1Black Angels: I. Departure5:37
- 2Black Angels: II. Absence5:25
- 3Black Angels: III. Return7:16
- 4Spem in Alium (Arr. for String Quartet by the Kronos Quartet)8:52
- 5Doom. A Sigh10:54
- 6They Are There! Fighting for the People's New Free World (Kronos Part Arr. by John Geist)2:47
- 7String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: I. Largo4:56
- 8String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: II. Allegro molto2:36
- 9String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: III. Allegretto4:18
- 10String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: IV. Largo4:10
- 11String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: V. Largo3:57
Sound DNA
- Electronic
Credits
The people behind it.
Performers
- David HarringtonENSEMBLE , VIOLIN VIOLIN
- Hank DuttENSEMBLE , VIOLA VIOLA
- Joan JeanrenaudCELLO ENSEMBLE , CELLO
- John SherbaENSEMBLE , VIOLIN VIOLIN
17 pressings tracked on Gatefold
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