How Did I Get Hear? #7 - Stephen Gallagher on Kronos Quartet's "Black Angels"
In 1993, I was immersed in my first year study of composition at what is now known as The New Zealand School of Music. My lecturer, Jack Body, possessed a unique ability to transform the abstract into the palpable. His descriptions of music were so vivid that it felt as though he was holding the composition in his hands, revealing its intricate magic in front of our eyes and ears.
When he learned of my fascination with George Crumb, Jack lent me his copy of "Black Angels", a 1990 album by The Kronos Quartet.
My introduction to George Crumb's music had occurred a few years earlier, in the mundane setting of a high school classroom in the Hutt Valley. The moment "The Advent" from "Music for a Summer Evening" emerged from the speakers, the ordinary dissolved. The music was dark, ancient, and astonishingly vivid—like an auditory manifestation of nightmares. It immediately reshaped my musical perspective in profound ways.
None of this prepared me for "Black Angels".
The electric, screaming horror that erupted through my headphones was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The amplified strings of the Kronos Quartet created a visceral intensity, a sonic experience that resonated more with the raw energy of Sonic Youth, Bailter Space, or Nine Inch Nails than with the refined compositions of Schubert or Stravinsky. It was suspenseful, uneasy listening, yet simultaneously beautiful and awe-inspiring—a complex and rare combination.
Far more than simply a thrilling exploitation of sound from traditional instruments,"Black Angels: Thirteen Images from the Dark Land" is an elegant composition by a 20th-century maverick, a work that intertwines themes of war, hope, and humanity pushed to its earthly and spiritual limits. The impact on my mind was explosive, shattering preconceived notions and expectations of what instrumental music could be at the end of the 20th Century.
Following Crumb's Vietnam War-inspired title track, the Kronos Quartet's interpretations span centuries and continents. From the 16th-century English Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis to Hungarian composer István Márta, American modernist Charles Ives, and Soviet-era composer Dmitri Shostakovich, the album's thematic unity of war and "man's inhumanity to man" resonates across time and geography, forming a bold, intense, and visionary 62-minute journey.
The Kronos Quartet's adventurous spirit and imaginative approach to these works, their innovative use of the recording studio, and techniques more akin to contemporary guitar and electronic music than classical traditions, make "Black Angels" a touchstone for me. The sublime programming and thoughtful tracklisting create an album that continues to resonate long after the initial shock and awe of the first listen.
Far more than simply a thrilling exploitation of sound from traditional instruments,"Black Angels: Thirteen Images from the Dark Land" is an elegant composition by a 20th-century maverick, a work that intertwines themes of war, hope, and humanity pushed to its earthly and spiritual limits. The impact on my mind was explosive, shattering preconceived notions and expectations of what instrumental music could be at the end of the 20th Century.
Following Crumb's Vietnam War-inspired title track, the Kronos Quartet's interpretations span centuries and continents. From the 16th-century English Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis to Hungarian composer István Márta, American modernist Charles Ives, and Soviet-era composer Dmitri Shostakovich, the album's thematic unity of war and "man's inhumanity to man" resonates across time and geography, forming a bold, intense, and visionary 62-minute journey.
The Kronos Quartet's adventurous spirit and imaginative approach to these works, their innovative use of the recording studio, and techniques more akin to contemporary guitar and electronic music than classical traditions, make "Black Angels" a touchstone for me. The sublime programming and thoughtful tracklisting create an album that continues to resonate long after the initial shock and awe of the first listen.
It remains harrowing, haunting, truthful, dark, beautiful, and profoundly moving.
Turn it up and enjoy/endure.
Stephen Gallagher's page at Air Edel, with links to his music and bio, can be found here
Stephen Gallagher's page at Air Edel, with links to his music and bio, can be found here