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floatyhippyflower

floatyhippyflower

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Kolob, in the twinkling of an eye.
Arvo Pärt gush du jour.

floatyhippyflower said:
In recent years, I found myself returning to this recording more and more. With orchestration being flexible and the soloist rendition featuring additional embellishment, there are plenty of opportunities to personalise and I rate a satisfying number, the Kronos Quartet on Winter Was Hard being a heartbreaking example of its more reverent incarnation (will post underneath). I prefer Little's take on this one, however, including others that also feature violin. Occasionally I still go hunting for new-to-me versions, but it has imprinted so deeply now that none of them ever come close. The sounds she wrings out of that instrument with such delicacy and violence transport me to...I don't know...elsewhere. There are no words for it. Exquisite performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4u2lvWhpdw

Kronos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-Lm-B94F6s
Click to expand...
Further to the above, another recent binge led me to this, which combines solo violin and chamber ensemble rather than piano. I like the combination very much, especially those moments where the violin is absorbed into the collective timbre, but then reemerges as its own voice again, e.g. @1m50s onwards. The intensity of the soloist is also very captivating to watch. And if Little's mid-section feels like skin and souls being torn asunder, all rough and ragged with no rhyme or reason, at 6m10s, Meyers' version amounts to an outright razor slice, both beautifully violent in their own ways. It will never be my faveyfave, but fair play to 'em. This is a great performance.

 
floatyhippyflower

floatyhippyflower

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Tezza this evening. As usual, it started with Cadenza (original 80s version), which is my all-time favourite of his, also of Kronos. If I have to take an early train, it is one of my go tos. I thought I'd posted it, but apparently not. Worth noting that whoever was kind enough to upload this movement messed up the title - it should read, Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector.



Working my way through some other odds and sods as the fancy takes me - just had a couple from Les Yeux, now playing The Harp of New Albion. I don't own a hard copy of this, but might have to add one to the list, as it has become something of staple whenever I sit down to a bit of Riley in recent times. If the piano tuning sounds a bit 'off', that's because he was fond of the just scale.



But pick a Tezza, any Tezza (and please do if you have a fave). Don't think I've ever met one I didn't like. Gutted to have missed his last couple of tours, as he's gotta be pushing ninety now and I have this awful feeling I might not get the chance again. Legend.
 
floatyhippyflower

floatyhippyflower

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Further to a previous comment about the just scale, I ended up here eventually. Apologies to anyone that remembers Twentieth Century for whom Harrison will amount to a repeat post - pretty sure Revelation went in there at some point. Hard to pick a favourite as I feel the album works best as a whole, so am posting as such this time round. That said, Homage to La Monte is worth noting within the context of a follow-up to Riley, because if this refers to La Monte Young as I suspect, they are pretty much the grandaddies of twentieth century minimalism with firm fingers in aleatoric and avant-garde pies, therefore a nice nod to Harrison's influences. I also really like Tone Cloud II for its unabashed neo-classicism while still sounding a bit 'off' due to the tuning and final track, Tone Cloud IV, albeit as much for its length (and by extension invitation to drift) as any musical content. Lovely stuff.

 
floatyhippyflower

floatyhippyflower

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My memory is shit and I should have shared this as soon as I got wind of it, even if the chance that anyone else will be interested seems remote. It's a reimagining of Pina Bausch's seminal choreography for Rite of Spring. Maybe update is a more accurate word? Anyway. The planned tour was cancelled due to coronavirus, so this filming of a dress rehearsal on the beaches of Senegal was released instead. For a fiver, you get two days unlimited viewing up to and including the 31st, hence lamenting the delay in posting. It's very similar to the original, which I'll post underneath - somewhat less visceral perhaps, but this was offset by the beautiful setting and natural light, both of which really added something unique to the performance for me. If it came out on disk, I would not hesitate to buy it and hope they are able to reschedule the tour in future, so I can see it in the flesh. Haunting stuff.

www.sadlerswells.com

Dancing at Dusk - a moment with Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring - Sadler's Wells Theatre

Dancing at Dusk - a moment with Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring
www.sadlerswells.com www.sadlerswells.com

 
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