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Meredith Monk's Songs of Ascension is made up of 21 relatively short movements for ensembles of voices or instruments or combinations of both, in groupings as straightforward as a string quartet and as complex as the mix of 12 virtuoso vocal soloists, strings, bass clarinet, and percussion. The unity of the material may not be apparent on first hearing, but Monk helps orient the listener with her titles; there are three related movements with the title "Clusters," four with "Variations" (one for each season), two with "Strand," and a "Mapping" and "Mapping Continued." In his insightful program notes, Kyle Gann comments that Monk's music sounds "not avant-garde, but ancient… not minimalist but like an invented folk tradition," and that Monk herself "sounds less like the sophisticated New York composer she is than like a shaman, some Druid priestess… whose music has somehow come down to us in a miraculous state of preservation." That imagery does certainly capture something of the intensely evocative, primordial quality that makes Monk's music so distinctive. It is potent testimony to the fertility of her imagination that even after a very productive lifetime of exploring non-traditional uses of the voice, she continues to astonish and dazzle with new vocal sounds, nowhere more evident than in her solo, "Fathom," the CD's penultimate track.
The album was recorded in a studio, but Songs of Ascension was conceived and created as a site-specific work, to be performed on the staircase of an eight-story circular tower in Sonoma, CA, designed by artist Ann Hamilton. Something may have been lost in transferring the piece from its original, unique sonic environment, but what's added is the massed power of the Montclair State University Singers, who bring an awesome monumentality to the final movement. Monk also marshals a broad range of new music virtuosi: the members of her own ensemble, the singers of the M6, and the Todd Reynolds Quartet. Produced by ECM's legendary Manfred Eicher, the album's sound is immaculate, warm, and immediate. Highly recommended, especially for Monk's fans and anyone who loves innovative vocal music.
© Stephen Eddins /TiVo
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Clusters 1 (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Courtney Orlando, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Ha Yang Kim, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Strand (Gathering) (Monk, Meredith)
Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, Voices, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Bruce Rameker, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Katie Geissinger, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ching Gonzalez, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Allison Sniffin, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ellen Fisher, Voices, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Winter Variation (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Courtney Orlando, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - John Hollenbeck, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Bohdan Hilash, Bass Clarinet, AssociatedPerformer - Ha Yang Kim, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Cloud Code (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Courtney Orlando, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, Voices, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Bruce Rameker, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Katie Geissinger, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ching Gonzalez, Percussion, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Bohdan Hilash, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Allison Sniffin, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Ha Yang Kim, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Peter Sciscioli, Voices, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Shift (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Courtney Orlando, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - John Hollenbeck, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Bohdan Hilash, Bass Clarinet, AssociatedPerformer - Ha Yang Kim, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Mapping (Monk, Meredith)
Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, Voices, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - John Hollenbeck, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Ching Gonzalez, Voices, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Summer Variation (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Courtney Orlando, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - John Hollenbeck, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Bruce Rameker, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Katie Geissinger, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Bohdan Hilash, Bass Clarinet, AssociatedPerformer - Ha Yang Kim, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Vow (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Katie Geissinger, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Mieke van Hoek, ComposerLyricist - Ha Yang Kim, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Clusters 2 (Monk, Meredith)
Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Heather J. Buchanan, Conductor, Chorus Conductor - M6, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Montclair State University Singers, Chorus, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Falling (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Courtney Orlando, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, Voices, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - John Hollenbeck, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Bruce Rameker, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Katie Geissinger, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ching Gonzalez, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Allison Sniffin, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ellen Fisher, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ha Yang Kim, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Burn (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Courtney Orlando, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, Voices, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Bruce Rameker, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Katie Geissinger, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Toby Newman, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Emily Eagen, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ching Gonzalez, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Bohdan Hilash, Bass Clarinet, AssociatedPerformer - Allison Sniffin, Violin, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ellen Fisher, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Sidney Chen, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ha Yang Kim, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Peter Sciscioli, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Sasha Bogdanowitsch, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Holly Nadal, Voices, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Strand (Inner Psalm) (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Courtney Orlando, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, Voices, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - John Hollenbeck, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Bruce Rameker, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Katie Geissinger, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ching Gonzalez, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Bohdan Hilash, Bass Clarinet, AssociatedPerformer - Allison Sniffin, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ellen Fisher, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ha Yang Kim, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Peter Sciscioli, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Holly Nadal, Voices, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Autumn Variation (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Courtney Orlando, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - John Hollenbeck, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Bohdan Hilash, Alto Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Ha Yang Kim, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Ledge Dance (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Courtney Orlando, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Heather J. Buchanan, Conductor, Chorus Conductor - M6, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Katie Geissinger, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Bohdan Hilash, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Allison Sniffin, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Montclair State University Singers, Chorus, AssociatedPerformer - Ha Yang Kim, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Traces (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Courtney Orlando, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Ha Yang Kim, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Respite (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Courtney Orlando, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, Voices, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - John Hollenbeck, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Bruce Rameker, Percussion, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Katie Geissinger, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Ching Gonzalez, Percussion, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Bohdan Hilash, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Allison Sniffin, Percussion, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ellen Fisher, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Ha Yang Kim, Cello, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Mapping Continued (Monk, Meredith)
Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, Voices, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Bruce Rameker, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ching Gonzalez, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Allison Sniffin, Voices, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Clusters 3 (Hilash, Bohdan)
Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel - Bohdan Hilash, Woodwinds, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Spring Variation (Monk, Meredith)
Todd Reynolds, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Courtney Orlando, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nadia Sirota, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - John Hollenbeck, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Bruce Rameker, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Katie Geissinger, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ching Gonzalez, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Bohdan Hilash, Bass Clarinet, AssociatedPerformer - Allison Sniffin, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Ha Yang Kim, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Peter Sciscioli, Voices, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Fathom (Monk, Meredith)
Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, Percussion, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Ascent (Monk, Meredith)
Paul Zinman, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James A. Farber, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Manfred Eicher, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Meredith Monk, Mixer, Voices, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Heather J. Buchanan, Conductor, Chorus Conductor - The Todd Reynolds Quartet, String Quartet, AssociatedPerformer - Vocal Ensemble, Ensemble - M6, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Montclair State University Singers, Chorus, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
Album review
Meredith Monk's Songs of Ascension is made up of 21 relatively short movements for ensembles of voices or instruments or combinations of both, in groupings as straightforward as a string quartet and as complex as the mix of 12 virtuoso vocal soloists, strings, bass clarinet, and percussion. The unity of the material may not be apparent on first hearing, but Monk helps orient the listener with her titles; there are three related movements with the title "Clusters," four with "Variations" (one for each season), two with "Strand," and a "Mapping" and "Mapping Continued." In his insightful program notes, Kyle Gann comments that Monk's music sounds "not avant-garde, but ancient… not minimalist but like an invented folk tradition," and that Monk herself "sounds less like the sophisticated New York composer she is than like a shaman, some Druid priestess… whose music has somehow come down to us in a miraculous state of preservation." That imagery does certainly capture something of the intensely evocative, primordial quality that makes Monk's music so distinctive. It is potent testimony to the fertility of her imagination that even after a very productive lifetime of exploring non-traditional uses of the voice, she continues to astonish and dazzle with new vocal sounds, nowhere more evident than in her solo, "Fathom," the CD's penultimate track.
The album was recorded in a studio, but Songs of Ascension was conceived and created as a site-specific work, to be performed on the staircase of an eight-story circular tower in Sonoma, CA, designed by artist Ann Hamilton. Something may have been lost in transferring the piece from its original, unique sonic environment, but what's added is the massed power of the Montclair State University Singers, who bring an awesome monumentality to the final movement. Monk also marshals a broad range of new music virtuosi: the members of her own ensemble, the singers of the M6, and the Todd Reynolds Quartet. Produced by ECM's legendary Manfred Eicher, the album's sound is immaculate, warm, and immediate. Highly recommended, especially for Monk's fans and anyone who loves innovative vocal music.
© Stephen Eddins /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 21 track(s)
- Total length: 01:07:26
- Main artists: Meredith Monk
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: ECM New Series
- Genre: Classical
© 2011 ECM Records GmbH ℗ 2011 ECM Records GmbH
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