Guitar Soli

Guitar Soli

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Robbie Basho, a guitarist active in the 1960s who passed away in 1986, played his instrument with what you might call a visceral spirituality: his music is spooky, intense, and experimental at the same time that it is soothing and transportive. Listening to his music, one is keenly aware of the sound of his fingers as they mellifluously pick and strum, and of the strange tunings at work, but one is also carried out of body. Really. Basho has been called "the father of New Age guitar," but why anyone would want to blame this subtle and masterful musician for the sins of his followers is a mystery. This is an excellent compilation of Basho's early work from the mid-'60s--it steers mercifully clear of Basho's whistling and bizarre "singing," for instance. Nothing from either of the long out-of-print, late-'60s Falconer's Arm albums was included, which is unfortunate as they are likely his most intense recordings (perhaps they will be issued as a disc of their own?). Basho's genre-bending acoustic guitar playing is on the surface similar to the work of John Fahey, Sandy Bull, and Rick Bishop, but his music is highly original, and demands to be heard. --Mike McGonigal

Tracks:

Joy To The World
What Child Is This?
Medley: Hark, The Herald Angels Sing/O Come All Ye Faithful
Auld Lang Syne
The Bells Of St. Mary's
Good King Wenceslas
We Three Kings Of Orient Are
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Fantasy
The First Noel
Christ's Saints Of God Fantasy
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Go I Will Send Thee
Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming
Silent Night, Holy Night
Oh Holy Night
Christmas Medley: Oh Tannenbaum/Angels We Have Heard On High/Jingle Bells
Russian Christmas Overture
White Christmas
Carol Of Bells
Christmas Fantasy - Part II

Amazon.com

John Fahey has made a habit of recording a new album of Christmas music every five or six years, but The New Possibility, which was originally released in 1968, is still his best. On it, Fahey has pulled off the near miraculous feat of taking old holiday chestnuts like "Joy to the World" and "It Came upon a Midnight Clear" and making them sound fresh. When he plays a Travis-picking version of "O Come All Ye Faithful" or he recasts "Silent Night, Holy Night" as bottleneck blues, you get the feeling Fahey is treating the music with respect rather then piety. Also included in this reissue are six tracks from his 1975 release Christmas with John Fahey, Vol. II. The songs feature some nice duets with Rick Ruskin, but the arrangements lack some of the quirkiness that made The New Possibility sound unique. This isn't Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas," but it is a modern holiday classic nonetheless. --Michael Simmons

Customer Reviews:

superb.......2007-01-15

this is an intimate recording of adventureous guitar-playing. Through the sparse instrumentation the christmas-spirit is even enhanced making this a perfect match for people dispising the normal christmas jangling but still are able to open up themselves to the meaning and feeling of christmas

Easy Listening.......2007-01-10

I had this album years ago on tape and somehow I lost it (or loaned it). I really missed it and one day when I was browsing Amazon.com music section there it was, what a great service Amazon provides. Three days later I am listening to it on my home stereo, amazing! Any way this is a great Christmas Album, great background music when you have guests over for the holidays, intellectual but not dominating. Instramental.

Caveat Emptor: This Album is NOT as Advertised.......2006-12-05

Please beware: although the Amazon site lists 20 songs on this album, in fact it only contains songs 13-20. I discovered this when I received the album and opened it. I immediately noticed the disk itself said Vol. II. So I started looking for Vol. I, which was nowhere to be found. Finally, I discovered some tiny, tiny print on the back on the album that said something to the effect that, due to "time limitations" only Vol. II could be included on this CD. Wow! I am sure Amazon did not intentionally mislead its customers, but you will be sorely disappointed if you are expecting to receive an album with 20 songs on it. If this had been Vol. I, I would have kept it; but the songs I really wanted were the first 12, so I returned it.

John Fahey makes the impossible actual.......2006-06-26

This is one of the most improbable great albums ever released. If there is one indisputable fact it is that almost all of the standard Christmas hymns and carols are tired and stale and simply worn out. But if you think you've heard "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" a few times too many, you need to hear John Fahey do it. On song after song he plays a version that seems to bring out all of the beauty that has been hidden for longer than any of us can remember. "What Child Is This?" becomes one of the most beautiful melodies you can think of. And his "Auld Lang Syne" will bring tears to your eyes. "The Bells of St. Mary's" is another gem, but the real miracle on the album might be what he does to "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman," to which he gives a bluesy turn.

By any standard John Fahey was one of the great guitarists of the past half-century. He was a true innovator, applying with astonishing musical sophistication finger picking to a staggering range of material that had been completely neglected by previous guitarists. Although Fahey was technically a brilliant guitarist, his work always seems as much the product of a brilliant musicologist as a musician. He almost certainly knew more about musical theory than any other guitarist who played a steel string guitar. He also developed a style whereby he would sometimes play slightly behind the tempo, giving his compositions a highly unique lilt. If you listen to his most famous disciple, Leo Kottke, and Fahey back to back, you will see how Fahey played as if he were almost reluctant to release the notes, whereas Kottke is always rushing forward.

If the album has a fault, it is a tiny one. There is perhaps less variation in the tempos of the various songs than one might wish. Any individual song can be extremely moving played entirely on its own, but if you play the album as a whole, it can begin to get a tiny bit tiresome. Interestingly about the only song on the album I don't love is his version of Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song." It is played magnificently, but it just doesn't lend itself to Fahey's style.

John Fahey was not, as far as I know, a traditionally religious man. Perhaps I am mistaken. But assuming that he was not, one thing that has always struck me about his playing was the dignity he bestowed on religious songs. If you listen to his version of "In Christ There is No East or West," which can most easily be found on his superb anthology RETURN OF THE OPPRESSED, there isn't the hint of irony. Much like the respect with which Gram Parsons accorded the Louvin Brothers' great song "The Christian Life," the most devout believer could not play the song with more reverence. So with the songs on this album. I'll close by stating that if you can get only one Christmas album, get this one; and if you don't think you need a Christmas album, get this anyway, just for the sheer beauty of the music and the playing.

One of my all-time favorites for Christmas.......2004-12-25

Unadorned by overly lush instrumentation, one can really enjoy these Christmas songs beautifully played on the guitar. I like this better than his "Christmas With John Fahey Vol. 2." Somehow "The New Possibility" just resonates in a way that takes familiar songs and makes them new again.
This one is special and everyone should have a copy with their Christmas music collections. If you like classical guitar or fingerpicking, try this one.

Average customer rating:

early acoustic global fusion
5 Stars for the Good Stuff; Listen with Interest to the Bad
Expression is the Aim
All Thumbs Down
Not very accessible, but quite creative

Guitar Soli
Robbie Basho
Manufacturer: Takoma
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

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Bashovia
Re-Inventions: Best Of The Vanguard Years
Venus in Cancer
The Thing at the Nursery Room Window
E Pluribus Unum

ASIN: B000003Z94
Release Date: 1996-09-03

Tracks:

Seal Of The Blue Lotus
Mountain Man's Farewell
Dravidian Sunday
The Grail And The Lotus
The Dharma Prince
Oriental Love Song
Sansara In Sweetness After Sandstorm
Salangadou
The Golden Shamrock
Street Dakini
Chung Mei-The Chinese Orchid

Amazon.com

Robbie Basho, a guitarist active in the 1960s who passed away in 1986, played his instrument with what you might call a visceral spirituality: his music is spooky, intense, and experimental at the same time that it is soothing and transportive. Listening to his music, one is keenly aware of the sound of his fingers as they mellifluously pick and strum, and of the strange tunings at work, but one is also carried out of body. Really. Basho has been called "the father of New Age guitar," but why anyone would want to blame this subtle and masterful musician for the sins of his followers is a mystery. This is an excellent compilation of Basho's early work from the mid-'60s--it steers mercifully clear of Basho's whistling and bizarre "singing," for instance. Nothing from either of the long out-of-print, late-'60s Falconer's Arm albums was included, which is unfortunate as they are likely his most intense recordings (perhaps they will be issued as a disc of their own?). Basho's genre-bending acoustic guitar playing is on the surface similar to the work of John Fahey, Sandy Bull, and Rick Bishop, but his music is highly original, and demands to be heard. --Mike McGonigal

Customer Reviews:

early acoustic global fusion.......2006-11-07

Tune your guitar to all kinds of tunings, and improvise music that incorporates tonalities and phrases from countries all across the globe.
Recently discovering that Robbie Basho pioneered it several decades ago was encouraging. This is the kind of thing I have been doing for about ten years and I thought maybe I was just a lone nut.
This would be a better album if the guitar sounded like it was in tune. Sometimes it sounds way off. But, I guess when you are accessing higher levels of creativity with rusty old strings in a tree house, perfection is not the key. The moment and the energy are.

5 Stars for the Good Stuff; Listen with Interest to the Bad.......2003-03-31

If this were to be just a successful "listen" album, it should probably have only 6 cuts, but they would be ones of absolutely unique and strange beauty. No one had ever treated the folk steel-string guitar like this before Robbie.

There are several truly atrocious pieces on this album. But keep in mind that all of the music comes from his earliest recordings. To understand what is going on here, remember Robbie's own guiding axiom: "Vision first, technique second". You are listening to a kind of musical record of one man's inner spiritual journey, someone whose soul expanded with visions from India, Tibet, China, Iran, Armenia. So, to the reviewer who trashed this album, I would say: you have missed a rare glimpse into the creative process itself, what jazz musician's call "deep in the shed", LONG before it gets polished and prettified for public consumption.

I agree pretty much whole-heartedly with the review Amazon put up top. Even as a student and colleague of Robbie's, I always felt his later music suffered from his terrible "purple poetry" and an unmastered overuse of his wonderful voice. However, on "Guitar Soli", you will enjoy perhaps the one greatest piece where his voice rose in perfect, even eerie, integration with its musical form in the song, "Salangadou". And I am hoping that several of these pieces can get transcribed into sheet music for later generations, as they are a great contribution to the body of music for the guitar.

And reviewer Mike McGonigal's wish came true: some of Robbie's greates later pieces have been reissued on "Bashovia".

Expression is the Aim.......2001-11-06

Robbie Basho is always lumped in with Leo Kottke and John Fahey since he shared the Takoma label and was an innovative talent himself, however it's not fair to compare Robbie Basho to either aforementioned guitarist. Basho has been referred to as "psychedelic" and "spiritual". His compositions don't draw on the same roots as Kottke or Fahey, and though his raw passionate sound certainly parallels the power of Kottke's plucking and Fahey's experimental out standings, Basho still traverses a land all his own. True, Basho may be an acquired taste especially when one is familiar with the precision of Kottke, as precision wasn't Basho's aim--expression was. Basho had a punk attitude; he was more interested in making the music then making it "technical". In a sense he comes off as more an idealist and romantic than Kottke, and not as spiritually gimmicky, for lack of a better term, as Fahey.

Kottke and Fahey aside. Let's look at Basho. This CD represents a good sampling of his earliest recorded work, it's very raw and edgy and when Basho "sings" (in tongues) or whistles it's eerie but beautiful. Basho's later works are more accomplished in the traditional guitarist sense, but to me less interesting and less obviously innovative than his first few recordings. Basho is endlessly experimental and endlessly expressive. You'll here subtle ambient sounds behind his guitar like bells and chimes. It sounds authentic; one can imagine sitting on a monastery porch next to the guitarist in some far away Eastern land.

And I don't know this for sure, but I get the sense that Basho improvises some of the material, there seems to be a basic structure that he will work around, but I imagine he throws in alterations to some degree each time he plays a composition. Again something I don't think Kottke or Fahey would do as freely.

This is good music, and thoughtful music. It's really one of a kind. Guitar Soli is a fine place to start, and if you become more interested then look into some of the other recent CD reissues, or search for the used LPs. And a little word of advice, don't listen to Basho the same way you would Kottke, you know in your car cruising on the highway with the windows open and Busted Bicycle roaring through the speakers--well anyway that's what I like to do. This is a different kind of music, and you have to respect that. This is almost ambient, put it on at night, light some candles and incense, read, or write, or just relax, have some tea. Take it easy and enjoy.

All Thumbs Down.......2000-12-21

Whilst Leo Kottke plays guitar like a man with three hands and John Fahey like a man with at least 11 or 12 fingers, Robbie Basho plays like a man with about eight thumbs. That this kind of tuneless twanging should be mentioned in the same breath as anything by Kottke or Fahey (or Peter Lang) is puzzling to say the least. But, credit where credit's due: it's not easy to make an acoustic guitar sound this unpleasant.

Not very accessible, but quite creative.......2000-05-24

I don't listen to Robbie Basho very often, but I respect him enormously. He does, as other reviewers have indicated, have an uncanny ability to make his guitar sound like a sitar. Technically, he was virtually without peer. Compositionally, he was inconsistent. At his best, he flowed evenly between meditative ragas and oddly pleasing dissonance. At his worst, he sounded like he was just banging away randomly on his guitar. For those looking for a more accessible blending of eastern and western sounds, Sandy Bull played a more accessible blend (in fact, several pieces that he explicitly called, "Blends") which is not as technically impressive, but is far more fluid, and Ry Cooder and VM Bhatt's collaboration (A Meeting By the River), while I find it a bit boring, may be more to the liking of those who like their music dissonance-free. Incidentally, occasionally, Basho tried to sing, which was a dreadful mistake, but those tracks can be skipped.

The New Possibility: John Fahey's Guitar Soli Christmas Album/Christmas with John Fahey, Vo

Average customer rating:

One of My All Time Favorite Christmas Albums

The New Possibility: John Fahey's Guitar Soli Christmas Album/Christmas with John Fahey, Vo
John Fahey
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

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Rhino Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

General Christmas | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music
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The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick
The John Fahey Christmas Album
The Legend of Blind Joe Death

ASIN: B000008FH8
Release Date: 1993-09-21

Tracks:

Joy to the World
What Child Is This?
Medley: Hark, the Herald Angels Sing/O Come All Ye Faithful
Auld Lang Syne
Bells of St. Mary's
Good King Wenceslas
We Three Kings of Orient Are
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Fantasy
First Noel
Christ's Saints of God Fantasy
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Go I Will Send Thee
Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
Silent Night
O Holy Night
Christmas Medley: Oh Tannenbaum/Angels We Have Heard on ...
Russian Christmas Overture
White Christmas
Carol of the Bells
Christmas Fantasy, Pt. 2

Customer Reviews:

One of My All Time Favorite Christmas Albums.......2006-02-12

The Music of Milton Babbitt: Premiere Works

Average customer rating:

swan Song No.1 is the overwhelming highlight for me
Challenging music

The Music of Milton Babbitt: Premiere Works

Manufacturer: Bridge Records, Inc.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Occasional Variations
Babbitt: Concerto For Piano And Orchestra/The Head Of The Bed
Babbitt: Soli e Duettini
Milton Babbitt: Philomel
The Music of Elliott Carter Vol. 7; Boston Concerto, Cello Concerto, ASKO Concerto, Dialogues

ASIN: B0000D8I12
Release Date: 2003-09-30

Tracks:

Quatrains (1993)
Manifold Music (1995)
My Ends Are My Beginnings (1978)
My Ends Are My Beginnings (1978)
My Ends Are My Beginnings (1978)
Soli e Duettini (1989)
Swan Song No. 1 (2003)

Album Description

Milton Babbitt remains a controversial figure on today's musical scene, with his ideas more frequently discussed than his music is actually listened to. This recording contains the premiere recordings of five Babbitt works that span a quarter of a century. The CD opens with a performance of Babbitt's exquisite "Quatrains", sung by the brilliant young American soprano, Tony Arnold. Set to a text by a Babbitt favorite-John Hollander-"Quatrains" is a work of great delicacy and subtlety. "Manifold Music" shows Babbitt adapting his language to the organ in a most original manner. Exploiting the instrument's potential for colorful registration, Babbitt's demanding score is a spectacular workout for the hands and feet of organ virtuoso, Gregory D'Agostino. "My Ends Are My Beginnings" has, since its composition in 1978, been regarded by many as one of most difficult-to-play works for a solo woodwind instrument. The work's dedicatee, Allen Blustine (long-time clarinetist! for Speculum Musicae), gives a heroic reading of this 17 minute solo. "Soli e Duettini" is one of three works with this title. This work, for two guitars, is played by dedicatees William Anderson and Oren Fader. (This premiere recording was previously issued on BRIDGE 9042). The final work is Babbitt's just completed "Swan Song No. 1". It is a remarkable composition for the unusual combination of flute, oboe, mandolin, guitar, violin and cello. CD Annotator Matthias Kriesberg writes, "The experience of hearing Milton Babbitt, who for so long played off the boundaries of musical dimensions against one another, now reign in the extremes so dramatically as to focus the ear on the centered drama of calm voices interacting, is certainly extraordinary. But should we really be surprised? After all, there is a long, rich history of composers who, having definitively proven their ability to wrest music in an entirely new direction, turned their attention inward, ever inward, to contemplate that place, in the words of W.B. Yeats, `where all the ladders start.'"

Customer Reviews:

swan Song No.1 is the overwhelming highlight for me.......2006-01-16

By a hairs breath,this disc has the edge on the recently issued Naxos compilation of Babbitt's music.
The composers word setting is shown to brilliant advantage in Quatrains (1993):a nice balance between exquisite moment to moment detail and sense of whole.Tony Arnold is the expert and characterful soprano.There's real passion here.
Manifold Music (1983)might be the most controversial piece on the disc as the organ isn't the instrument which springs to mind when one thinks of Babbitt's penchant for finely tuned dynamic shadings and deft figuration.However,repeated hearings reveal that unmistakable wit and astute sense of pitch shining through.There's also a sense of the perverse in the textural problems,a real sense of struggle.
My Ends are my Beginnings (1978)is a very subtle work which i find harder to get a hold of...plenty of delicious detail to savour but it's a very abstract journey and one longs for more contrast between the three movements.Certainly,Allen Blustine seems to have the measure of this 16minute piece.
Soli e Duettini (1989)falls into the same category of cool abstraction which doesn't quite take off.
Swan Song no.1 (2003)is the overwhelming winner for me.Nothing in the least bit resigned about this capricious little gem.
There seem to be some teasing references to Stavinsky's Agon at the beginning and some beautifully judged unisons and moments of genuine warmth (eg.01:19)
Excellent programme notes are another added advantage over the obscure/self indulgent prose on the Naxos disc.

Challenging music.......2005-11-07

Briefly, Babbitt is one tough nut but once his music has been cracked it's a wonderful experience. This is an excellent collection of pieces that are more easily related to because of the instruments used--you want to listen and understand. There's no way to describe Babbit's music (most attempts--pro and con--seem to miss the mark), an explorer simply has to take the plunge somewhere. This is a good place to start.

Note to the record label--THIS IS WITHOUT QUESTION THE WORST ALBUM COVER IN THE LONG HISTORY OF RECORDED AND MARKETED ART MUSIC. GENERALLY, YOUR GRAPHICS ARE SIMPLY TERRIBLE ANYWAY BUT THIS PARTICULAR RELEASE TAKES THE GRAND PRIZE. ITS HIDEOUS, GROTESQUE, OFF-PUTTING, AND DAMNED UGLY. IT'S DIFFICULT RECOMMENDING SUCH A VISUALLY VILE THING. PLEASE TRY TO FIND BETTER GRAPHIC ARTISTS, IT WILL HELP YOUR SALES!

Soli Deo Gloria the Music of Bach & Others

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Soli Deo Gloria the Music of Bach & Others

Manufacturer: Eroica
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CAF2EC
Release Date: 2004-11-23

Average customer rating:

Excellent Disc

New Music with Guitar, Vol.5

Manufacturer: Bridge
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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New Music with Guitar: Selected Works

ASIN: B000003GJ0
Release Date: 1995-02-13

Tracks:

Zingari: Fortuneteller
Zingari: Two Thieves
Zingari: Call Of The Maiden's Name
Zingari: Play Of The Sixes
Zingari: Firefeast For St. Sara
Setting
Soli E Duettini - William Anderson/Oren Fader
Cross Currents: 1. Alternating - Matthew Elgart/Peter Yates
Cross Currents: 2. Interlude - Matthew Elgart/Peter Yates
Cross Currents: 3. Undulating - Matthew Elgart/Peter Yates
The Behaviour Of Mirrors - Todd Seelye
Synchronisms #10

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Disc.......2000-10-15

This is a fabulous disc from an important series--New Music With Guitar. The Babbitt guitar duo entitled Soli e Duettini is fabulous, a must-hear for Babbitt fans. I also like the the Roger Reynolds piece - On the Behavior of Mirrors. Davidovsky's Syncronism is a very important work for guitar and tape, beautifully played by the master, David Starobin. The Mel Powell piece is another very important new addition to the guitar repertoire. The John Anthony Lennon piece was a bit disappointing--it doesn't live up to what one expects after hearing Lennon's great guitar solo, Another's Fandango. The Elgart-Yates duo give a fabulous performance of Cross Currents by Flaherty.

The New Possibility: Guitar Soli Christmas Album

Average customer rating:

The New Possibility: Guitar Soli Christmas Album

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Alternative Folk | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0006U29R6

Average customer rating:

Guitar Soli
Robbie Basho
Manufacturer: Ace/Takoma
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000007XE4
Release Date: 1997-02-03

Tracks:

Seal of the Blue Lotus
Mountain Man's Farewell
Dravidian Sunday
Grail and the Lotus
Dharma Prince
Oriental Love Song
Sansara in Sweetness After Sandstorm
Salangadou
Golden Shamrock
Street Dakini
Chung Mei - The Chinese Orchid

Babbitt: Around The Horn/Four Cavalier Settings/None But The Lonely Flute/Whirled Series/Homily/Beaten Paths/Play It

Average customer rating:

envoi for beauty ;combinatorial solo integrative complexity
Moving works by an American Icon
Rich musical spaces laden with expressive possibilities
Outstanding
This is not music.

Babbitt: Around The Horn/Four Cavalier Settings/None But The Lonely Flute/Whirled Series/Homily/Beaten Paths/Play It

Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000001SIW
Release Date: 1996-07-23

Tracks:

Soli e Duettini: Around The Horn
Soli e Duettini: Around The Horn
Soli e Duettini: Four Cavalier Settings
Soli e Duettini: Four Cavalier Settings
Soli e Duettini: Four Cavalier Settings
Soli e Duettini: Four Cavalier Settings
Soli e Duettini: None But The Lonely Flute
Soli e Duettini: Whirled Series
Soli e Duettini: Homily
Soli e Duettini: Beaten Paths
Soli e Duettini: Play It Again, Sam
Soli e duettini

Tracks:

Soli e Duettini: Melismata
Soli e Duettini: On Having Been And Still Being An American Composer
Soli e Duettini: On Having Been And Still Being An American Composer

Customer Reviews:

envoi for beauty ;combinatorial solo integrative complexity.......2001-09-26

I've discovered Babbitt's oeuvre rather late,and I've missed quite a bit of wonderful moving impassioned, and above all conceptually stimulating pieces.
'around the horn' for french horn solo?, well there's not much written for this difficult instrument,Scelsi has a horn solo, but Babbitt's here is quite ambitious devouring itself over two movments,tossing itself into all registers. We sense immediately the spatial dimensions at work soft,'lontano' moments the closer ones,the distance the more gruff rough open timbres,the in-yer-face ones are louder.One aesthetic strategy of Babbitt is a keen nuanced appriasal of the creative potentials of register, high,middle low, or greater divisions,as for instance his piano solo literature. There is also marvelous mutings moments,with poetic like decrescendo envelopes. The work has a gentle beauty however fragmentized,it is still there.
I have a problem with all dodecaphonic music for the voice, I don't think much thought equals that pondered over pitch array configurations,rhythmic architecture,timbre. I think the primordial dimensions of the voice are/become(have been) compromised within this language. I've yet to hear any avant-garde voice work that grabs me be it Boulez, Carter, Shapey, oh perhaps Luigi Nono,but he was onto some other vocal dimensions.

"none but the lonely flute' is also a wonderful work played with great passion by Rachel Rudich. There must be literally hundreds of unaccompanied pieces for solo flute. So writing one that contributes profoundly to this well-trodden genre is like the eye of the needle. This solo also jumps registers tossing beautiful fragmentized lines into differing timbral fields; Fast, wistful, quicksilver,sinuous. Sorry the microphone-ing of the recording is poor. You hear all Rachel's breathing, and an overwhelming ambience, an opaque perceivability is unwantonly there.
"homily' is less effective, there is an art to writing for the solo drum, Stuart Sanders Smith had commissioned solo snare drum works from countless composers. This one is rather dull. Well Milton can't hit it every time up to the conceptual home plate.In
"play it again ,Sam" for marimba is not real Babbitt. The marimba is simply a powerful wonderful instrument to listen to and contemplate,it is deceiving,duplicitous, you can simply play a C major scale and it would have an intrigue about it..
The various 'soli e duettini', this one for the likely combination of flute and guitar works quite well. The guitar is here a real accompaniment. The flute dominates with the primary linear materials, like a tyranny here. Although Babbitt works his charms with exceptional beauty.
Disc 2 there occurs a lecture for which Babbitt finally straighthens everyone out about his nefarious uncelebrated/celebrated article in High Fidelity Mag. "Who Cares if You Listen". A title was chosen by the editor of the magazine, not Babbitt.Who has here a boring voice for reading his statement. Much better would have been a taped interview.
Well, we are all listening today, and I forgot who the editor was at the time, another mediacre tossed on the scrap heap of history.
The violin solo 'melsimata from' 1982 is also wonderful. Babbitt has revealed,his insterest in violin timbre in the "Sextets" and "The Joy of More Sextets".

Moving works by an American Icon.......2000-10-25

What a moving statement for Babbitt to make through his setting of To Sycamores--the last of his four Cavalier Settings. I'm sick of love; (and therefor life) O let me lie/ Under your shades, to sleep or die!/ Either is welcome, so I have/ Or here my bed or here my greave./ Why do you sigh, and sob, and keep/ Time with the tears that I do weep?/ Say, have ye sense, or do you prove/ What crucifixiouns are in love?/ I know ye do; and that's the why/ You sigh for love as well as I.

Knowing Babbitt's history, this is his love-weariness but also his war weariness. How tiresome defending his loves (his musical tastes and predelections, so loved by his fans and inscrubable to others).

I find Babbitt's setting terribly moving, and a most fitting end to what is one of the most extraordinary vocal works I've ever heard. It is played miraculously by William Anderson and Niel Farrel.

Having this insight into Babbitt's frame of mind at a certain age, the rest of the works resonate with the same fervent passion. Babbitt's music is about the fusion of the subjective and the objecticve. It is about the transcendence of that duality. His music would not work if not for the matching of rigor with an intense personal vantagepoint.

This disc is one of the most important discs now on the market.

Rich musical spaces laden with expressive possibilities.......2000-10-14

Babbitt's musical world is definitely difficult and, for some, completely inscrutable. As one of his biggest fans, I've learned to live peacefully with the reality that not everyone understands what Babbitt's music is all about. The most remarkable aspect of the music for me are those moments where the melody, which is exploded counterpoint, soars like a hang glider catching updrafts. The updrafts in this music consist of brilliant countrapuntal voice leading. This is a composer who knows about music and uses everything he knows in just the right places. His language is new, daring, and it has been constantly evolving throughout the course of his career.

Outstanding.......2000-09-23

This cd contains many of the finest performances that Mr. Babbitt's music has ever received. In particular, the treatment of Melsimata is what might be considered a definitive recording. Unlile performances of exceptionally difficult new works where the technical problems are naturally overlooked, Macomber sounds as fluid as if he were playing Mozart. I cannot say enough positive things about this music and this recording.

This is not music........2000-07-04

The plinks and plunks burned onto the CD in question are amusical (atonal) noises the likes of which I have heard from 2 year old children "playing" upon a piano. Let me qualify hat statement: I hear more music in the "playing" of the average 2 year old than I do in these "composed" pieces. Pieces of what? I think you can guess.