It was thirty years ago today: Kronos Quartet's album Black Angels, featuring composer George Crumb’s title piece, was released on Nonesuch. Kronos's connection to the piece dates back to the ensemble's origins when, in 1973, violinist David Harrington was inspired to form the group after hearing the work. Crumb's piece sets a powerful tone for the collection, which addresses the political, physical, and spiritual consequences of war, and includes works by Tallis, Ives, Shostakovich, and Istvan Marta. "As a piece of music, George Crumb's Black Angels remains at the heart of Kronos," Harrington says in a new short film about the album you can watch here. "It seems as relevant today as it did in 1973. As an album, Black Angels set our course for the next thirty years and beyond."
It was thirty years ago today: Kronos Quartet's album Black Angels, featuring composer George Crumb’s title piece, was released on Nonesuch Records. Kronos's connection to the piece dates back to the ensemble's origins when, in 1973, violinist David Harrington was inspired to form the group after hearing the highly unorthodox work. Crumb's piece, called "an unusually elevated and searing Vietnam War protest" by the New York Times, sets a dark, powerful tone for the collection, which addresses the political, physical, and spiritual consequences of war. The album includes works by Tallis, Ives, Shostakovich, and Istvan Marta, and made the Evening Standard's list of the 100 Definitive Classical CDs of the 20th Century. To coincide with its thirtieth anniversary comes a new mini-documentary about the piece and the recording, made by Robert Edridge-Waks, which you can watch below.
"As a piece of music, George Crumb's Black Angels remains at the heart of Kronos," says Harrington in the film. "It seems as relevant today as it did in 1973. As an album, Black Angels set our course for the next thirty years and beyond."
To download or listen to Black Angels, click here.
- Log in to post comments
