Early Music (Lachrymæ Antiquæ)
Encyclopedia
Early Music (the subtitle means "Ancient Tears" in Latin) is a studio album by the Kronos Quartet
, containing 21 compositions, many of which written, arranged, or transcribed for the quartet.
abbess
, poet
and composer
Kassia
; the most recent pieces are by the twentieth-century composers John Cage
, Alfred Schnittke
, and Arvo Pärt
. Arranging and selecting compositions from ten centuries of music was intended, according to David Harrington, the quartet's founder, "to find a way of relating vastly different pieces to one time, to find a place in time where the elements meet." Harrington described the contrast between old and new music as crucial to the quartet: "There are moments when the music could have come out of the Middle Ages; there are other moments when it sounds like it's coming out of the Vietnam War, let's say. That contrast is something we've been working with for a long time." Allan Kozinn, writing in The New York Times
, describes the album as a concept album
in which "the distinctions between old and new are blurred, and the effect is comforting rather than disconcerting."
(a string instrument related to the hurdy gurdy
). Chinese virtuoso musician Wu Man
plays two kinds of ruan
(a plucked lute
-like string instrument) on "Lachrymæ Antiquæ." Perhaps the most exotic instrumentation is found on "Uleg-Khem," a traditional Tuvan
song, where the quartet is accompanied by the Tuvan throat singers of Huun-Huur Tu, who also play igil
(a bowed string-instrument), bysaanchi (a cello
-like instrument), and doshpuluur
(a lyre
-like instrument).
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
, containing 21 compositions, many of which written, arranged, or transcribed for the quartet.
Compositions
The album contrasts adaptations for string quartet of music from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance with 20th century compositions. The earliest piece is by the ninth-century ByzantineByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
abbess
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Kassia
Kassia
Kassia was a Byzantine abbess, poet, composer, and hymnographer. She is one of the first medieval composers whose scores are both extant and able to be interpreted by modern scholars and musicians...
; the most recent pieces are by the twentieth-century composers John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, Alfred Schnittke
Alfred Schnittke
Alfred Schnittke ; November 24, 1934 – August 3, 1998) was a Russian and Soviet composer. Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony and First Concerto Grosso...
, and Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
. Arranging and selecting compositions from ten centuries of music was intended, according to David Harrington, the quartet's founder, "to find a way of relating vastly different pieces to one time, to find a place in time where the elements meet." Harrington described the contrast between old and new music as crucial to the quartet: "There are moments when the music could have come out of the Middle Ages; there are other moments when it sounds like it's coming out of the Vietnam War, let's say. That contrast is something we've been working with for a long time." Allan Kozinn, writing in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, describes the album as a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
in which "the distinctions between old and new are blurred, and the effect is comforting rather than disconcerting."
Instrumentation
As with many Kronos Quartet albums, the basic string quartet is augmented by various other, sometimes exotic instruments. The Swedish song "Längdans efter Byfåns Mats" features a bagpipe, and the traditional Swedish bridal march "Brudmarsch frå Östa" includes a nyckelharpaNyckelharpa
A nyckelharpa , sometimes called a keyed fiddle, is a traditional Swedish musical instrument. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string.The nyckelharpa is similar in appearance to a...
(a string instrument related to the hurdy gurdy
Hurdy gurdy
The hurdy gurdy or hurdy-gurdy is a stringed musical instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to a violin...
). Chinese virtuoso musician Wu Man
Wu Man
Wu Man is a Chinese pipa virtuoso and composer. Described as "the artist most responsible for bring the pipa to the Western World" by the Los Angeles Times, US-based, Chinese-born musician Wu Man has carved out a career creating and fostering projects that give this ancient Chinese instrument a...
plays two kinds of ruan
Ruan
The ruan is a Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a lute with a fretted neck, a circular body, and four strings. Its strings were formerly made of silk but since the 20th century they have been made of steel...
(a plucked lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
-like string instrument) on "Lachrymæ Antiquæ." Perhaps the most exotic instrumentation is found on "Uleg-Khem," a traditional Tuvan
Tuvans
Tuvans or Tuvinians are Turkic peoples living in southern Siberia. They are historically known as one of the Uriankhai, from the Mongolian designation...
song, where the quartet is accompanied by the Tuvan throat singers of Huun-Huur Tu, who also play igil
Igil
An igil is a two-stringed Tuvan musical instrument, played by bowing the strings. The neck and lute-shaped sound box are usually made of a solid piece of pine or larch. The top of the sound box may be covered with skin or a thin wooden plate...
(a bowed string-instrument), bysaanchi (a cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
-like instrument), and doshpuluur
Doshpuluur
The doshpuluur is a long-necked Tuvan lute made from wood, usually pine or larch. The doshpuluur is played by plucking and strumming....
(a lyre
Lyre
The lyre is a stringed musical instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later. The word comes from the Greek "λύρα" and the earliest reference to the word is the Mycenaean Greek ru-ra-ta-e, meaning "lyrists", written in Linear B syllabic script...
-like instrument).
Critical reception
Rick Anderson on Allmusic praises the album's "overriding mood...of sadness and devotion...Like most of Kronos' best work, this is dark, lovely, eerie stuff." The Jerusalem Post called it one of the most intriguing Kronos albums to date. Allan Kozinn featured it as a Critic's Choice in The New York Times.Track listing
Musicians
- David Harrington - violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- John Sherba - violin
- Hank Dutt - violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Joan Jeanrenaud - celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
Additional musicians
- Marja Mutru - harmoniumHarmoniumA harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
(1, 9, 15) - David Lamb - bagpipe (3)
- Wu Man - ruanRuanThe ruan is a Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a lute with a fretted neck, a circular body, and four strings. Its strings were formerly made of silk but since the 20th century they have been made of steel...
(4) - Olov Johansson - nyckelharpaNyckelharpaA nyckelharpa , sometimes called a keyed fiddle, is a traditional Swedish musical instrument. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string.The nyckelharpa is similar in appearance to a...
(10) - Judith Sherman - drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
(12) - Huun-Huur Tu (18):
- Kaigal-ool KhovalygKaigal-ool KhovalygKaigal-ool Khovalyg is a Tuvan throat singer and co-founder of the Tuvan music group Huun-Huur-Tu.A self-taught overtone singer, Khovalyg worked as a shepherd until the age of 21. His musical career began when he was invited to join the Tuvan State Ensemble. He settled in Kyzyl and started teaching...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, igilIgilAn igil is a two-stringed Tuvan musical instrument, played by bowing the strings. The neck and lute-shaped sound box are usually made of a solid piece of pine or larch. The top of the sound box may be covered with skin or a thin wooden plate... - Anatoly Kuular - vocals, bysaanchi
- Kongar-ool OndarKongar-ool OndarKongar-ol Ondar is a master Tuvan throat singer and a member of the Great Khural of Tuva. Ondar was born in 1962 near the Khemchik River in western Tuva. Considered a living treasure by the Republic of Tuva, Ondar is granted a stipend and an apartment for the musical skills he possesses...
- vocals, doshpuluurDoshpuluurThe doshpuluur is a long-necked Tuvan lute made from wood, usually pine or larch. The doshpuluur is played by plucking and strumming....
- Kaigal-ool Khovalyg