Requia
Encyclopedia
Requia is an album by American
fingerstyle guitar
ist and composer John Fahey
, released in 1968. It was the first of Fahey's two releases on the Vanguard
label.
and one on Riverboat Records, Fahey signed a two-album contract with Vanguard Records
, best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s. His manager at the time, Denny Bruce
, recalled that "His deal was that he could record for Takoma 'experimental records,' but to try and make commercial recordings for Vanguard, with their approval of the budget."
After beginning with three solo guitar pieces, the four-part "Requiem for Molly" begins with solo guitar interspersed and accompanied by white noise
, excerpts of both string and brass orchestras, Adolf Hitler speeches, choral music, scratchy 78-rpm
recordings and various other tape loops and sound effects. The melody found in Part 4 is "California Dreaming", a recent Top 40 hit for The Mamas & the Papas
. A short hymn-like song, "Fight on Christians, Fight On", based on "Christians, Fight On, Your Time Ain’t Long" by Bo Weavil Jackson
, played on bottleneck guitar concludes the recording.
Fahey stated "["Requiem for Molly, Pt. 1-4"] was my first attempt at musique concrète
, but it's not very good and I don't really like that one. It was a good learning experience though."
"Requiem for John Hurt" refers to influential country blues
singer and guitarist Mississippi John Hurt
. Fahey recalled "He was in his quiet way, a very great man, and I deeply mourn our loss of him. So, I wrote this requiem for him, about him, but I play it the way Charley Patton would have played it, had he ever thought of such a thing, which of course he never would have."
In his original liner notes, Fahey wrote "Since 1948, after seeing the movie, The Thief of Bagdad
, I composed cerebral symphonies every day. It was a pleasant pastime. But suddenly in 1953 I needed a full orchestra at my command—me playing every instrument in that impossible ensemble." He labeled the first two songs and "Requiem for Molly" as Requia
and "When the Catfish Is in Bloom" and "Fight on Christians, Fight On" as Cantica
.
In his book Beautiful Monsters, author Michael Long referred to Fahey as a pioneer and wrote "His personal aesthetic was easily translatable to the revisionist morbid aesthetic, most notably with respect to Requia, a collection containing the four-part "Requiem for Molly," Fahey's spatiotextural experiment in sampling, looping, and musique concrète."
In a review of The Essential John Fahey
in the July 3, 1974 Milwaukee Journal
, Pierre-Rene Noth referred to "Requiem for Molly" as "[Fahey's] worst.. a horid mix."
In his piece for The New York Times
, Ben Ratliff called Requia "dense with eccentricity."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fingerstyle guitar
Fingerstyle guitar
Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking ....
ist and composer John Fahey
John Fahey (musician)
John Fahey was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitivism, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the...
, released in 1968. It was the first of Fahey's two releases on the Vanguard
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
label.
History
After six releases on his own label Takoma RecordsTakoma Records
Takoma Records was a small but influential record label founded by John Fahey in the late 1950s.. It was named after Fahey's hometown, the Washington, D.C. suburb of Takoma Park, Maryland.-History:...
and one on Riverboat Records, Fahey signed a two-album contract with Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
, best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s. His manager at the time, Denny Bruce
Denny Bruce
Denny Bruce is an American record producer and artist manager. He was born in Lancaster, PA on October 4, 1944.In the early 60s, he was a drummer for Frank Zappa but suffered a six-month illness with mononucleosis which cost him his job prior to the recording of Zappa's first album with The Mothers...
, recalled that "His deal was that he could record for Takoma 'experimental records,' but to try and make commercial recordings for Vanguard, with their approval of the budget."
After beginning with three solo guitar pieces, the four-part "Requiem for Molly" begins with solo guitar interspersed and accompanied by white noise
White noise
White noise is a random signal with a flat power spectral density. In other words, the signal contains equal power within a fixed bandwidth at any center frequency...
, excerpts of both string and brass orchestras, Adolf Hitler speeches, choral music, scratchy 78-rpm
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
recordings and various other tape loops and sound effects. The melody found in Part 4 is "California Dreaming", a recent Top 40 hit for The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas were a Canadian/American vocal group of the 1960s . The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...
. A short hymn-like song, "Fight on Christians, Fight On", based on "Christians, Fight On, Your Time Ain’t Long" by Bo Weavil Jackson
Bo Weavil Jackson
Bo Weavil Jackson , was an African American blues singer and guitarist. Some sources claim he was born in Birmingham, Alabama....
, played on bottleneck guitar concludes the recording.
Fahey stated "["Requiem for Molly, Pt. 1-4"] was my first attempt at musique concrète
Musique concrète
Musique concrète is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of sounds derived from musical instruments or voices, nor to elements traditionally thought of as "musical"...
, but it's not very good and I don't really like that one. It was a good learning experience though."
"Requiem for John Hurt" refers to influential country blues
Country blues
Country blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
singer and guitarist Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt
John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
. Fahey recalled "He was in his quiet way, a very great man, and I deeply mourn our loss of him. So, I wrote this requiem for him, about him, but I play it the way Charley Patton would have played it, had he ever thought of such a thing, which of course he never would have."
In his original liner notes, Fahey wrote "Since 1948, after seeing the movie, The Thief of Bagdad
The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)
The Thief of Bagdad is a 1940 British fantasy film produced by Alexander Korda, and directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, and Tim Whelan, with contributions by Korda's brothers Vincent and Zoltán, and William Cameron Menzies...
, I composed cerebral symphonies every day. It was a pleasant pastime. But suddenly in 1953 I needed a full orchestra at my command—me playing every instrument in that impossible ensemble." He labeled the first two songs and "Requiem for Molly" as Requia
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
and "When the Catfish Is in Bloom" and "Fight on Christians, Fight On" as Cantica
Canticle
A canticle is a hymn taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as the Te Deum and certain psalms used liturgically.-Roman Catholic Church:From the Old Testament, the Roman Breviary takes seven canticles for use at Lauds, as follows:*...
.
Reception
In his Allmusic review, critic Brian Olewnick describes the distinct differences in the two parts of Requia, calling the four solo pieces as "a series of blues-based pieces in line with music he had previously recorded" and the second section ("Requiem for Molly") as sounding "a bit dated, largely because his source material... sounds heavy-handed and trite in retrospect." Olewnick summarizes the release writing "Requia doesn't rank up with the absolute best of his releases, but contains enough fine and interesting work to recommend it to Fahey fans."In his book Beautiful Monsters, author Michael Long referred to Fahey as a pioneer and wrote "His personal aesthetic was easily translatable to the revisionist morbid aesthetic, most notably with respect to Requia, a collection containing the four-part "Requiem for Molly," Fahey's spatiotextural experiment in sampling, looping, and musique concrète."
In a review of The Essential John Fahey
The Essential John Fahey
The Essential John Fahey is a compilation album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1974.-History:The original 1974 double-LP release included all songs from both Fahey's Vanguard albums — the only two albums Fahey recorded for the label.The CD reissue in 1996 of...
in the July 3, 1974 Milwaukee Journal
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It is the primary newspaper in Milwaukee, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin and is distributed widely throughout the state...
, Pierre-Rene Noth referred to "Requiem for Molly" as "[Fahey's] worst.. a horid mix."
In his piece for 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...
, Ben Ratliff called Requia "dense with eccentricity."
Reissues
- Requia was reissued on CD in 1997 by Vanguard.
- All the songs, minus the four-part "Requiem for Molly" are included in the Vanguard CD reissue of The Essential John FaheyThe Essential John FaheyThe Essential John Fahey is a compilation album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1974.-History:The original 1974 double-LP release included all songs from both Fahey's Vanguard albums — the only two albums Fahey recorded for the label.The CD reissue in 1996 of...
. - Requia was reissued on CD in 1998 in the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Ace RecordsAce Records (UK)Ace Records Ltd. was started in 1978. Initially the company only gained permission from the label based in Mississippi to use the name in the UK, but eventually also acquired the rights to publish their recordings. When Chiswick's pop side was licensed to EMI in 1984, Ace switched to more licensing...
. - All the songs, minus the parts 1 and 2 of "Requiem for Molly" are included in the Vanguard release The Best of the Vanguard YearsThe Best of the Vanguard Years (John Fahey album)The Best of the Vanguard Years is a compilation album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1999.-History:...
. - Requia was reissued on a vinyl LPLP albumThe LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
in 2007 by Vanguard.
Track listing
All songs by John Fahey.- "Requiem for John Hurt" – 5:10
- "Requiem for Russell Blaine Cooper" – 8:56
- "When the Catfish Is in Bloom" – 7:42
- "Requiem for Molly, Pt. 1" – 7:40
- "Requiem for Molly, Pt. 2" – 7:46
- "Requiem for Molly, Pt. 3" – 2:33
- "Requiem for Molly, Pt. 4" – 3:00
- "Fight on Christians, Fight On" – 1:57
Personnel
- John Fahey – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Special effects by John Fahey, Sam ChartersSamuel ChartersSamuel Charters, born Samuel Barclay Charters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1929 , is an American music historian, writer, record producer, musician, and poet...
and Barry HansenDr. DementoBarret Eugene Hansen , better known as Dr. Demento, is a radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present....