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| Black Angels | 
 enlarge | Artists: George Crumb, Thomas Tallis, Istvan Marta, Charles Ives, Dmitry Shostakovich, Hank Dutt, David Harrington, Joan Jeanrenaud, John Sherba, Kronos Quartet
Label: Nonesuch
Category: Music
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $4.91
You Save: $12.07 (71%)
Buy New/Used from $4.91
Avg. Customer Rating:  (20 reviews)
Sales Rank: 99612
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 79242
UPC: 075597924220
EAN: 0075597924220
ASIN: B000005J0D
Release Date: June 21, 1990
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Black Angels: I. Departure | | • | Black Angels: II. Absence | | • | Black Angels: III. Return | | • | Spem In Alium (Sing And Glorify) | | • | Doom. A Sigh | | • | They Are There! | | • | Quartet No. 8: I. Largo | | • | Quartet No. 8: II. Allegro Molto | | • | Quartet No. 8: III. Allegretto | | • | Quartet No. 8: IV. Largo | | • | Quartet No. 8: V. Largo |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com essential recording
The title to Kronos's most bleak album comes from a nearly 20- minute-long composition by American composer George Crumb that unfolds over 13 distinct parts. That ominous number only hints at the horror Crumb intended as an ode to the Vietnam War. War informs the whole CD: Shostakovich's Quartet No. 8, composed near the height of the Cold War, in 1960, was dedicated "to the victims of fascism and war." "Doom. A Sigh," by Istvan Marta, incorporates field recordings of two Romanian women singing personal laments of fallen friends and relatives; their grief is so intense as to render listening incredibly difficult. The original text to 16th-century composer Thomas Tallis's "Spem in Alium" (originally a 40-voice motet) recalled a biblical battle. And late American composer Charles Ives is heard singing (yes, singing) "They Are There!"--a ditty he wrote during the Great War and revisited for World War II; he's joined here by the Kronos, half a century after his death, in an act of studio magic that is ingenious if not musically stimulating. --Marc Weidenbaum
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 unspeakably awful: 5 stars April 12, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I am an amateur fan of classical music: I know enough to understand most of what people say when they talk about classical music, and enough to keep my mouth shut when that is going on.
So, speaking as a relatively normal person -
"Black Angels" is unspeakably awful.
I love it.
It is music in the sense that it is organized noise. There is melody, there is rhythm. And when I want to show my students how bad modern art music can be, this is what I play.
Unless that's what you're looking for, you will initially regret buying this. But if you listen to it, you will come to appreciate this.
Really, it's not that bad. No, it's even good. You can't expect to enjoy yourself (except perhaps ironically). This is not your great grandfather's string quartet. But listen to it. Pay attention. It makes sense. This is not supposed to be enjoyed. It's supposed to be heard and felt. Why must music make us feel good? This is a disturbing piece of music. And it's good.
If you want a more lyrical Crumb, I enjoy George Crumb: Songs, Drones, and Refrains of Death. That is pretty much normal 20th century music. Nothing shocking like "Black Angels."
Shostakovich's 8th string quartet is a big step in the direction of traditional music. It too is disturbing, but it is also beautiful. I have one other recording -Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8 in C minor - which is rumored to be the best by people who are supposed to know, and at $7 one has to try it - but at the risk of offending the better informed, I must admit I prefer the Kronos version. They play it as well, as far as I can tell, and at least as movingly.
The other pieces are interesting filler. I think they're fine bits of musical education. The Romanian women singing is a heartrending recording you will be happy to listen to occasionally, but you won't return to it over and over. Nor will the Ives piece make you run out and grab more, but it's curious.
The most notable thing is Tallis' "Spem et Alium," which is originally a vocal work. You would not want to miss the original - the one I have is Tallis: Spem in alium; Missa Salve intemerata [Hybrid SACD] and though surely better recordings are available I don't know which to recommend - and I find it mildly interesting to hear it arranged for string quartet. If fact, I enjoy it more than the vocal original, but that probably means I haven't heard a good enough recording (let alone a live performance).
All in all, once you've heard your Bach and Beethoven and Brahms and so on, it's time you heard your Shostakovich and Crumb. If that's you, brace yourself, and get this CD.
(Gratuitous personal story. In college, I had huge speakers that had been given to my father by a radio station he worked for - you know when they do those outdoor things and they need huge speakers. Well, one night the guys upstairs were playing their music loudly, and my roommate was pissed off. So I put on "Black Angels," and we covered our ears until we were outside the building. About 3 minutes later we turned it off, and we never heard their music again. IOW, if you want to punish someone, play this really loud!)
Kronos Quartet Black Angels May 17, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is music to think by as it engages the intellect.
Black Angels has a menace which invites ideas and images into your mind.It will make you a little uncomfortable, but it will remain within you.
Doom.A Sigh has a remarkarble story behind it and invokes an emotional response because the recorded voices carry echoes of something lost. It works a strange magic,drawing you in and giving a glimpse of a forgotten world that perhaps still exists within all of us, somewhere.
The Shostakovich quartet ends this CD as Black Angels began it,completing a cycle, and you will be brought back to the point at which you started your journey but with a sense of something profound having occurred.
This is a CD that will become part of who you are and the only question you need ask yourself is, are you brave enough to listen?
An excellent idea...not the best performances though April 3, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Kronos' selections are excellent, if a bit eccentric, although I am less excited by the Tallis and Ives...arrangements. How well the main pieces are done is another matter, one being decent, the other somewhat lacking.
Black Angels is a very exciting piece, as well as dark and disturbing. However I've played it, so it doesn't disturb me as much. Kronos is a bit fast sometimes, which can be a slight problem since the numerology is highly significant in this work. Pulling this piece off is not easy, as I can attest to. They do pretty well with it, but there is some "cheating" going on, as the DVD version reveals.
One of the most interesting effects in the piece is the "consort of viols" sections, images 6 and 8, which are trios in which each player plays behind his/her left hand--basically turning the whole technique of bowing and fingering upside down. This is difficult to do, however it is not actually very hard if you practice it for a few minutes. I find it strange that Kronos actually does away with this amazing effect and plays it with normal technique using heavy practice mutes--no big deal for most listeners, but it does alter the sound. So, Kronos doesn't stick to the score completely.
Anyway, the Shostakovich is the performance that is lacking. I like the Fitzwilliam cycle best, and their 8th is excellent, so you might get that one. If you don't mind the odd noises and variable sound the Borodin cycle is good too, but it is harder and harder to find, which is very sad indeed.
 Ups and downs January 29, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm amazed that not one of the preceding reviewers mentioned the Brodsky recording of the Crumb, and only two of them seemed to know about the Concord, who were, I believe, the first to record it. The Brodsky is sharp, clean, accurate. The Kronos is none of these. Their performance is fast and sloppy. If you want to hear all the details you have to listen to the Concord or the Brodsky. (I've not heard the Cikada or the new Mode disc with members of the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic.) The Brodsky is a more exciting performance and a better recording than the Concord, plus they couple the Crumb with the Schubert 14th, which makes that famous cameo in "Dark Angels."
That does not mean you shouldn't have this disc. I've heard many recordings of Shostakovich's music, the reverent "we're playing music by the great Soviet composer," the long-faced "we're playing music by a tortured soul," and the vastly superior "we're playing music." I'd put this Kronos performance in the latter category. Ironically, I like it because it's faster than most (and a little bit sloppy). Not so sloppy that details are blurred, though, and fast here means the piece is never allowed to get lugubrious, which too many performances of his music definitely are. (So many people seem unable to listen to music without thinking about nonmusical things, like politics or the composer's putative feelings, and so many performers of Shostakovich seem happy to accomodate them.)
I don't know of any other performance of the eighth that makes the quotations so clear, either. Shostakovich threw in references to several of his own pieces in this quartet, the first and fifth symphonies, the first cello concerto, and most deliciously, the second trio. Kronos plays the quotes from the trio better than anyone else I've heard.
Not for everybody May 26, 2005
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
This is probably one of the least accessible Kronos albums I own, largely because of the Crumb piece. Personally, I consider it taxing but nonetheless worthwhile, but even devoted followers of the Kronos Quartet are likely to be turned off by the strident nature of the piece.
The only other piece worth noting is the Marta composition, which has a strange otherworldly quality to it. All I can say about the Tallis "Spem In Alium" is that you would be much better served by listening to the original vocal arrangement. Kronos' version is simply rather boring by comparison. Likewise, Kronos' interpretation of the well-known Shostakovich 8th quartet reveals that while they are at the forefront of modern music (commissioning new works regularly), when it comes the standard repertoire oftentimes they simply do not measure up. There are more recordings than I can count of the Shostakovich 8th that are far superior --- take your pick.
This is an album with as many misses as hits, and the hits are not exactly the most accessible music Kronos has recorded. Echoing another reviewer, it might be worth listening to this before purchasing it.
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