'Black Angels,' the amazing string quartet written by George Crumb in 1970 in response to the Vietnam War, is what inspired the formation of the Kronos Quartet. They set it to disc in 1990, and unfortunately it has remained a timely testament to the ongoing terror and tragedy of war. According to Crumb, '[t]he work portrays a voyage of the soul.

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The three stages of this voyage are Departure (fall from grace), Absence (spiritual annihilation) and Return (redemption).' It is a resolutely modern work, not the sort of thing Haydn would ever have expected.

The opening is called 'Night of the Electric Insects,' and that gives you an idea. Absolutely brilliant 'Black Angels' is 18 minutes long, and opens the disc, and Shostakovich's 8th quartet, at 20 minutes, is the closer. Kronos gives a hard-edged reading of the famous piece, dedicated to 'the victims of war and fascism.' It is strongest in the louder, faster sections, and not quite as effective in the slower sections, where the Borodin Quartet conveys more feeling, more poignancy (see my review of their 1990 recording of DSCH quartets 2, 3, 7, 8, 10 & 12). A fine performance, though, of a 20th century classic.

Unfortunately I don't have much good to say about the three shorter pieces in between. I've listened to this disc many times now, and I am just not won over by the Tallis, Marta or Ives. It's fun to hear a hoarse Charlie Ives shouting and ranting about the soldiers 'Fighting for the People's New Free World,' but it reminds you that he was probably a manic-depressive, and you want to tell him to take his medicine.

Other than checking in now and then to see if these 3 have grown on me, I typically play either 'Black Angels' or the 8th as stand-alone works, and so the 4 stars reflects the fact that the disc as a whole is less than satisfying.' 'Upon the initial listening, I felt that 'Black Angels' was the only piece presented on this album that was worthwhile listening. Initially, I felt that the Tallis, Marta, and Ives pieces were useless filler tracks, and that Kronos simply didn't do a particularly good job with the Shostakovich (which, along with Black Angels, is one of the most important contributions to the string quartet this past century).However, the entire CD begins to fall into place in one's mind. First, the Tallis piece 'Spem in Alium's positioning in the album is fascinating and effective. After the emotionally disturbing and draining Black Angels, we hear this piece, which reaffirms much of the faith in people we lost upon hearing Black Angels.The Istvan Marta piece is a good middle piece. It is in the same vein as Black Angels and String Quartet No 8 in that it is meant to disturb and provoke. The voice that we hear throughout the piece is not annoying, as some people have said. Download mario and sonic at the olympic games wii iso game.