Duras: Duchamp

John Zorn (Composer), John Zorn (Conductor), John Medesky (Performer), Anthony Coleman (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: John Medesky, Anthony Coleman
• Conductor: John Zorn
• Composer: John Zorn
• Audio CD (August 19, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Tzadik
• ASIN: B000003YT5
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #465,499 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surrealistic Nightmare Music, January 30, 2003

By 

Christopher Forbes "weirdears" (Brooklyn,, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Duras: Duchamp (Audio CD)

John Zorn has made a career out of stylistic diversity. His musical intellect is mecurial and cannot be kept within a few projects or styles, but instead jumps around from style to style and records the results obsessively. This can make pinning him down dearly impossible, but makes each new release you hear an adventure.

Duras/Duchamp falls into the broad genre of studio compositions. Zorn's studio compositions are often an interesting mix of chamber music sensibility, electronic effects, collage techniques, and improvisations which often sound as if they were the soundtrack to some imaginary film. In this way they can be similar to Zorn's actual film work. But they are more formally composed than Zorn's film music, with less reliance on cartoon music montage and more sustained moods. As such I find the studio pieces to be among Zorn's most polished and satisfying work.

The long work on this disc is Duras. Named for the engimatic novelist (was she a heroine of the French resistance or a Nazi collaborator? The world may never know for sure.) who's most famous book The Lover, is one of the most disturbing erotic novels in history, Duras is a multimovement work. It generates most of it's effect through rather traditional means. But for a few "found sounds" on tape, the work could be a concert hall piece. It stays at a low level throughout, giving it some relation to ambient music, but it's details are much more interesting. It is not a loop piece, but genuinely through composed and compelling.

Duchamp is a bit more dadaist in conception. Much of the work could be described as Satie run through a distorting mirror as heard by a guy on a bad acid trip. If this sounds weird, it is. And that's what makes it compelling listening. Zorn rarely goes for a listeners comfort level and this piece pleases and disturbs in equal measure.

I've listened to this disc now several times and the work on it grow more compelling with each hearing. This is definately one of Zorn's high water marks.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Two tributes, October 28, 2003

By 

SPM "scott_maykrantz" (Eugene, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duras: Duchamp (Audio CD)

Although this album has five tracks, it has only two songs. The first song, dedicated to M. Duras, is played in four movements (and indexed that way on the CD). The movements come in pairs: a long one followed by a brief coda, then another long one with a coda. The music flows so well that you don't notice these little details. The piece is played with piano, light percussion, and strings. The musicians play subtle, gentle sounds. You'll hear a little melody, then some drumming, and then the sound of birds chirping in the background. Then a violin quietly comes in . . . and drifts away. One sound fades as another begins. This is one of John Zorn's most enigmatic ambient compositions. If you hear it twice, you'll be hooked.

The final track is a 13-minute tribute to M. Duchamp. For this "song," Zorn "plays" all kinds of objects. He smacks blocks of wood together, pounds a nail, drops coins into a dish, etc. He even gurgles into a mug and then coughs. This might sound kind of stupid, but it actually works in a weird way. It's not music, but it does feel *composed*.

I recommend this album to anyone who enjoys avant-garde classical music, and anyone who wants to explore John Zorn's non-jazz, non-noise music. If you're in an adventurous mood and have a good sense of humor, you'll like it.

4.0 out of 5 stars the books; given, February 9, 2008

By 

Case Quarter (CT USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Duras: Duchamp (Audio CD)

this recording can best be described as chamber music, a tribute to a couple of french artists, marguerite duras, author, and marcel duchamp, conceptual artist, in his case, his last work, etant donnes.

the piece, duras, is as much a tribute to french composer, olivier messiaen, as duras, so expect to hear bird sounds and stretches evocative of messiaen's quartet for the end of time. during the first book (premiere livre) anthony coleman on piano introduces a melody that is a variation of billy strayhorn's lush life. other personnel: mark feldman and cenovia cummins on violins, john medeski on organ, and christine bard and jim pugliese on percussion instruments.

etant donnes, 69 paroxysms for marcel duchamp, is given almost completely to the percussionists, listen for the birds, the shattering glass, shoveling, hammering, water trickling. duchamp, a conceptualist, who abandoned the canvas pretty much became a workman, a craftsman, and the noises, identifiable to a worksite or small factory, contextual to duchamp's projects, are captured by zorn. personnel on etant donnes are feldman on violin, erik friedlander on cello and the percussion chores handled by jim pugliese.

both pieces are composed and conducted by john zorn.

modern music, highly enjoyable.