Film Works, Vol. 22: The Last Supper [Soundtrack]

John Zorn (Composer), Abby Fischer (Performer), Caleb Burhans (Performer), Kirsten Solleck-Avella (Performer), Lisa Bielawa (Performer), Martha Cluver (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Abby Fischer, Caleb Burhans, Kirsten Solleck-Avella, Lisa Bielawa, Martha Cluver
• Composer: John Zorn
• Audio CD (November 25, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Tzadik
• ASIN: B001GU04WW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #391,084 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Evocative, intriguing and unusual, even for a John Zorn score., December 11, 2008

By 

Michael Stack (North Chelmsford, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Film Works, Vol. 22: The Last Supper (Audio CD)

The Tzadik website refers to "The Last Supper" as "[o]ne of the strangest films Zorn has ever scored", and in the liner notes, Zorn discusses originally seeing this as a hardcore ensemble score, but instead decided on "the first instruments", assembling (most of) the female vocal ensemble from "Frammenti del Sappho" (off the excellent Mysterium) of Martha Cluver, Lisa Bielawa, Abby Fischer and Kristen Sollek, augmenting them with male vocalist Caleb Burhans and augmenting this group with the composer and Cyro Baptista on percussion, "Filmworks XXII: The Last Supper" is something quite different.

Opener "Somnambulisme" sets the stage for what the album will essentially consist of-- Zorn constructs a circular vocal motif, remarkably agile (a quality lacking, though not necessarily to its detriment, on "Frammenti del Sappho"), with Burnhams providing an unusual counter to the four female voices. Throughout the ensemble is evocative ("Virgin Sacrifice", which would not have been out of place on IAO: Music In Sacred Light) and driven ("Vespers"), there's an unusual energy both to Zorn's wordless compositions and the performances that I find hard to pin down. Punctuating this are percussion tracks, occasionally with the ensemble ("The Colors of Blood") and without (the utterly superb "Futur Primitif"). As expected, Cyro Baptista's seemingly limitless talents are pushed to the fore (the propolsive "Spiral") and provide a nice offset to the vocals.

In an instance where one is left to appreciate a physical media, Zorn has packaged this CD with a booklet of stills from the movie. I've got to be honest. I'm not completely certain what to make of the imagery the movie presents, it's certainly a nice booklet though, I'll give it that. Whether or not it's worth the price bump it caused here is subjective.

It's a bit difficult to recommend this album to fans of Zorn's film scores, it's quite different from anything else in the Filmworks catalog. I found it a highly enjoyable record, but I also rather enjoy Zorn's chamber works, and would recommend this to those similarly inclined.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most interesting volumes in the Filmworks series, June 3, 2009

By 

Steward Willons (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Film Works, Vol. 22: The Last Supper (Audio CD)

In "The Last Supper," Zorn puts on his minimalist hat and demonstrates just what an influence the work of Reich, Riley, and Glass has had on his music. It's certainly not obvious just by listening to much of his oeuvre, and indeed a lot of what Zorn does has nothing whatsoever to do with minimalism, but Zorn himself speaks of his appreciation of their work, especially during his formative years as a teenager.

The score for Arno Brouchard's "The Last Supper" consists of Zorn's quartet of female vocalists, plus Cyro Baptista and Zorn on percussion. We've heard similar colors and textures on "Mysterium" and "I.A.O.," but now we have a full-length work in that style, and it's just great. Zorn takes full advantage of this ensemble, creating otherworldly textures in a manner that is so unique.

As far as the minimalism connection goes, one needs to look no further than Reich's "Tehillim," a piece to which "The Last Supper" owes a great debt. It's rare to hear such a great combination of voice and percussion. "Tehillim" springs immediately to mind, but I'm also fond of Xenakis's "Kassandra" for voice and percussion. As Zorn points out in the liner notes, there is an elemental quality to this combination going back to the earliest music - voice and drum.

The CD comes with a nice booklet of stills from the film (which accounts for the increased price) and they really help to set the tone for what the listener is about to hear. As with all Zorn CDs, the packaging adds another layer of meaning to the music, but in this case, it's particularly important. For one thing, the film isn't even finished yet. I spoke with the director in April of 2009 and he replied that the film was still in the editing stages and that Zorn went much faster than he did! There is, however, a great trailer available on the film's website. I would definitely recommend viewing it, as it will bring the still images to life. You can find it via google search easily.

This is one of those rare Zorn records that you can actually recommend to friends who aren't hip to Zorn's craziness. It's just beautiful, enjoyable music without being to confrontational. As for Zorn fans, I wholeheartedly recommend this. It's different from his early body of work, but if you've heard anything from the last ten years, I don't think this will be all that surprising. Sure, it's not a typical Zorn film score, but if you know his chamber music, you should enjoy this.

This is a special volume in the Filmworks series and I highly recommend checking it out.