Customer Reviews

Kronos Quartet: Early Music (Lachrymae Antigua)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yes, there is "old" music on this disc. But works in olden style by John Cage, Arvo Part, et al are also present. Quite a challenging program on the listener - but rewarding as well. I am particularly found of Kronos' setting of Alfred Shnittke's "Collected Songs Where Every Verse is Filled With Grief". Very eclectic recording performed with usual finesse of the Kronos Quartet - and some guests.

Some critics say that medievel music is boring and depressive. They also say contemporary music is boring and unlistenable. Well, at least with this one they're wrong !

This CD is very unusual and intersting. Unusual because the Kronos Quartet has managed to put works by Christopher Tye (highly recommended) and John Cage on one CD. Believe it or not but it works !

And it's interesting because on this vital mix some composers sound rather conservative (Cage's "Quodlibet"), while others (Peroin) get a refreshingly new and innovative sound.

Unfortunetly the booklet contains no info on how and why the likes of David Harrington et al came up with the idea of recording this hybrid mix but on the other hand it would probably destroy the magic of this record.

This CD will open new and exciting worlds for those who are willing to take the ride. At least it hasn't left my CD player for quite a while...

The Kronos Quartet has really deserved the Grammy they got for this one. I can only hope that they're going to record more medievel music in the future but that's probably just wishful thinking.....

Who can say, as of now, how much of the music the KQ plays will fall, deservedly or not, by the wayside and how much of it will continue for the ages? At any rate, this CD is rewarding. I like the mix of quirky pieces with the staid, even if the title "Early Music" is misleading (since few original instruments are utilized in this record). Fine work; highly recommended.

Really this is a two star album, but I gave it three here because I would feel like a wretch slamming this record. After all, Kronos is a tremendous quartet and have done more to unstuff and save classical music than anyone else. How else would I have ever heard about Schnittke or Moondog? But genuine care for artists requires an honest appraisal of each work on its own and I found this to be pretty lifeless and not nearly as cathartic as Kronos fans expect. The absolute career low point comes with an awful rendering of Harry Partch that betrays the composer's aesthetic. There are good reasons to have this CD however, and many of the pieces will serve as pleasing interludes when CD changers are put on random play. All things considered, I won't be selling this one, but I wouldn't buy it again.

First of all, the Kronos quartet is not
an early music group, nor they intend to
be one. The music here is of course re-
workings of works of early music. Despite
the fact of not being how this music
actually sounded like, it got me started
on my collection of music by Perotin. When
I first heard "Viderunt Omnes" by Perotin,
I knew that I had to hear how it actually sounded
like in its original form. This recording the
Kronos Quartet does a great job as they always do.
Again, this recording is not intended for the
serious early music fan, this is more or less
having "fun" with early music.

I think that were one to be swallowed whole into a landscape painted by Heironymous Bosch, this CD would be the music one would hear. I highly recommend this collection of eclectic, florid works.

Kronos Quarter has been an agile and versatile instrument in the hands of modern composers. It has (re)interpreted music from many sources in a coherent way, thus creating a very distinctive sound. This album offers a mixed program of composers, juxtaposing the modern and the antique. The thesis of the album is (I think) that early composers are surprisingly palatable to modern sensibilities, and that they are close in spirit to a vast array of contemporary musicians. Also, it seems that the bond linking all these authors is a certain state of affliction; hence the subtitle of the album "lachrymae antiquae", ancient tears. Yet, overall, I found this a pretentious album, even in its use of latin. After so many years of philologically accurate renditions of the early masters, performed on period intruments, the operation of K.Q. sounds at least inappropriate if not even a bit obnoxious. It often seems that they are sacrificing the original intentions of the authors to the altar of this "modernity" thesis. The listener should judge by him/herself.

Summing up, I would just say that this is first of all a K.Q. album "inspired by" early music. I would just point out that it doesn't add much to the understanding neither of Machaut & co., nor of K.Q., which is still a great ensemble.

If you like simple, string quartet music as much as I do, then you've got to listen to this. It is a generous 68 minutes of plaintive music--no discontinuities and surpises like on their Black Angels recording. It is all slow and mournful.

I am enjoying this product as expected after listening to the samples. Fidelity is very good; so is the production. This is not everyone's taste, but should statisfy those interested in early music.

When I was listening to MSN I came across it. I love Early Music and they had a Radio station that was playing it. I decided to listen to it. So as I was lisitening to it I came across the song Collected Songs Where Every Verse Is Filled With Grief. That is the besty song I ever heard in a long time. I like the other songs but this one really spoke to me. It was quite moving if I might say.