Strange Imaginary Animals [IMPORT]

Dennis DeSantis (Composer), Gordon Fitzell (Composer), David M. Gordon (Composer), David [Harpsichord/Composer] Gordon (Composer), Jennifer Higdon (Composer), Steven Mackey (Composer), eighth blackbird (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: eighth blackbird
• Composer: Dennis DeSantis, Gordon Fitzell, David M. Gordon, David [Harpsichord/Composer] Gordon, Jennifer Higdon, et al.
• Audio CD (November 28, 2006)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Cedille
• ASIN: B000K2UF26
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #116,272 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Formed in 1996, eighth blackbird is one of the world's premier new music ensembles. Winners of numerous awards, including the Naumburg Chamber Music Award, the Concert Artists Guild Competition, and several ASCAP/CMA Awards for Adventurous Programming, they are currently in residence at the University of Richmond in Virginia and the University of Chicago. Their past seasons have included performances in South Korea, Poland, Mexico, and throughout the United States and Canada. The group made their Carnegie Hall debut premiering David Schober's Split Horizon: Concerto for Sextet and Orchestra with the American Composers Orchestra in 2004. They have been featured on "CBS Sunday Morning," National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," and in The New York Times. eighth blackbird is represented by ICM Artists, Ltd. ensemble.

Product Description

Guitar picks strum a piano. Thimbles appear and strike strings. A clarinet wails wildly, a bass drum roars -- ducks, seagulls, even delivery trucks are evoked. strange imaginary animals explores all of these sounds in pieces that stake their claim to their own unique sonic space. Featuring premiere recordings of Jennifer Higdon's Zaka, David M. Gordon's Friction Systems, and Gordon Fitzell's violence and evanescence, the disc also includes Steve Mackey's famous Indigenous Instruments and a club remix by composer/dj Dennis DeSantis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars They got the strange part right!, March 16, 2007

By	Sor_Fingers (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This is definately Eighth Blackbird's strangest release thus far. This recording includes many cage rattling works in the new music world I've ever heard. While there are many works on this album that are exciting additions to the new music scene, there are a few cuts on this album that are either out of place or simply unmoving.

The Jennifer Higdon work on this recording, "Zaka" is easily the strongest track. The piece is very rhythmically exciting and Higdon uses a lot of interesting colors throughout the piece. The way the piece unfolds is absolutely captivating. We hear pianos being strummed, mutted piano sounds, screaming winds and fantastic percussion work. This piece is really the cornerstone of the record, and it's worth buying for the 13 minutes of excitement that this piece exhibits. Unfortunately, the record goes downhill from here.

The next works, Gordon Fitzell's "Violence" and Steven Mackey's three movement "Indigenous Instruments" are both fine pieces, but do not possess the accesability and ease of listening that Higdon's work does. Violence is a stream of generally quiet sounds and light timbres. The piece really depicts the destruction instead of the aggression of violence. Indigenous Instruments has many pleasing moments in it, but unfortunately, there are many places where I get lost in the music.

The last three tracks on the album constitute the weakest parts of the album. David M. Gordon's "Friction Systems" is 15 minutes of outright unpleasing dissonance. Not that dissonance doesn't have a place in music, but where there is tension, there needs to be release of some kind. Fitzell's other piece on the album, "Evanescence" isn't even dissonant, it's just noise. It's too hard to tell what actual instruments are being used here. The last cut, credited to Dennis DeSantis just seems out of place. It seems to be some electronic remix of other material on the album. It sounds like it belongs on some bad electronica album. It just doesn't belong.

More and more, I'm discovering that Eighth Blackbird is a very hit or miss ensemble. Their Rzewski album is absolutely spectacular. It's a shame that none of the others really match up to its prowess, this one included. While there are a few great pieces on this album, there are a few that just don't work. At least the material progresses from strong to weak. So put it in your CD player, enjoy the Higdon and when something starts smelling funny, then you know when to turn it off.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grammy Award-Winning, February 12, 2008

By	Valerie Jeanne (Chicago) - See all my reviews

I like everything about this CD, and now there are two more reasons to like it:
1. This CD just received a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance.
2. Producer Judith Sherman was also awarded a Grammy for Best Classical Producer.