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Chinese Classics - Ge Gan-Ru, Fall of Baghdad / Modern Works
Naxos

Chinese Classics - Ge Gan-Ru, Fall of Baghdad / Modern Works

$19.99

Details

Composer
GE, GAN-RU
Artist
Modernworks
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Jun 30, 2009
Catalog #
8570603
UPC
747313060375

About



GE GAN-RU String Quartets: No. 1, “Fu”; No. 4, “Angel Suite”; No. 5, “Fall of Baghdad” • ModernWorks • NAXOS 8.570603 (60:44)


Prior to this review I’d read a short profile of the composer in the Times , and discovered for a substantial period of time he’d dropped out of sight to found a business that now supports him and allows him freedom to compose as he wishes. As such, he may be the “Chinese Charles Ives.” Whatever the reason, these three string quartets show his evolution over that time gap, with No. 1 from 1983, and Nos. 4 and 5 from 1998 and 2007, respectively.


No. 1, “Fu” (Prose Poem), is in a single movement, and while it uses a number of special techniques for strings, the influence of middle-period Bartók is most evident, at least to my ear. This was radical music in context for a young Chinese composer, but not necessarily for the outside world. But No. 4, “Angel Suite,” is an exceedingly rich and original piece. In a way, it shouldn’t be, as it references the Western classical tradition most overtly, and indeed has a strong scent of the last fin de siècle. But though I hear Debussy very strongly throughout (above all in the first movement), its movements—including a dark waltz and similarly unsettling march—remain so full of interesting ideas and details that a strong personality cannot help but emerge. I found this music totally engaging, with a “postmodern” take that was never ironic, facile, or pastichesque.


No. 5 is subtitled “The Fall of Baghdad.” In its reference to destruction “in time of war,” it’s an homage to George Crumb’s 1970 Black Angels, and it opens with similarly wrenching, screeching sounds. The second movement features an extended, distant viola melody that recalls a muzzein’s call to prayer, which after an interlude of sinister rhythms using col legno and pizzicato, returns to the stratosphere. The third, “Desolation,” has a heartrending violin solo over pianissimo chords that suggest the classic “voice crying in the wilderness.” (No more so than when dark crunching sounds are ripped from behind the instruments’ bridges.) While the work starts out a little too reminiscent of its inspiration, like all the works on this program, Ge is in the details. It takes a little time, but a new, personal music emerges without any enormous technical or stylistic breakthrough; this is actually an enormous accomplishment. And lest I sound too technical, the music’s conclusion is shattering. We’ve got real art here.


ModernWorks is a string quartet directed by cellist Madeline Shapiro. (The other players are Airi Yoshioka and Majuki Fukuhara, violins, and Veronica Salas, viola.) They interpret this music brilliantly, and they have done great service to music by advocating this creator. I hope this recording finds a large audience, or at least the right audience. This composer has something to say, and staying power.


FANFARE: Robert Carl

Tracklist 8 tracks

  1. 1 String Quartet No. 1, "Fu" (Prose Poem) 11:30
    Track
    1
    Title
    String Quartet No. 1, "Fu" (Prose Poem)
    Duration
    11:30
    Composer
    Gan-Ru Ge
    Ensemble
    ModernWorks
  2. 2 I. Cherub 05:16
    Track
    2
    Title
    I. Cherub
    Duration
    05:16
    Composer
    Gan-Ru Ge
    Ensemble
    ModernWorks
  3. 3 II. Gnomes 06:36
    Track
    3
    Title
    II. Gnomes
    Duration
    06:36
    Composer
    Gan-Ru Ge
    Ensemble
    ModernWorks
  4. 4 III. Prayer 08:00
    Track
    4
    Title
    III. Prayer
    Duration
    08:00
    Composer
    Gan-Ru Ge
    Ensemble
    ModernWorks
  5. 5 IV. Angel's March 06:31
    Track
    5
    Title
    IV. Angel's March
    Duration
    06:31
    Composer
    Gan-Ru Ge
    Ensemble
    ModernWorks
  6. 6 I. Abyss: Screaming - Living Hell - Barbaric March - Abyss - Threnody 07:02
    Track
    6
    Title
    I. Abyss: Screaming - Living Hell - Barbaric March - Abyss - Threnody
    Duration
    07:02
    Composer
    Gan-Ru Ge
    Ensemble
    ModernWorks
  7. 7 II. Music From Heaven: Pilgrimage - Bazaar - Caliph's Drum - Music from Heaven 05:51
    Track
    7
    Title
    II. Music From Heaven: Pilgrimage - Bazaar - Caliph's Drum - Music from Heaven
    Duration
    05:51
    Composer
    Gan-Ru Ge
    Ensemble
    ModernWorks
  8. 8 III. Desolation: Desolation - Weeping - Moaning - Keening 09:58
    Track
    8
    Title
    III. Desolation: Desolation - Weeping - Moaning - Keening
    Duration
    09:58
    Composer
    Gan-Ru Ge
    Ensemble
    ModernWorks