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A Far Cry & David Krakauer - Dreams & Prayers (2014)

Posted By: Piterets
A Far Cry & David Krakauer - Dreams & Prayers (2014)

A Far Cry & David Krakauer - Dreams & Prayers (2014)
Classical, Contemporary Classical | Crier Records CR1401 | 2014 | 65:31 | EAC (FLAC, cue, log) | Full Scans | Various File Hosts | 335 MB
A Far Cry, David Krakauer (clarinet)

Dreams & Prayers (nominated for the 2015 Grammy award for best chamber music/small ensemble performance) century-hops over a millennium of music, juxtaposing A Far Cry’s own arrangements of music by Hildegard von Bingen and Ludwig van Beethoven with recent works by Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol (b. 1974) (created for and premiered by A Far Cry) and Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960) (an arrangement receiving its first recording by A Far Cry). This premiere release on Crier Records consists entirely of premiere recordings.


It’s always a treat to listen to clarinetist David Krakauer do his thing, but he seems especially in his element in “Dreams and Prayers,” the newest album from Boston-based string orchestra A Far Cry. The album features the first recording of a new arrangement of Osvaldo Golijov’s Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind for string orchestra and clarinet, which the group premiered in performance last year. This version is much more lush than the original string quartet plus clarinet instrumentation, and the sound of the orchestral string sections sets the clarinet apart as a concerto soloist. Krakauer, who recorded the quintet version with the Kronos Quartet almost 20 years ago, delivers an ecstatic, well informed and overwhelmingly compelling interpretation of this master work. The album also features another premiere, VECD, commissioned from Boston-based composer Mehmet Ali Sanlikol. Sanlikol’s style, which is influenced by Turkish music, jazz and film music, fits nicely alongside Golijov’s klezmer-inspired work. ...The title refers to an Arabic word meaning “being in a state of rapture or ecstasy,” and although the piece sometimes verges on over-saturation, it certainly achieves that effect. The bookends of the album are a haunting unison violin arrangement of Hildegard von Bingen’s O ignus spiritus paracliti, and a moving and uplifting rendition of Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Heiliger Dangesang” from his String Quartet Op. 132, both performed with skill and ease by the members of the orchestra.


...the sight of 18 young, passionate musicians from Boston joining to perform such a wide repertoire raised spirits from the outset. Yet it was also exciting to hear that supposedly non-musical consideration turn into an undeniable musical catalyst. Opening with an arrangement of O Ignis Spiritus Paracliti (“Oh Comforting Spirit of Fire”) by Hildegard von Bingen’s (1098-1179), with nine violins playing plainchant over a two-viola pedal could have easily turned monotonous. Instead of mechanical symmetry or self-indulgent variation, the 10 instrumental stanzas turned into an opportunity to reflect, and absorb the instruments’ bright tone and tight but organic blend. This was an inventive choice by a group of musicians digging beyond simple surfaces. That sensitivity as well as a sense of drive made two such supposedly different soundscapes as those of Mehmet Ali Sanlikol (born 1974) and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) seem like two lenses into the same experience. A Far Cry commissioned Vecd, a one-movement interpretation of Sufi musical forms and religious practices from Turkish composer Sanlikol back in May. Despite the fast commission and beyond the work being written especially for this ensemble, it was hard to imagine Sanlikol’s rhythmic cycles and subtle placement of his native land’s harmonies receiving a more natural reading. Starting with just a soft trill, several concise themes circled the string orchestra, featuring each section’s distinct sound on top of a firm bass. By the final long-sustained chord, the work seemed neither happy, sad, contented nor yearning — just overwhelmed by much larger thoughts. In light of Vecd, the third movement of Beethoven’s String Quartet in A Minor, op. 132 also spoke to unspoken reflections. It alternates between a serene, slow chorale and a faster, more assertive second theme, which then repeat and expand throughout the course of the movement. The “Convalescent” mentioned in the subtitle “Holy Song of Thanks By a Convalescent to the Divinity in the Lydian Mode” is Beethoven himself, expressing a range of thoughts and emotions after surviving an abdominal illness. In an arrangement for string orchestra, A Far Cry’s sheer singularity of tone and approach allowed the same intimacy and lightness of the original quartet setting. More string colors emerged, such as the second violins and violas layering over one another in rich hues or the beautiful cantabile asides in the cellos (though the first violins were marred by some pitch issues). The first theme repeated with widening sweep, and the second theme closed on an elegant sense of triumph, with the coda taking on especially dramatic weight. Seeing the Criers smiling, bobbing their heads, closing their eyes, listening pensively and otherwise thrilling to these and other moments only added to the experience. The players obviously enjoyed guest soloist David Krakauer’s explosive clarinet playing in Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind by Osvaldo Golijov (born 1960). Like the Beethoven piece, Golijov’s 1994 work was originally written for a string quartet alongside the clarinet, with Golijov speaking to the joy, searching, and solemnity of the Jewish tradition throughout its five movements.


What a lovely program! Here we have another recording of Golijov's mastepiece Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, performed and recorded 20 years ago by Kronos Quartet and David Krakauer. I think Kronos recording was shared on Avax in the past. There are other recordings as well. This time it is a new orchestral vesrion with Krakauer on clarinet again, which is fuller and lusher than quartet version, and just as good, if not better. I was fortunate to hear this composition performed live, with a different cast on performers though (Derek Bermel on clarinet). It is absolutely magnificent live!

Track List:

01. Hildegard von Bingen / O ignis spiritus paracliti [0:08:37.19]
02. Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol / Vecd [0:06:52.71]
03. Osvaldo Golijov / The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind: Prelude: Calmo, Sospeso [0:03:35.44]
04. Osvaldo Golijov / The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind: I. Agitato [0:09:20.68]
05. Osvaldo Golijov / The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind: II. Teneramente [0:11:01.48]
06. Osvaldo Golijov / The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind: III. Calmo, Sospeso [0:07:14.24]
07. Osvaldo Golijov / The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind: Postlude: Lento [0:02:18.15]
08. Ludwig van Beethoven / Quartet, op. 132: Heiliger Dankgesang [0:16:29.08]

Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 4 from 7. December 2014

EAC extraction logfile from 12. February 2015, 16:16

A Far Cry; David Krakauer / Dreams & Prayers

Used drive : hp DVDRAM GT80N Adapter: 1 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 102
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 128 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "Date=%year%" -T "Genre=%genre%" %source%


TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 8:37.19 | 0 | 38793
2 | 8:37.19 | 6:52.71 | 38794 | 69764
3 | 15:30.15 | 3:35.44 | 69765 | 85933
4 | 19:05.59 | 9:20.68 | 85934 | 128001
5 | 28:26.52 | 11:01.48 | 128002 | 177624
6 | 39:28.25 | 7:14.24 | 177625 | 210198
7 | 46:42.49 | 2:18.15 | 210199 | 220563
8 | 49:00.64 | 16:29.08 | 220564 | 294746


Range status and errors

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Filename C:\Users\Desktop\Files for Upload\A Far Cry & David Krakauer - Dreams & Prayers (2014)\A Far Cry; David Krakauer - Dreams & Prayers.wav

Peak level 96.1 %
Extraction speed 4.4 X
Range quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 5A8B0A87
Copy CRC 5A8B0A87
Copy OK

No errors occurred


AccurateRip summary

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None of the tracks are present in the AccurateRip database

End of status report

==== Log checksum 9510573F7CCE10E5EF5BB655123165E85A4D421771A0B9381E97BFAC6738DAD1 ====


Read more about the CD here.
The CD was successfully funded as a Kickstarter project. See here - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/afarcrymusic/kickstart-dreams-and-prayers-a-far-crys-new-album

Of relaterd interest:
crierrecords.nativedsd.com/albums/dreams-and-prayers (Binaural & Super High Res. Versions)
www.afarcry.org

3% recovery record is included.

More contemporary American and European music is available at my blog.