Peter Garland STRING QUARTETS Gordon McKay CD

Peter Garland
String Quartets
Cold Blue

"Peter's quartet [No. 1] is the most beautiful thing since Corelli." —Lou Harrison

"Garland... an avatar of an American experimental tradition ... a composer of mesmerizing music; and in many ways, the musical conscience of my generation…." —Kyle Gann, Chamber Music magazine

This CD presents the premiere recordings of two spirited and enticing quartets that draw on the composer's well-traveled ear and great sense of personal vision. Both works move with a unique sense of grace and a sincerity of expression that is purely Garlandesque—marked by a sometimes lively dancing, a sometimes alluring stasis, and an often sauntering gait that allow musical ideas to seem to appear intuitively and develop subconsciously..

Performed and recorded beautifully by members of the renowned British new music ensemble Apartment House, which has for many years championed the music of such composers as Christian Wolf, John Cage, Cornelius Cardew, Philip Corner, and many other experimental and avant-garde composers at major festivals throughout Europe.

The composer writes:

String Quartet No. 1, "In Praise of Poor Scholars," was composed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1986. Commissioned by Mrs. Betty Freeman (1921-2009), the work is dedicated to James Tenney (1934-2006), his wife Ann Holloway (1952-1986), and to the memory of Dane Rudhyar (1895-1985). The title is taken from a poem by T''ao Ch'ien (365-427). —PG

    1. Rondeau "nouveau"
    2. Like an elegant slow dance …
    3. Back to the 14th century …
    4. To the memory of Dane Rudhyar
    5. Son Huasteco (for Jim Tenney); A Walk in the White Place (for Ann Holloway)
    6. Like a simple Indian dance—elegant and eloquent; "Look this outrage in the eye and put on the dancing music!" (Carolee Schneeman)

String Quartet No. 2, "Crazy Cloud," was begun in May 1994 at Koninji Temple (where I was staying at its guest lodgings) in the hills above the town of Hamochi on Sado Island, Japan, and was completed in Kreuzberg, Berlin, in the summer of that year. It is dedicated to Helena de Carvalho Tietjen. Its title refers to the pen name of poet-priest Ikkyu (1394-1481). Special thanks to Helena; and to Georg Kochi and Ralph Samuelson at the Asian Cultural Council; and to Mr. And Mrs. Kusaka and their daughter at Koninji Temple for the use of their piano and for giving me 12 sheets of music paper (hence movement 1 became 12 pages long!). This recording also represents the work's world premiere performance. —PG

    1. Sado
    2. Mori (the blind courtesan and singer who became Ikkyu's lover)
    3. "Sueño en Rio Grande" (title of a song by Las Hermanas Padilla)
    4. Blues for Helena
    5. "From the Mountains, Returning to the City" (title of a poem by Ikkyu)

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