2003.02.05

Ipsi morti super est

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Browsing the zeitgeist has been illuminating.

I expect a full confession from whoever was searching for the “busty trinity,” and am also filled with curiosity over “lauren the lemon licker.” A certain ocean-dweller seems to be intent on stacking the deck, if that weren’t already obvious.

Should I feel bad that at least two people searching for “really bad writing” have ended up here?


Over tea and cakes — or in my case, tea and quiche — at Kuan Yin last weekend, in a moment overshadowed by the handover of Ginger Altoids (surely an occasion of solemn gravitas), Abulafia lent me his CD of Nicholas Lens’s Flamma Flamma: The Fire Requiem.

In the entry at Everything Burns that caused me to ask to borrow the disc, he compares the piece to that most overperformed of cantatas, Carmina Burana. It does indeed happen to be spectacle music of a grand scale, a genre bursting at the seams these days with works channeling Orff; however, this particular piece more resembles those of electronic composers of eighties Japan such as Ryuichi Sakamoto and Joe Hisaishi, crossed liberally with Koyaanisqatsi-era Philip Glass. The tonal and rhythmic palettes utilized in this “mass” belong more to the world of tribal chant rather than Gregorian chant; in his liner notes, composer Lens states that his requiem

is a ritual, strongly influenced by the magic powers of non-European cultures. The natural quality of primitive death ceremonials often sharply contrasts with the over-organized and therefore spiritually abused ceremonials of the western world.

The music itself flits from dangerously cheesy to intriguing and back again. What prevents it from falling into overall mediocrity is wonderfully eccentric singing by the soloists and choir (Guttural, glissing basses! Flute-like sopranos! Is that a tenor channeling a chicken in “Hic Iacet II”? Someone find Plurp!), and an infused energy fueled by the primitive rhythms. At the very least, it’s worth a listen if you can find it somewhere.

Is this where I have to justify my love for Ryuichi Sakamoto? Hee. Now if they’d only reissue Aile de Honneamise!



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\n\nOver tea and cakes -- or in my case, tea and quiche -- at Kuan Yin last weekend, in a moment overshadowed by the handover of Ginger Altoids (surely an occasion of solemn gravitas), Abulafia lent me his CD of Nicholas Lens's Flamma Flamma: The Fire Requiem.\n\nIn the entry at Everything Burns that caused me to ask to borrow the disc, he compares the piece to that most overperformed of cantatas, Carmina Burana. It does indeed happen to be spectacle music of a grand scale, a genre bursting at the seams these days with works channeling Orff; however, this particular piece more resembles those of electronic composers of eighties Japan such as Ryuichi Sakamoto and Joe Hisaishi, crossed liberally with Koyaanisqatsi-era Philip Glass. The tonal and rhythmic palettes utilized in this \"mass\" belong more to the world of tribal chant rather than Gregorian chant; in his liner notes, composer Lens states that his requiem\n\n
is a ritual, strongly influenced by the magic powers of non-European cultures. The natural quality of primitive death ceremonials often sharply contrasts with the over-organized and therefore spiritually abused ceremonials of the western world.
\n\nThe music itself flits from dangerously cheesy to intriguing and back again. What prevents it from falling into overall mediocrity is wonderfully eccentric singing by the soloists and choir (Guttural, glissing basses! Flute-like sopranos! Is that a tenor channeling a chicken in \"Hic Iacet II\"? Someone find Plurp!), and an infused energy fueled by the primitive rhythms. At the very least, it's worth a listen if you can find it somewhere.\n\nIs this where I have to justify my love for Ryuichi Sakamoto? Hee. Now if they'd only reissue Aile de Honneamise!\n\n

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  • If you haven't already checked out Waggish, it's getting to be that time.
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  • flippy has a new blog!
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