The Happy End Problem (Music for Dance volume 5) is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith, and was the fifth of a series of Music for Dance albums he made. It comprises two pieces composed in 2003 by Frith "for flute, bassoon, gu zheng, percussion, violin and electronics" [1] and was performed and recorded in 2003.
A reviewer at Sea of Tranquility summed up the album with the following comment: [2]
- "Overall two highly accomplished and fascinating pieces of music, more perhaps for the classical enthusiast than the progger."
Background
The two pieces on the album, composed for small ensembles of six and seven musicians, were commissioned in 2003 by choreographer Amanda Miller for two dances for her The Pretty Ugly Dance Company.
In "The Happy End Problem" Frith drew on elements from Igor Stravinsky's 1910 ballet, Firebird Suite. "Imitation" focused on Oriental elements and played on the Western world's perception of Japan. At the time, the shakuhachi player, Kiku Day was a student of Frith's at Mills College in the United States, and he constructed "Imitation" around her playing.
Track listing
- "Imitation" (Frith)
- "Ukon" – 6:18
- "Kira" – 5:37
- "Kio" – 2:33
- "Tan" – 3:05
- "Shi--o" – 1:33
- "Beni" – 3:52
- "Kasumi" – 2:15
- "Sumi" – 1:12
- "Hanabira" – 3:48
- "The Happy End Problem" (Frith) – 21:00
Personnel
- Fred Frith – guitar, bass guitar, laptop instruments
- Kiku Day (1-9) – shakuhachi
- Carla Kihlstedt – violin
- William Winant – percussion
- Theresa Wong (1-9) – cello
- Patrice Scanlon – electronics, clarinet
- Sheela Bringi (10) – flute
- Heather Vorwerck (10) – cello
- Wu Fei (10) – gu zheng
Sound
- "Imitation" recorded at Guerrilla Recordings, Oakland, United States, February 2004
- "The Happy End Problem" recorded at Guerrilla Recordings, Oakland, United States, February 2003
- Engineered by Myles Boisen
Footnotes
External links
View More Summaries on The Happy End Problem
