Recently Heard: The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind

[ellyssian]

Osvaldo Golijov: The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind

One of the neatest things about this was finding that the string quartet - Kronos Quartet, in this case - was joined by a clarinet. Well, at times, a clarinet. At other times, a bass clarinet or a basset horn - all played by David Krakauer. What's neat about that is it gives some credence to the use of squeaks and squeals that a clarinet is capable of in a purposeful fashion, especially considering my daughter's band nickname is "Squeaky."

This point aside, in other works Golijov has made use of Spanish - particularly flamenco - and Turkish forms of music, here he makes use of Jewish themes. Not overly surprising, considering the title of the music, and an intended depiction of the Kabbalist rabbi, and, in the composers own words, "a history of Judaism."

Golijov has Kronos and Mr. Krakauer imitating klezmer bands, accordions and more. The result is a fascinating - although unfortunately short - bit of chamber music. Kronos Quartet - as you may have noticed - appear frequently in my collection, and, although they've proven challenging at times - or, rather, they pick music or subject matter that might be challenging - it rarely disappoints.