PRODUCTION CREDITSProduced by Doug PettyAdditional Production by David HarringtonRecorded by Todd Whitelock, September 21 & 22, 2014, at Avatar Studios, New York City'Last Kind Words' recorded by Scott Fraser, June 6, 2016, at Studio Trilogy, San FranciscoAssistant Engineer: Noah KileenSam Amidon recorded by Dan Petty at the Path Studio, Los AngelesMixed by Scott Fraser at Architecture, Los AngelesMastered by Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering, Portland, MaineDesign by Evan GaffneyExecutive Producer: Robert Hurwitz. PRODUCTION CREDITSProduced by Doug PettyAdditional Production by David HarringtonRecorded by Todd Whitelock, September 21 & 22, 2014, at Avatar Studios, New York City'Last Kind Words' recorded by Scott Fraser, June 6, 2016, at Studio Trilogy, San FranciscoAssistant Engineer: Noah KileenSam Amidon recorded by Dan Petty at the Path Studio, Los AngelesMixed by Scott Fraser at Architecture, Los AngelesMastered by Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering, Portland, MaineDesign by Evan GaffneyExecutive Producer: Robert Hurwitz.
Different Trains01. Kronos Quartet America – Before The War 8:5902. Kronos Quartet Europe – During The War 7:3103. Kronos Quartet After The War 10:20Electric Counterpoint04.
Pat Metheny Fast 6:5105. Pat Metheny Slow 3:2106. Pat Metheny Fast 4:29Viola Kronos Quartet – Hank Dutt (tracks: 1 to 3)Violin Kronos Quartet – David Harrington (tracks: 1 to 3)Violin Kronos Quartet – John Sherba (tracks: 1 to 3)Cello Kronos Quartet – Joan Jeanrenaud (tracks: 1 to 3)Guitar – Pat Metheny (tracks: 4 to 6)'Different trains' recorded August 31 - September 9, 1988 at Russian Hill Recording, San Francisco.'
Electric counterpoint' recorded September 26 - October 1, 1987 at Power Station, New York City. Different Trains (1988) will probably go down in history as Reich's masterpiece. And deservedly so. Reich's phase-shifting minimalism is made dazzlingly entertaining in Different Trains, which is scored for string quartet and digitally sampled voices that repeat bits of speech concerning trains and Reich's experience with them growing up.
The sinister part here is than some trains carried Jews to death camps. That's here as well. The Kronos Quartet has also never sounded better. Electric Counterpoint (1987) has one guitar-Pat Metheny in this case- playing to 10 pre-recorded motifs, also on guitar. You absolutely need this. Different Trains is a three-movement composition for string quartet and tape, which Reich conceived, based on his experiences as a young child (between 1939 and 1942), when he frequently rode trains from New York City to Los Angeles and back, in order to spend time with both his parents who were separated. Once an adult, he realized that - as a Jew - had he been living in Europe during those same years, his train journeys would not have been as enjoyable and full of exciting discoveries, as had been those from New York City to Los Angeles and back.
America - Before the War (lasting approximately 9 minutes). This is a happy movement with a regular fast rhythm and a music which successfully replicate the noise of the moving train, complete with whistle, and other special train sounds. The voices on the tape - by Reich's governess Virginia, and by the Pullman porter - repeat the words 'from New York to Los Angeles' and 'from Chicago to New York', with occasional other train related commentaries, such as 'one of the fastest trains', and 'different trains every time'. The movement leaves the listener with a positive contented feeling. Europe - During the War (lasting approximately 7 minutes). The mood changes dramatically, once we leave happy carefree America for Europe in the middle of World War II. The cheerful train sounds are gone, as we witness the development of a journey whose final destination is hell.
We still hear the sounds describing the moving train, as well as the voices on the tape (provided here by holocaust survivors), making comments regarding the war and some of their personal experiences. But it is no longer a positively charged music.
They hit the jackpot with Pieces of Africa, released in 1992 which quickly become a bestseller, not only on classical charts, but also on popular lists. It introduced many people to the Kronos quartet and to classical music in general. While the Kronos quartet are very good, it is the music and the other musicians which makes this CD special.
It is the music describing a train taking its passengers to the concentration camps. The atmosphere is somber, and becomes increasingly so, as we approach the end of the journey. As the train pulls into the station, the voice on the tape says: 'Flames going up in the sky - It is smoking.'
At the same time the music becomes strident in a manner that evokes the climactic emotions associated with such sight. The movement ends. The listener is left with a sense of anguish and despair comparable to the one that the train passengers must have experienced back in the early 1940`s.
Minimalism as a chugging train, with Kronos Quartet playing in staccato rhythm alongside, and train whistles blowing as either sirens of nostalgia, or as sirens of horror. Its melodies occur as spurts derived from spoken word, musically translated and matched by the strings. The concept is Steve Reich remembering his privileged upbringing riding trains across the USA during World War II, knowing now that, since he's a Jew, if he were in Europe at the time a train ride would have been quite different. The spoken narration is recorded oral history put into an artistic context that goes for the jugular. The first movement is 'America - Before the War', using simple benign phrases ('one of the fastest trains'; '1941 it must have been') uttered by Reich's governess and a retired Pullman porter. Establishes a sepia past that, even in its safety, is aware of its placement in an anxious world.
The second movement is 'Europe - During the War', with a sudden shift to darker tones and phrases of terror recalled by Holocaust survivors ('and he said, 'Don't Breathe!' '; 'into those cattle wagons!' ; 'Flames going up to the sky - it was smoking'). The final movement is 'After the War', an uneasy awakening from a nightmare ('and the war was over'; 'are you sure?'
A feeling more of relief, reflection and mourning than of celebration. Moving onward.
'going to America'; 'one of the fastest trains'; 'but today they're all gone'.
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February 2023
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