MEREDITH MONK : Songs of Ascension (2011) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Meredith Monk's Songs of Ascension is made up of 21 relatively short movements for ensembles of voices or instruments or combinations of both, in groupings as straightforward as a string quartet and as complex as the mix of 12 virtuoso vocal soloists, strings, bass clarinet, and percussion. The unity of the material may not be apparent on first hearing, but Monk helps orient the listener with her titles; there are three related movements with the title "Clusters," four with "Variations" (one for each season), two with "Strand," and a "Mapping" and "Mapping Continued." In his insightful program notes, Kyle Gann comments that Monk's music sounds "not avant-garde, but ancient… not minimalist but like an invented folk tradition," and that Monk herself "sounds less like the sophisticated New York composer she is than like a shaman, some Druid priestess… whose music has somehow come down to us in a miraculous state of preservation." That imagery does certainly capture something of the intensely evocative, primordial quality that makes Monk's music so distinctive. It is potent testimony to the fertility of her imagination that even after a very productive lifetime of exploring non-traditional uses of the voice, she continues to astonish and dazzle with new vocal sounds, nowhere more evident than in her solo, "Fathom," the CD's penultimate track.

The album was recorded in a studio, but Songs of Ascension was conceived and created as a site-specific work, to be performed on the staircase of an eight-story circular tower in Sonoma, CA, designed by artist Ann Hamilton. Something may have been lost in transferring the piece from its original, unique sonic environment, but what's added is the massed power of the Montclair State University Singers, who bring an awesome monumentality to the final movement. Monk also marshals a broad range of new music virtuosi: the members of her own ensemble, the singers of the M6, and the Todd Reynolds Quartet. Produced by ECM's legendary Manfred Eicher, the album's sound is immaculate, warm, and immediate. Highly recommended, especially for Monk's fans and anyone who loves innovative vocal music. by Stephen Eddins  
Tracklist :
1    Clusters 1
Viola – Nadia Sirota 3'19
Violin – Courtney Orlando, Todd Reynolds
Violoncello – Ha-Yang Kim
2    Strand (Gathering) 1'55
Voice – Allison Sniffin, Bruce Rameker, Ching Gonzalez, Ellen Fisher, Katie Geissinger, Meredith Monk
3    Winter Variation 1'51
Bass Clarinet – Bohdan Hilash
Percussion – John Hollenbeck
Viola – Nadia Sirota
Violin – Courtney Orlando, Todd Reynolds
Violoncello – Ha-Yang Kim
4    Cloud Code 3'31
Shruti Box – Allison Sniffin, Bohdan Hilash, Ching Gonzalez
Viola – Nadia Sirota
Violin – Courtney Orlando, Todd Reynolds
Violoncello – Ha-Yang Kim
Voice – Bruce Rameker, Ching Gonzalez, Katie Geissinger, Meredith Monk, Peter Sciscioli
5    Shift 1'51
Bass Clarinet – Bohdan Hilash
Percussion – John Hollenbeck
Viola – Nadia Sirota
Violin – Courtney Orlando, Todd Reynolds
Violoncello – Ha-Yang Kim
6    Mapping 2'07
Percussion – John Hollenbeck
Voice – Ching Gonzalez, Meredith Monk
7    Summer Variation 3'16
Bass Clarinet – Bohdan Hilash
Percussion – John Hollenbeck
Viola – Nadia Sirota
Violin – Courtney Orlando, Todd Reynolds
Violoncello – Ha-Yang Kim
Voice – Bruce Rameker, Katie Geissinger
8    Vow 3'12
Viola – Nadia Sirota
Violin – Todd Reynolds
Violoncello – Ha-Yang Kim
Voice – Katie Geissinger
9    Clusters 2
Choir – Montclair State University SIngers
Ensemble – The M6
Percussion – John Hollenbeck
10    Falling 2'54
Percussion – John Hollenbeck
Viola – Nadia Sirota
Violin – Courtney Orlando, Todd Reynolds
Violoncello – Ha-Yang Kim
Voice – Allison Sniffin, Bruce Rameker, Ching Gonzalez, Ellen Fisher, Katie Geissinger, Meredith Monk
11    Burn 4'16
Bass Clarinet – Bohdan Hilash
Percussion – John Hollenbeck
Viola – Nadia Sirota
Violin – Allison Sniffin, Courtney Orlando, Todd Reynolds
Violoncello – Ha-Yang Kim
Voice – Allison Sniffin, Bruce Rameker, Ching Gonzalez, Ellen Fisher, Emily Eagen, Holly Nadal, Katie Geissinger, Meredith Monk, Peter Sciscioli, Sasha Bogdanowitsch, Sidney Chen, Toby Newman
12    Strand (Inner Psalm) 3'12
Bass Clarinet – Bohdan Hilash
Violin – Todd Reynolds
Voice – Allison Sniffin, Bruce Rameker, Ching Gonzalez, Courtney Orlando, Ellen Fisher, Ha-Yang Kim, Holly Nadal, John Hollenbeck, Katie Geissinger, Meredith Monk, Nadia Sirota, Peter Sciscioli
13    Autumn Variation 2'48
Alto Saxophone – Bohdan Hilash
Percussion – John Hollenbeck
Viola – Nadia Sirota
Violin – Courtney Orlando, Todd Reynolds
Violoncello – Ha-Yang Kim
14    Ledge Dance 1'50
Choir – Montclair State University SIngers
Ensemble – The M6
Saxophone [Ceramic Saxophone] – Bohdan Hilash
Viola – Nadia Sirota
Violin – Courtney Orlando, Todd Reynolds
Violoncello – Ha-Yang Kim
Voice – Allison Sniffin, Katie Geissinger
15    Traces 1'20
Viola – Nadia Sirota
Violin – Courtney Orlando, Todd Reynolds
Violoncello – Ha-Yang Kim
16    Respite 5'56
Shruti Box – Allison Sniffin, Bohdan Hilash, Bruce Rameker, Ching Gonzalez, Ellen Fisher, John Hollenbeck, Katie Geissinger
Viola – Nadia Sirota
Violin – Courtney Orlando, Todd Reynolds
Violoncello – Ha-Yang Kim
Voice – Allison Sniffin, Bruce Rameker, Ching Gonzalez, Meredith Monk
17    Mapping Continued 1'29
Voice – Allison Sniffin, Bruce Rameker, Ching Gonzalez, Meredith Monk
18    Clusters 3 2'09
Khene [Khaen Baet] – Bohdan Hilash
19    Spring Variation 4'03
Bass Clarinet – Bohdan Hilash
Percussion – John Hollenbeck
Viola – Nadia Sirota
Violin – Courtney Orlando, Todd Reynolds
Violoncello – Ha-Yang Kim
Voice – Allison Sniffin, Bruce Rameker, Ching Gonzalez, Katie Geissinger, Peter Sciscioli
20    Fathom 4'37
Voice, Shruti Box – Meredith Monk
21    Ascent 9'26
Choir – Montclair State University SIngers
Ensemble – Meredith Monk And Vocal Ensemble, The M6, Todd Reynolds Quartet
All Credits