Recorded live at London's Sadlers Wells Theatre in May 1994, this realization of
Anthony Braxton
's
Compositions 175 and 126
was released by
Leo Records
in 2006 on a double CD. Both works are outgrowths of the composer's
Trillium
opera project, which was first defined a full decade before this recording was made. In 1984,
Braxton
stated that "Trillium is a point of definition in my music system. The continuum of works that will make up this music state represents the third solidification (layer) of my evolving materials (the first being vocabularies, the second being the form and/or system type and the third being ritual statements). When completed,
will consist of a complex of 36 autonomous acts that can be refitted into any combination to total 12 three-act operas."
Composition 126
was originally designated "Trillium - Dialogues M (1986) Joreo's Vision of Forward Motion," a four-scene, one-act opera with two interludes for six soloists, dancers, choir, piano, large orchestra, and percussion. This was conceived with instructions for costuming and stage design. As presented in 1994, the work involved four vocalists, an 18-piece creative orchestra (including a string quartet) under
's direction, and a partially electronic "constructed environment." Structurally and texturally, the music at times seems closely aligned with what
refers to as the Post-
Webern
Continuum, in the selection and configuration of tones and the use of silence as a structural element. The keyboard improvisations of
Roy Powell
are especially intriguing, as is the interplay among the instrumentalists behind the declamatory vocals.
Composition 175
, which occupies the first disc in the set and features two vocalists rather than four, illustrates a later stage in the
development. The opportunity to experience
's approach to opera is most auspicious. The producers of this edition were sensible enough to provide a full libretto for those who feel the need to absorb every nuance of the work. To place these performances in context it is useful to note that the recording which precedes this album in the
saga/discography was his duo reunion with electronics and synthesizer virtuoso
Richard Teitelbaum
in a live concert at Merkin Hall in New York City on April 28, 1994.
's next recordings would be made with his piano quartet at Yoshi's Nitespot in Oakland, California in June of that year. That phenomenal date, which was preserved on a four-CD set by the
Music & Arts
label, featured saxophonist
Marty Ehrlich
in a spread of 27 jazz standards with a positively rambunctious
at the piano. ~ arwulf arwulf