The Previous Evening | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1997 | |||
Recorded | 1993, 1996, Germany | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 55:31 | |||
Label | Recommended (UK) | |||
Producer | Amanda Miller | |||
Fred Frith chronology | ||||
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Music for Dance series chronology | ||||
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The Previous Evening (Music for Dance Volume 4) is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith. It is the fourth of a series of Music for Dance albums Frith made, [lower-alpha 1] and was recorded in Germany in 1993 and 1996.
The Previous Evening was composed by Frith and is divided into three parts, in which Frith pays homage to three contemporary classical composers, John Cage, Morton Feldman and Earle Brown. The CD booklet also contains the following dedication: "This recording is dedicated to my father, Donald Frith, whose support has been and continues to be warm and unwavering." [1]
The Previous Evening was originally commissioned by United States choreographer Amanda Miller. Part I was premiered by the London Contemporary Dance Theatre at Sadler's Wells, London in December 1993. Parts II and III were premiered by the Pretty Ugly Dance Company in 1996, at the Tiroler Landestheater, Innsbruck and the Berliner Hebbel Theater, respectively.
Frith incorporated elements of John Cage, Morton Feldman and Earle Brown's working methods into the respective pieces on the album. "Fragments of text heard in Part I were taken at random from John Cage's book Silence: Lectures and Writings . Tape editing, the structure of events, and dynamic markings in this section were also determined using chance methods." [1] An Australian Dawn chorus appears in Part III, and other sound sources include works by Cage, Schumann, Mozart and "some bits and pieces of my own earlier work." [1]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
In a review for AllMusic, Rick Anderson wrote: "Long-standing fans of Fred Frith may not recognize his voice easily in this music, but all of it is worth listening to." [2]
Rob Walker, writing for Exposé Online, commented: "Frith seems to acknowledge and utilize each composer's characteristic creative style in his own writing. These pieces are thus intriguing in the way they are identifiably Frith's, yet bear the cosignature of another giant of modern music... A challenging and adventurous work that is certainly not for the faint of heart, The Previous Evening adds an intriguing new element to Frith's substantial oeuvre of innovative and experimental music." [3]
All tracks composed by Fred Frith.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Part I (Homage to John Cage)" | 19:40 |
2. | "Part II (Homage to Morton Feldman)" | 22:35 |
3. | "Part III (Homage to Earle Brown)" | 13:16 |
Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser.
Timothy "Tim" George Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds, lap steel guitar, and keyboards. He first became known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968. After the demise of Henry Cow, he participated in numerous bands and projects, eventually concentrating on composing contemporary music and performing as an improviser.
Allies is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It is the second of a series of Music for Dance albums Frith made.
Accidental is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It is the third of a series of Music for Dance albums Frith made, and was recorded between December 1995 and January 1996 at Studio Jankowski in Stuttgart, Germany. The album was released on CD in March 2002 on Fred Records and was the first release in Frith's archival release program on the record label.
Prints: Snapshots, Postcards, Messages and Miniatures, 1987–2001 is a 2002 album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith, and his first album of songs since Cheap at Half the Price (1983). It comprises four tracks taken from previously released compilations that Frith had contributed to between 1987 and 1997, seven tracks that were "created spontaneously" in the studio in 1997 and 2001, and one live guitar improvisation in 2001. The album was released on CD in 2002 on Fred Records and was the second release in Frith's archival release program on the record label.
Pacifica is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It was composed by Frith in 1994 as "a meditation for 21 musicians with texts by Pablo Neruda", and was performed, under the direction of Frith, by the Bolognese Eva Kant ensemble in 1995 in Modena, Italy. Texts, taken from the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's works, were recorded by Sergio Meza in September 1997 in Santiago, Chile and were added to the music in 1998. The album was released on Tzadik Records' Composer Series in 1998.
Freedom in Fragments is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It was composed by Frith in 1993 as "a suite of 23 pieces for saxophone quartet", and was performed by the Rova Saxophone Quartet between February 1999 and January 2000 in San Francisco. The album was released on Tzadik Records' Composer Series in 2002. Frith does not perform on this album.
Eye to Ear II is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It is a collection of film music composed and performed by Frith, and is the second of three Eye to Ear albums dedicated to his work for short films. It was recorded in Germany and the United States between 1997 and 2003.
The Happy End Problem is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith, and is the fifth of a series of Music for Dance albums he made. It comprises two suites composed in 2003 by Frith "for flute, bassoon, gu zheng, percussion, violin and electronics" and was recorded in 2003 and 2004.
Dropera is a concept album by Fred Frith and Ferdinand Richard, credited as "Fred & Ferd". It was their first collaborative album as a duo and was recorded in Zürich, Switzerland in August 1989. It was released on both LP and CD by RecRec Music in Switzerland in 1991. The album's songs were sung in French and a booklet of the song lyrics in French, German and English accompanied the album.
Nous Autres is a live album by Fred Frith and René Lussier recorded in October 1986 at the 4th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada. The live mixes were later enhanced with additional material recorded by Frith and Lussier in December 1986 at a studio in Montreal, Quebec, and the resulting album was released on LP in 1987. The album was released on CD in 1992 with four additional studio tracks recorded by Frith and Lussier in January 1992 in New York City.
Back to Life is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It comprises five classical chamber music pieces composed by Frith between 1993 and 2005, and was performed between 1998 and 2007 by Belgian pianist Daan Vandewalle, United States percussionist William Winant, and the Callithumpian Consort ensemble of the New England Conservatory of Music, conducted by Stephen Drury. The album was released on Tzadik Records' Composer Series in 2008.
The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players (SFCMP) is a performing arts organization and unionized chamber orchestra that commissions, performs, and records innovative new music from across cultures and stylistic traditions. SFCMP incorporated in 1974 to give voice to the burgeoning genre of contemporary chamber music in the Bay Area. They are solely devoted to contemporary repertoire, particularly the work of living composers and large ensemble works. The current Artistic Director is Eric Dudley.
Ragged Atlas is a studio album by Fred Frith's United States experimental rock group Cosa Brava. It was recorded in San Francisco in December 2008 and was released by Intakt Records in Switzerland on March 5, 2010. Ragged Atlas was the band's first album, and is largely instrumental with a little singing on five of the thirteen the tracks. Frith composed all the music, with lyric contributions on "Lucky Thirteen" by Rebby Sharp, a singer/guitarist Frith had worked with in Orthotonics.
Eye to Ear III is a studio album by English guitarist, composer, and improvisor Fred Frith. The album is a collection of film music composed and performed by Frith, and is the third of three Eye to Ear albums dedicated to his work for short films. It was recorded in Germany and the United States in 2003 and 2004.
Helter Skelter is a 1992 rock opera by Fred Frith and François-Michel Pesenti. It was their first collaborative album and was recorded in Marseille, France, in February 1992. The music was composed by Frith, with libretto by Pesenti, and was conducted by Frith and Jean-Marc Montera. Frith and Pesenti do not perform on this album.
Field Days is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It comprises 14 pieces for dance written by Frith for choreographer Amanda Miller and the Nederland Dans Theater. The album was released by Fred Records in November 2015.
All Is Always Now – Live at The Stone is a 2019 three-CD box set of live improvised music performed by English guitarist Fred Frith with other musicians, including Theresa Wong, Ikue Mori, Pauline Oliveros and Laurie Anderson. It was recorded between 2007 and 2016 at The Stone in New York City, and was released in March 2019 by Intakt Records in Switzerland.
Ayaya Moses is a 1997 studio album by the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet, an American-based contemporary classical and experimental music guitar quartet comprising Fred Frith, René Lussier, Nick Didkovsky and Mark Stewart. It is their debut album and was recorded in Radio-Canada's Studio 12 at Maison Radio-Canada in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, seven years after the ensemble was formed in 1989. It was released by Canadian record label, Ambiances Magnétiques.
Upbeat is a 1999 live and studio album by the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet, an American-based contemporary classical and experimental music guitar quartet comprising Fred Frith, René Lussier, Nick Didkovsky and Mark Stewart. It is their second album, after Ayaya Moses (1997), and was released by Canadian record label, Ambiances Magnétiques. The live material was drawn from concerts the quartet had performed in Germany, Switzerland, France and Spain in November 1997. The studio tracks were recorded at Tonstudio Amann in Vienna, Austria, also in November 1997.