Rhys Chatham

I haven't written anything for a while, wow, not since Novemember. Life is doing this to me. Anyway -

Aaah the sound of the guitar! In this case, lots of them, and amplified a lot. The music of Rhys Chatham is just that – loud and raucous, a mixture of modern minimalism and punk rock. This work, An Angel Moves too Fast to See, was composed in the 1980s for 100 guitars and drums. Just wallow in the chunks of sound being thrown out of the speakers. The walls of sound come in 5 movements -

Prelude, Intro, Allegro, No Trees Left: Every Blade of Grass is Screaming and Adagio.

The Allegro I find a bit thin on the ground, it seems to wander a lot, if it is possible to say that with short repetitive patterns.

If you want to read more about Chatham, go here, you can order the CD here. Certainly worth owning.