The Happy End Problem
The Happy End Problem | ||||
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Studio album by Fred Frith | ||||
Released | 2006 (2006) | |||
Recorded | 2003 and 2004 | |||
Studio | Guerrilla Recordings, Oakland, California | |||
Genre | Experimental rock | |||
Length | 51:13 | |||
Label | Fred (UK) | |||
Producer | Fred Frith | |||
Fred Frith chronology | ||||
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Music for Dance series chronology | ||||
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The Happy End Problem (Music for Dance Volume 5) 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"[1] and was recorded in 2003 and 2004.
Background
The two suites on the album, "Imitation" and "The Happy End Problem" were composed by Frith for small ensembles of six and seven musicians. They were originally commissioned in 2003 by choreographer Amanda Miller for two dances for her The Pretty Ugly Dance Company. Both suites premiered at the Stadttheater in Freiburg, Germany, "The Happy End Problem" in May 2003 and "Imitation" in April 2004.
In "The Happy End Problem" Frith drew on elements from Igor Stravinsky's 1910 ballet, Firebird Suite. "Imitation" focused on Oriental elements and played on the Western world's perception of Japan. At the time, the shakuhachi player, Kikutsubo Day was a student of Frith's at Mills College in the United States, and he constructed "Imitation" around her playing.
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
All About Jazz | [2] |
AllMusic | favorable[3] |
A reviewer at Sea of Tranquility summed up the album with the following comment:[4]
- "Overall two highly accomplished and fascinating pieces of music, more perhaps for the classical enthusiast than the progger."
In a review for AllMusic, François Couture wrote: "Whether you prefer the calm of 'Imitation' or the more disquieting overtones of 'The Happy End Problem,' both pieces fare very well without their choreographed component."[3]
John Kelman of All About Jazz commented: "The Happy End Problem... is a fine summation of Frith's career to date: enigmatic beauty juxtaposed with near-minimalist tendencies; occasional passages of jagged but strangely appealing edges and unapologetic free play blending with cued compositional sections; and a confluence of cultural references that are unmistakable, even as they join together for a new, unified whole."[2]
Writing for Paris Transatlantic, Massimo Ricci stated that "the music benefits enormously from the stunning performances of all the players involved," and, regarding the final track, remarked: "My soul undergoes a meltdown about 15 minutes into the track, when Wu Fei's delicate gu zheng figures remind us of the frailty of purpose amidst the often overwhelming forces of life... one of the most touching sections of... an instant classic."[5]
Track listing
- "Imitation"
- "The Happy End Problem" (Frith) – 21:00
Personnel
- Fred Frith – guitar, bass guitar, laptop instruments
- Kikutsubo Day (1-9) – shakuhachi
- Carla Kihlstedt – violin
- William Winant – percussion
- Theresa Wong (1-9) – cello
- Patrice Scanlon – electronics, clarinet
- Sheela Bringi (10) – flute
- Heather Vorwerck (10) – cello
- Wu Fei (10) – gu zheng
Sound and artwork
- "Imitation" recorded at Guerrilla Recordings, Oakland, California, February 2004
- "The Happy End Problem" recorded at Guerrilla Recordings, Oakland, California, February 2003
- Engineered, mixed and mastered by Myles Boisen
- Artwork by Tom Kurth
References
- ^ Frith, Fred. "Fred Frith compositions". Fred Frith homepage. Archived from the original on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2007.
- ^ a b Kelman, John (26 September 2008). "The Happy End Problem". All About Jazz. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ a b Couture, François. "The Happy End Problem". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
- ^ Barnes, Richard. "Frith, Fred: The Happy End Problem". Sea of Tranquility. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
- ^ Ricci, Massimo (April 2007). "Reviews". Paris Transatlantic. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
External links
- The Happy End Problem at Discogs.
- v
- t
- e
- Henry Cow
- Art Bears
- Massacre
- Skeleton Crew
- Keep the Dog
- Cosa Brava
- Fred Frith Trio
- Henry Now
- The Orckestra
- Duck and Cover
- French Frith Kaiser Thompson
- Death Ambient
- Fred Frith Guitar Quartet
- Maybe Monday
- Aksak Maboul
- Material
- Naked City
- Guitar Solos
- Gravity
- Speechless
- Cheap at Half the Price
- Quartets
- Clearing
- Prints
- Eleventh Hour
- To Sail, to Sail
- Clearing Customs
- Guitar Solos / Fifty
Music for Dance |
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Music for Film |
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Composer only |
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- Live in Japan
- Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire
- Impur II
- Storytelling
- All Is Always Now – Live at The Stone
- Woodwork
Composer only |
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- With Friends Like These (with Henry Kaiser)
- Voice of America (with Bob Ostertag and Phil Minton)
- Live in Prague and Washington (with Chris Cutler)
- French Gigs (with Lol Coxhill)
- Who Needs Enemies? (with Henry Kaiser)
- Nous Autres (with René Lussier)
- Attention Span (with Bob Ostertag and John Zorn)
- Dropera (with Ferdinand Richard)
- Live Improvisations (with Tim Hodgkinson)
- Helter Skelter (with François-Michel Pesenti)
- Live in Trondheim, Berlin & Limoges, Vol. 2 (with Chris Cutler)
- The Art of Memory (with John Zorn)
- Traffic Continues (with Ensemble Modern)
- 2 Gentlemen in Verona (with Chris Cutler)
- Dalaba Frith Glick Rieman Kihlstedt (with Lesli Dalaba, Eric Glick Rieman and Carla Kihlstedt)
- What Leave Behind (with Toychestra)
- 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 5 (with John Zorn)
- The Compass, Log and Lead (with Carla Kihlstedt and Stevie Wishart)
- Duo (Victoriaville) 2005 (with Anthony Braxton)
- Ironic Universe (with Janet Feder)
- The Stone: Issue Two (with Chris Cutler)
- The Sugar Factory (with Evelyn Glennie)
- The Art of Memory II (with John Zorn)
- Still Urban (with ARTE Quartett)
- The Big Picture (with ARTE Quartett)
- Late Works (with John Zorn)
- Angels on the Edge of Time (with Lindsay Cooper, Gianni Gebbia and Lars Hollmer)
- Cut Up the Border (with Nicolas Humbert and Marc Parisotto)
- Laying Demons to Rest (with Susana Santos Silva)
Compilations |
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- Category