John Luther Adams - Darkness and Scattered Light (2023) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

"Darkness and Scattered Light" is an album of composer John Luther Adams’s darkly beautiful, mesmerizing, virtuosic music for double bass (two solos and a bass quintet), performed by the late bassist extraordinaire Robert Black (1956–2023).

“This is one of the most beautiful albums I have heard in years. And so emotional. It seems strange that an album about the vastness of nature should be so human, and so emotionally resonant. As the music goes deeper into exploring the stark, mysterious slowness of the natural world it becomes clear just how little this world cares about what we think about it. Nature doesn’t need us – the majesty of this music reflects our smallness back to us. It is a humbling, devastating kind of beauty.

“It would be hard to imagine a better match of composer and performer than John Luther Adams and Robert Black. Collaborators for decades, they have both dedicated their professional lives to pushing their fields forward, at the highest possible levels. Robert Black is, himself, a national monument, and his playing here is rich and pure and plainspoken. He presents the music to us, unornamented and honest, and painfully direct. And therein lies its beauty, and its power.” (David Lang)

“Spectacular bassist Robert Black pairs up with John Luther Adams, one of the most important composers of our time. Black’s visionary commissioning and his realization of and advocacy for the music of our time is unmatched.” (Julia Wolfe)

“No one on the planet can make the double bass sing, dance, sound like a drum, spin like a top, like Robert Black. Robert has single-handedly reinvented the technique and repertoire of the Double Bass, bringing it bursting into the 21st century.” (Michael Gordon)

Tracklist:
01. Adams: Three High Places: I. Above Sunset Pass
02. Adams: Three High Places: II. The Wind at Maclaren Summit
03. Adams: Three High Places: III. Looking Toward Hope
04. Adams: Darkness and Scattered Light
05. Adams: Three Nocturnes: I. Moonrise
06. Adams: Three Nocturnes: II. Night Wind
07. Adams: Three Nocturnes: III. Moonset


Thanks to the Original customer!