Pieces of Africa
1992 studio album by Kronos Quartet
Pieces of Africa | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Kronos Quartet | ||||
Released | February 1992 (1992-02) | |||
Genre | Contemporary classical | |||
Label | Nonesuch (#79275) | |||
Kronos Quartet chronology | ||||
|
Pieces of Africa is a 1992 studio album by the Kronos Quartet, containing works commissioned by the quartet, written by seven African composers.
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Mai Nozipo" ("Mother Nozipo") | Dumisani Maraire (Shona, Zimbabwe) | 6:58 |
2. | "Saade" ("I'm Happy") | Hassan Hakmoun (Moroccan) | 3:23 |
3. | "Tilliboyo" ("Sunset") | Foday Musa Suso (Mandinka, Gambia) | 4:23 |
4. | "Ekitundu ekisooka" ("First Movement") | Justinian Tamusuza (Uganda) | 5:41 |
5. | "Escalay" ("Waterwheel") | Hamza El Din (Nubia, Egypt) | 12:20 |
6. | "Wawshishijay" ("Our Beginning") | Obo Addy (Ghana) | 4:56 |
7. | "White Man Sleeps, Mvt. I" (original, unrevised) | Kevin Volans (South Africa) | 4:02 |
8. | "White Man Sleeps, Mvt. II" | 5:05 | |
9. | "White Man Sleeps, Mvt. III" | 3:24 | |
10. | "White Man Sleeps, Mvt. IV" | 6:17 | |
11. | "White Man Sleeps, Mvt. V" | 3:22 | |
12. | "Kutambarara" ("Spreading") | Dumisani Maraire | 7:09 |
Reception and legacy
According to AllMusic, the Quartet avoids cultural imperialism or appropriation and, "Pieces of Africa teems with beguiling melodies, making it one of this quartet's more accessible projects and also one of its best."[1] A review in Gramophone argues that only Escalay and White Man Sleeps are successful compositions for string quartet.[2]
It was inducted into the National Recording Registry on April, 16, 2024.[3]
Personnel
Musicians
- David Harrington – violin, akete
- John Sherba – violin, akete
- Hank Dutt – viola, akete
- Joan Jeanrenaud – cello, akete
- Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Terrence Kelly – conductor
- Hassan Hakmoun, Said Hakmoun, Radouane Laktib, Dumisani Maraire – voice
- Obo Addy – drums
- Hamza El Din – tar
- Radouane Laktib – oud
- Foday Musa Suso – kora
- Said Hakmoun – bendir
- Ephat Mujuru – mbira
- Dan Pauli – hosho
Production
- Bob Edwards, Judith Sherman, Paul Zinman – Engineers
- Judith Sherman – Producer
See also
Sales
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States | — | 85,000[4] |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide | — | 300,000[5] |
References
- ^ Pieces of Africa at AllMusic.
- ^ "Kronos Quartet: Piece of Africa", Gramophone.Co.UK.
- ^ "National Recording Registry Inducts Sounds of ABBA, Blondie, The Cars, The Chicks, Juan Gabriel, Green Day, The Notorious B.I.G. and Lily Tomlin". LOC.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
- ^ Bambarger, Bradley (23 December 1995). "Kronos Surveyed on Nonesuch". Billboard. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ Bambarger, Bradley (31 October 1998). "Classical Keeping Score". Billboard. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- v
- t
- e
- David Harrington
- John Sherba
- Hank Dutt
- Paul Wiancko
- In Formation (1982)
- Monk Suite: Kronos Quartet Plays Music of Thelonious Monk (1985)
- Terry Riley: Cadenza on the Night Plain (1985)
- Music of Bill Evans (1986)
- Kronos Quartet (1986)
- Winter Was Hard (1988)
- Kronos Quartet Plays Terry Riley: Salome Dances for Peace (1989)
- Black Angels (1990)
- Witold Lutosławski: String Quartet (1991)
- Kevin Volans: Hunting:Gathering (1991)
- Five Tango Sensations (1991)
- Henryk Mikolaj Górecki: Already It Is Dusk/"Lerchenmusik" (1991)
- Pieces of Africa (1992)
- Short Stories (1993)
- Henryk Górecki: String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 (1993)
- At the Grave of Richard Wagner (1993)
- Morton Feldman: Piano and String Quartet (1993)
- All the Rage (1993)
- Night Prayers (1994)
- Tan Dun: Ghost Opera (1997)
- Early Music (Lachrymæ Antiquæ) (1997)
- Kronos Quartet Performs Alfred Schnittke: The Complete String Quartets (1998)
- Terry Riley: Requiem for Adam (2001)
- Steve Reich: Triple Quartet (2001)
- Nuevo (2002)
- You've Stolen My Heart (2005)
- Henryk Górecki: String Quartet No. 3 ('...songs are sung') (2007)
- Kronos Quartet Plays Sigur Rós (2007)
- Terry Riley: The Cusp of Magic (2008)
- Floodplain (2009)
- Uniko (2011)
- Folk Songs (2017)
- Sun Rings (2019)
- Long Time Passing (2020)
- Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
- Dracula (1999)
- Requiem for a Dream (2000)
- The Fountain (2006)