Fabliaux, by Monash Art Ensemble

Fabliaux

by Monash Art Ensemble

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1.	Forbidden Flags 06:24	buy track
2.	Frieze 05:26	buy track
3.	Legions 07:29	buy track
4.	Gears 04:18	buy track
5.	Once Again the Mind 05:41	buy track
6.	Unknowing 04:25	buy track
7.	Whirlwind 08:11	buy track
8.	Wagon Wheel 04:31	buy track
9.	Tower of the Winds 10:04	buy track

about

Dave Douglas represents to me the quintessential 21st century musician; a perpetually curious musical exporter with a panoramic overview of the various traditions of which he is a part, and which have seem him span musical worlds from Horace Silver and Mary Lou Williams to John Zorn and Shigeto. His compositional vision has resulted in many fine and unique works. When he agreed to create a new work with the Monash Art Ensemble in 2014, I knew we were in for something groundbreaking; that he chose a medieval form as the basis for this project was as intriguing as it was exciting.

As Johan Huizinga described so lovingly in his immortal 'The Autumn of the Middle Ages', the 14th century was a time of extremes, the likes of which we can only dimly imagine now, a time when light and darkness were concepts of a physical, psychological and spiritual immediacy that defined life in all its aspects. It was a time of heraldry, of ritual, of esoteric speculation, conflict and pestilence. Rich pickings, therefore for the crafters of fabliaux, the vernacular, often bawdy verses that lie behind such immortal masterpieces as Boccaccio's Decameron and Chaucer's Caterbury Tales. It is the flavour of this literature that Dave Douglas has adopted as the platform for these nine beautiful pieces.

Dave presents us with the 'distant mirror' as Barbara Tuchman described that period, refracting the pre-tonal harmony, sockets, polyphonic and numerical complexity and coarse timbres of medieval music through the prism of a contemporary and eclectic jazz language, by turns colourful, raucous, tender, chaotic and majestic. It has been deeply satisfying to be a part of this project; I hope you, the listener, have as much fun with Fabliaux as we did in playing it.

- Paul Grabowsky, Artistic Director, Monash Art Ensemble

credits

released September 24, 2019

Paul Grabowsky, Director
Dave Douglas, trumpet and composer
Lachlan Davidson, flute / clarinet / soprano / saxophone
Rob Burke, clarinet / alto saxophone
Paul Cornelius, tenor saxophone
Mirko Guerrini, bass clarinet / baritone saxophone
Ben Harrison, trumpet
Niran Dakika, trumpet
Jordan Murray, trombone
Craig Beard, tuned percussion
Paul Grabowsky, piano
Peter Knight, electronics
Kieran Rafferty, drums
Geoff Hughes, guitar
Elizabeth Sellars, violin
Will Martina, cello
Marty Holoubek, contrabass

Dave Douglas, Executive Producer
Project Coordinator, Rob Burke
Recorded, mixed and mastered, Ross Cockle

With thanks to the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University, the Australian Art Orchestra, the Vizard Foundation, Merryn Tinkler and the Monash Academy of Performing Arts.

Dave Douglas would like to acknowledge and draw attention to two sources of inspiration for the composition of Fabliaux. One is the book by William Manchester, 'A World Lit Only by Fire'. The other is the life and music of David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London.

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Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance, Monash University Melbourne, Australia

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