Looking for something other than "The Monster Mash" for your Halloween party? Try Kronos Quartet. Although they aren't conducive to dancing, two of their CD's, Black Angels and Night Prayers, are naturals for spooky ambience.
Night Prayers lends itself best to the purpose. The disc is a compilation of pieces based on traditional music from the Black Sea region: Tuva, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Armenia. This part of the world has long been associated with mystery,magic and the occult. It spawned the uber-sorceress Medea, the vampire myth, and, of course, Dracula. Not surprisingly, the tenor of its native music is just as spooky and eerie as its myths and folklore.
The disc begins with the growling refrain of the Throat Singers of Tuva, a nomadic group from the Western Ukraine, then moves on to the plaintive high soprano song of "Lacrymosa," which takes its inspiration from the the Requiem of the Catholic Mass as well as from traditional music from Uzbekistan. The voice of Dawn Upshaw sings a dissonant melody accompanied by even more dissonant strings. The effect is similar to a witch casting her spell while demons swirl about her. Next, comes "Mugam Sayagi," from Azerbaijan. It's from an Islamic tradition and is supposed to express sensual longing. It starts out with a low, haunting melody and then escalates into a frenzied mash of strings that is worthy of the sound track of an Ed Wood movie. "Quartet No. 4", is a tense piece from the Tatar region of Russia, suspenseful and less dissonant than the usual Kronos fare, but it, too, has that steely string sound interspersed throught that evokes images of bats and demons. "A Cool Wind is Blowing" is Armenian. Its melody, very Middle Eastern in tone, overlies a dissonant harmony that gives it a spooky feel without being too jarring. "K'Vakarat" is from the vocal tradition of the Jewish synagogue and is a beautiful, haunting, low melody sung in a tenor voice with a subdued string accompaniment. The final selection, "Night Prayers," is from Georgia, and has a doleful melody typical of traditional Russian music.
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