Released 1997 (1997) Length 55:31 The Previous Evening
(1997) Pacifica
(1998) Artist Fred Frith Label Recommended Records (UK) | Recorded 1993, 1996, Germany Producer Amanda Miller The Previous Evening
(1997) Accidental
(2002) Release date 1997 | |
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Genres Experimental rock, Contemporary classical music Similar Fred Frith albums, Experimental rock albums | ||
The Previous Evening (Music for Dance Volume 4) is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith. It is the fourth of a series of Music for Dance albums Frith made, and was recorded in Germany in 1993 and 1996.
Contents
The Previous Evening was composed by Frith and is divided into three parts, in which Frith pays homage to three contemporary classical composers, John Cage, Morton Feldman and Earle Brown. The CD booklet also contains the following dedication: "This recording is dedicated to my father, Donald Frith, whose support has been and continues to be warm and unwavering."
Background
The Previous Evening was originally commissioned by United States choreographer Amanda Miller. Part I was premiered by the London Contemporary Dance Theatre at Sadler's Wells, London in December 1993. Parts II and III were premiered by the Pretty Ugly Dance Company in 1996, at the Tiroler Landestheater, Innsbruck and the Hebbel Theater, Berlin, respectively.
Frith incorporated elements of John Cage, Morton Feldman and Earle Brown's working methods into the respective pieces on the album. "Fragments of text heard in Part I were taken at random from John Cage's book Silence: Lectures and Writings. Tape editing, the structure of events, and dynamic markings in this section were also determined using chance methods." An Australian Dawn chorus appears in Part III, and other sound sources include works by Cage, Schumann, Mozart and "some bits and pieces of my own earlier work."
Track listing
All tracks composed by Fred Frith.
Personnel
Sound
Songs
1Part I (Homage to John Cage)19:40
2Part II (Homage to Morton Feldman)22:35
3Part III (Homage to Earle Brown)13:16