Liner Notes
Cat. No. NWCR697
Release Date: 1995-01-01
Seth Josel, guitar
Every composer, every listener to music—intent or casual— has to come to terms with the guitar. As the sonic flesh of Western popular music for much of the last half century, it is simply inescapable: there are few places left so remote that the sound of the guitar is unknown or shut out.
Given its ubiquity, though, the guitar is an instrument of surprisingly few, if powerful, associations. Amplified at great volume, it is rock’s instrument of potency and persuasion, of sex and rebellion; it cries tears and comforts the lonely in country and western music; it is a gentle accompanist and social unifier in folk music; it is a symbol of Spain. In classical music, the guitar’s ancestor, the lute, was widely used in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, but since then, outside of Spain, it has been a minor player. In our century, the modernist school of composers has acknowledged it but not its associations, finding in it, instead, a vast potential for color and variety of sounds—an approach that has had little popularity outside of a specialized audience.
Yet the tension created by the guitar’s unavoidable historical and ethnic associations, its present-day ubiquity, and its ability to continually renew itself happen to make it an ideal vehicle for musical postmodernism—the instrument, that is, for out times. Consequently, the music performed by Seth Josel herein, which is centered around the culturally unstable 1980s and 1990s, turns out to be a kind of wide-lens snapshot of our musical era that would be hard to match in a collection of new works for any other single instrument.
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.t(s).
Every composer, every listener to music—intent or casual— has to come to terms with the guitar. As the sonic flesh of Western popular music for much of the last half century, it is simply inescapable: there are few places left so remote that the sound of the guitar is unknown or shut out.
Given its ubiquity, though, the guitar is an instrument of surprisingly few, if powerful, associations. Amplified at great volume, it is rock’s instrument of potency and persuasion, of sex and rebellion; it cries tears and comforts the lonely in country and western music; it is a gentle accompanist and social unifier in folk music; it is a symbol of Spain. In classical music, the guitar’s ancestor, the lute, was widely used in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, but since then, outside of Spain, it has been a minor player. In our century, the modernist school of composers has acknowledged it but not its associations, finding in it, instead, a vast potential for color and variety of sounds—an approach that has had little popularity outside of a specialized audience.
Yet the tension created by the guitar’s unavoidable historical and ethnic associations, its present-day ubiquity, and its ability to continually renew itself happen to make it an ideal vehicle for musical postmodernism—the instrument, that is, for out times. Consequently, the music performed by Seth Josel herein, which is centered around the culturally unstable 1980s and 1990s, turns out to be a kind of wide-lens snapshot of our musical era that would be hard to match in a collection of new works for any other single instrument.
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.t(s).
Long Distance
| MP3/320 | $16.00 | |
| FLAC | $16.00 | |
| WAV | $16.00 | |
| CD-R | $16.00 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Arien IV, Solo Music for Guitar: I. Prelude
Sidney Corbett
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Buy
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Arien IV, Solo Music for Guitar: II. Meditation
Sidney Corbett
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Buy
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Arien IV, Solo Music for Guitar: III. Tarantella
Sidney Corbett
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Buy
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Arien IV, Solo Music for Guitar: IV. Discant
Sidney Corbett
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Buy
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Arien IV, Solo Music for Guitar: V. Ricercar
Sidney Corbett
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Buy
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Water on The Mountain...Fire in Heaven: Section A
James Tenney
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Buy
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Water on The Mountain...Fire in Heaven: Section B
James Tenney
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Buy
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Water on The Mountain...Fire in Heaven: Section C
James Tenney
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Buy
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Bag O' Tells: I. Catacomb
Martin Bresnick
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Buy
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Bag O' Tells: II. Mbira
Martin Bresnick
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Buy
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Bag O' Tells: III. Canzona
Martin Bresnick
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Buy
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Bag O' Tells: IV. La Bamba
Martin Bresnick
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Buy
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Greaseball
Eric Lyon
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Buy
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Ciacona
Aaron Jay Kernis
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Buy
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