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After The Requiem (ECM, 1991) collects four chamber works:
After The Requiem (1990), a slow-motion elegy for string quartet
(with the first violin replaced by
Bill Frisell's electric guitar),
which is one of his most moving pieces;
Allegrasco (1983) for seven instruments, an ethereal ambience built
out of an unassuming "repetitive" pattern;
the saxophone quartet Alaric I or II (1989), very close to the most
angst-ridden of Schoenberg's and Webern's scores, despite the minimalist
undercurrent and "jazzy" solos;
The Old Town of Loebenicht (1987) for a seven-piece chamber ensemble,
another mournful piece but that fails to create pathos.
These works prove that, while so many minimalist composers turned to the
scales and styles of Asia, Nyman remained fundamentally faithful to the
western canon.
After his second opera, Doctor Ox's Experiment (1988), directed by Atom Egoyan, and revisions of his masterworks with improved sonic quality and cast performances,
including a live recording of the Sinking of the Titanic (Disques du Crepuscule, 1990),
a new version of Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (Point Music, 1993) and
a new version of The Sinking of the Titanic (Point Music, 1994),
and even a remix album with Aphex Twin, Raise the Titanic (Japan, 1995),
Bryars returned to chamber music.
Vita Nova (ECM, 1994) collects four chamber pieces: Glorious Hill (1988) for voices, Incipit Vita Nova (1989) for voice, violin, viola and cello, the lengthy and melancholy Four Elements for large chamber ensemble (one of his most blatantly minimast works), and Sub Rosa.
The Black River was released on The Black River (ECM, 1993) with works by other composers.
His quartets were collected on several releases:
The Last Days (Argo, 1995) has String Quartet no.1 and String Quartet no.2;
Three String Quartets (Black Box, 2002) has the dramatic
String Quartet No.1 (1986), the confused
String Quartet No.2 (1990),
and the mournful String Quartet No.3 (1998);
Gavin Bryars (Dapheneo, 1998) includes new versions of Allegrasco for saxophone and strings, and Alaric I or II for saxophone quartet, plus 3 Elegies for Nine Saxophones;
A Man in a Room Gambling (Point, 1997) and
Cadman Requiem (Point, 1998), which also includes
the song cycle Adnan Songbook (1996), were named after two of his most
ambitious vocal/chamber compositions, particularly the
Cadman Requiem (1989), inspired by medieval music.
Overall, Bryars' chamber works reveal how he fused his jazz roots and the
classical/avantgarde techniques. His preference for jazz settings and jazz
instruments is wed to patterns that hark back to John Cage, Steve Reich and Brian Eno.
In the late 1990s, the emphasis shifted towards larger-scale orchestral
compositions. His shimmering Cello Concerto "Farewell to Philosophy" (1994), a robotic process of melodic counterpoint, appears on
Farewell to Philosophy (Point, 1996),
together with a piece for pitched percussion (the Nexus ensemble),
One Last Bar Then Joe Can Sing (1994),
and an orchestral solo for jazz bassist Charlie Haden, By the Vaar.
I Have Heard It Said That A Spirit Enters (CBC, 2002 - Naxos, 2003) contains three songs for voice and chamber orchestra (including the title-track) but its highlights are the orchestral works: The Porazzi Fragment (1999), the ecstatic Violin Concerto (2000) and the less convincing Double Bass Concerto "By the Vaar" (2002).
A Portrait (Universal, 2003) is a sort of "greatest hits" that includes
"rarities" such as the saxophone concerto The Green Ray (1991), which ranks as one of his most poetic works,
Adnan Songbook (1996), Titanic Lament, The North Shore (1994),
besides the Cello Concerto and One Last Bar then Joe Can Sing.
Biped (GB, 2001) is the music for a Merce Cunningham dance performance,
scored for electric keyboards, double bass, electric guitar, cello, violin and hand-held percussion.
G (2002) is his fourth opera.
The The First Book of Madrigals (2000) and Second Book of Madrigals (2002) are still unreleased.
Bryars' unique art is best represented by works such as
Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (1971),
String Quartet No.1 (1986),
Cadman Requiem (1989),
After The Requiem (1991),
The Green Ray (1991),
Cello Concerto (1994),
Violin Concerto (2000),
which reveal the naive romanticism of his soul. They are
moving but in a quiet way.
In a sense, he is the Hindemith of minimalism.
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