Meredith monk, american performance artist, a pioneer in the avantgarde, whose work skillfully integrated diverse performance disciplines and media. This film is a rich and haunting reinvention of medieval life that never loses its contemporary perspective. A perpetual 366 day engagement calendar by diane stein. It deals with a community of jews and christians in the middle ages in time of plague, where the young daughter of a jewish family has visions of 20thcentury technology and society, drawing them on walls. Time yugoslavian hala strana fielding last visible dog 2004, originally released on jewelled antler, 2003 but if you. Meredith monk book of days robert een voice, cello ching gonzalez voice andrea goodman voice wayne hankin voice, gro. Personally i would have liked more of meredith monk s music in the film but its absence doesnt make book of days any less affecting. Try disabling any ad blockers and refreshing this page. In book of days, to be shown tonight at 10 on channel as part of the alive from off center series, she has created a. Reluctantly, we have had to pass on some of this increase in our standard airmail prices. Book of days, an album by meredith monk on spotify. One day during summer of 1984, as i was sweeping the floor of my house in the country, the image of a young girl in black and white and a medieval street in the jewish community also in black and white came to. In the 1980s, monk wrote and directed two films, ellis island 1981, and book of days 1988. The debut installment of debutifuls discovering debuts online reading series will be held on april 16.
Find meredith monk discography, albums and singles on allmusic. The idea for book of days came to monk one afternoon in the summer of 1984, when she was overcome by a blackandwhite vision of a young jewish girl in a medieval street. Atlas an opera in three parts 1993 voyages 20 key 1972 on behalf of nature 2016 turtle dreams 1983. Meredith monk american performance artist britannica. A number of reworkings have surfaced in recent years, perhaps most notably nick halletts performance at the new museum. Listen free to meredith monk book of days early morning melody, travellers 1, 2, 3 and more. Monk studied piano and eurythmics from an early age. In the 1980s, monk wrote and directed two films, ellis island 1981, and book of days 1988, which developed from a single idea. Meredith monk s film book of days 1988 is a fulllength feature that follows the lives of medieval villagers beset by the plague. Two treasures from the 1980s, meredith monk s rarely seen films ellis island and book of days, are now available on dvd. Time yugoslavian hala strana fielding last visible dog 2004. When the plague afflicts a village, this world seems to go up in an apocalypse of hatred and disease that presages our own century. Fasti poem, known in english as the book of days, a latin poem by ovid.
In meredith monks classic featurelength film book of days, time plays a central role. Drawing parallels between the black death and monk s observation of the aids crisis in new york contemporary to the making of the film, book of days dramatises archetypes in search of and in support of humanity. Book of days 1988 conceived and directed by meredith monk cinematography by jerry pantzer art direction and costume design by yoshio yabara music by meredith monk produced by catherine tatge and dominique lasseur. Book of days meredith monk and vocal ensemble composers. At big ears, the tennessee theatre will host a rare 35mm screening meredith monk s 1988 experimental feature film book of days, which monk describes as a film for the ears. Recognized as one of the most unique and influential artists of our time, she is a pioneer in what is now called extended vocal technique and interdisciplinary. Discover more music, concerts, videos, and pictures with the largest catalogue online at.
Book of days by meredith monk on amazon music unlimited. Like all her other albuns, this one never ceases to wonder. Meredith monk and vocal ensemble music from meredith monk s film of the same title. Meredith monk has enthralled audiences since the early 1960s. November 20, 1942, new york city is a composer, singer, directorchoreographer and creator of new opera, musictheater works, films and installations.
Book of days meredith monk 1990 book of days album cover the trouble with being first is that you are sometimes overshadowed by the passage of time and those who came after you who cashed in on your daring experiments. This same figure would become the locus for much of the films traumatic crossfire, amid which the girl has visions of her own, only for her they are of a grave and violent. Her visionary work as performer, composer, choreographer, filmmaker, singer, and dancer has helped to define the american avant garde and earned numerous honors and awards including a macarthur fellowship in 1995. Johanna arnold joan barber robert een john eppler ching gonzales andrea goodman wayne hankin naaz hosseini meredith monk toby newman nicky paraiso timothy sawyer nurit tilles label. Bandcamp delved into the making of meredith monk s new album. Meredith monk s, our lady of late was performed in 1975 at the naropa institute, boulder, colorado. One day during summer of 1984, as i was sweeping the floor of my house in the country, the image of a young girl in black and white and a medieval street in the jewish community also in black and white came to me. Monk on the road is one such book which has been well received both in the form of a book and as picture. Ellis island 1981, book of days 1988, and interview the house foundation for the arts, 2 hr. Meredith monks tortoise dreams and folk music from another planet. Digital recording, june 1989, clinton studios, new york. Meredith monk discusses with interviewer john killacky the general principles and inspiration for her film works, ellis island, and book of days. Meredith is, in my humble opinion, one of the great geniouses of modern music, and book of days is another masterpiece, a wonderful collection of tales, storyteller and a sublime intuition of the beauty and mystery of things.
The first time i encountered the music of meredith monk was in her fascinating, indeed haunting film book of days from 1988 that was shown on pbs. Listen to your favorite songs from book of days by meredith monk now. Book of days has a mythic quality, a sense of displacement. Book of days is the seventh album by meredith monk, released in 1990 through ecm new series. Abstract and preverbal in character, it was composed in 1972 as a harmonic piece for a single voice and glass. Stream book of days by meredith monk and tens of millions of other songs on all your devices with amazon music unlimited. As a knockon effect of covid19 airfreight prices around the world have soared. Meredith monk ellis island, book of days entertainment. Meredith monk archive, lpa mss 2006001, the new york public library for the performing arts. The film opens in color, with 20thcentury workmen blasting a brick wall, leaving a hole that opens into a blackandwhite small town in the middle ages. There are a number of books under the monk series by lee goldberg which have been made into tv series and films. I just obtained an amazonvendor used copy of her music cd books of days on. Due to the current health crisis any purchases made through the meredith monkhouse foundation store will not be shipped until after april 30th. Meredith monk was born on november 20, 1942 in new york city, new york, usa.
It deals with a community of jews and christians in the middle ages in time of plague, where the young daughter of a jewish family has visions of 20thcentury technology and society, drawing them on. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. Stream book of days by meredith monk and tens of millions of other songs on. Its a shame meredith monk never directed any other films.
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