Epitonic.com: Alvin Curran-Crystal Psalms

Curran's vision for this piece required international participation. On October 20, 1988, much of western Europe heard what was to become a legend in radio history -- a concerto for musicians in six nations, simultaneously performed, mixed and broadcast live in stereo to an audience that spanned from Palermo to Helsinki. Some 300 musicians and technicians collaborated to bring the piece to fruition, with a chorus, a quartet of strings or winds, a percussionist, and an accordionist present in each of the six locations. In addition, Curran used pre-recorded sounds (including Yementite Jews praying at the Western 'Wailing' Wall, famous Eastern European cantors taken from old sound archives, and Curran's young niece singing her Bat Mizvah) as an accompaniment to the live performance. Ship horns, trains, crows, and breaking glass also add to the texture of Crystal Psalms. The somber music and startling, explosive samples combine to create multilayered and deeply moving music that allows the listener to remember and pay homage to the atrocity of Kristallnacht.