Night Prayers
Encyclopedia
Night Prayers is a studio album by the Kronos Quartet
. It contains commissioned pieces with music from former Soviet republics in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and includes performances by Throat Singers of Tuva
, Dawn Upshaw
(soprano
), Djivan Gasparian (duduk
), and Mikhail Alexandrovich (cantor
).
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
. It contains commissioned pieces with music from former Soviet republics in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and includes performances by Throat Singers of Tuva
Tuva
The Tyva Republic , or Tuva , is a federal subject of Russia . It lies in the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders with the Altai Republic, the Republic of Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia and with Mongolia to the...
, Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw is an American soprano described as "one of the most consequential performers of our time" by the Los Angeles Times. The recipient of several Grammy Awards and Edison Prize-winning discs, Upshaw is at home both in opera and art song, and in repertoire from Baroque to contemporary...
(soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
), Djivan Gasparian (duduk
Duduk
The duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
), and Mikhail Alexandrovich (cantor
Cantor (church)
A cantor is the chief singer employed in a church with responsibilities for the ecclesiastical choir; also called the precentor....
).
Track listing
Musicians
- David Harrington - violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- John Sherba - violin
- Hank Dutt - violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Joan JeanrenaudJoan JeanrenaudJoan Jeanrenaud, née Dutcher , is an American cello player. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, she played with the Kronos Quartet from 1978 until 1999, when, after a sabbatical, she left to pursue a solo career and collaborations with other artists, in part due being diagnosed with multiple...
- celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Throat Singers of Tuva (track 1)
- Kaigal-ool Khovalyg
- Anatoly Kuular
- Kongar-ool Ondar
- Dawn UpshawDawn UpshawDawn Upshaw is an American soprano described as "one of the most consequential performers of our time" by the Los Angeles Times. The recipient of several Grammy Awards and Edison Prize-winning discs, Upshaw is at home both in opera and art song, and in repertoire from Baroque to contemporary...
- sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
(track 2) - Djivan GasparyanDjivan GasparyanDjivan Gasparyan is an Armenian musician and composer. He plays the duduk, a double reed woodwind instrument related to the orchestral oboe. Gasparyan is known as the Master of the duduk.-Biography:...
- dudukDudukThe duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
(track 5) - Mikhail Alexandrovich - cantorCantor (church)A cantor is the chief singer employed in a church with responsibilities for the ecclesiastical choir; also called the precentor....
(track 6)
Production
- Recorded at Skywalker SoundSkywalker SoundSkywalker Sound is the sound effects, sound editing, sound design, sound mixing and music recording division of George Lucas' Lucas Digital motion picture group. Its main facilities are located in Lucas Valley, near Nicasio, California...
, Nicasio, CaliforniaNicasio, CaliforniaNicasio is a census-designated place in Marin County, California. It is located west-southwest of Novato, at an elevation of 194 feet . The population was 96 at the 2010 census....
; The American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, New York; and Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts- Judith Sherman, Kronos Quartet - Producers
- Robert Hurwitz - Executive producer
- Joseph Chilorio - Engineer (tracks 4, 6)
- Bob Edwards - Engineer (tracks 1, 7)
- Judith Sherman - Engineer (tracks 2-6)
- Craig Silvey - Engineer (tracks 3-5)
- Paul Zinman - Engineer (track 2)
- Mark Donahue - Assistant engineer (track 4)
- Chris Haynes - Assistant engineer (tracks 4, 5)
- Tom Luekens - Assistant engineer (tracks 1, 3)
- Craig Silvey - Assistant engineer (track 7)
- David Wojnarowicz - Cover
- Frank Olinsky - Design