Meredith monk was born on november 20, 1942 in new york city, new york, usa. Book of days is the seventh album by meredith monk, released book of days is the seventh album by meredith monk, released in 1990 through ecm new series. Monk s particular combinations of film, music, dance and theater often have been startling. In her pieces, the plague of the middle ages is seen as the precursor of aids, while st. 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. Since the 1960s, monk has created multidisciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ecm records. Ellis island 1981, book of days 1988, and interview the house foundation for the arts, 2 hr. 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 studied piano and eurythmics from an early age. Monk has also made several experimental films, and book of days is indeed one of them. Book of days, monks 7th album was recorded in 1990. A pioneer in performance art, who takes an interdisciplinary approach to creativity and has excelled in a variety of forms. In the 1980s, monk wrote and directed two films, ellis island 1981, and book of days 1988, which developed from a single idea.
Travellers 4 curchyard entertainment meredith monk. Book of days is the seventh album by meredith monk, released in 1990 through ecm new series. Two treasures from the 1980s, meredith monks rarely seen films ellis island and book of days, are now available on dvd. The girls dreams and her grandfather the book of days by meredith monk duration. 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. Meredith monks film book of days 1988 is a fulllength feature that follows the lives of medieval villagers beset by the plague. Meredith monk appeared on the classical scene with the appearance of the album turtle dreams published on november 30, 1982. With music streaming on deezer you can discover more than 56 million tracks, create your own playlists, and share your favourite tracks with your friends.
What emerges is a suite of songs that flows with a. In 1964, she graduated from sarah lawrence college and in 1968 she founded the house, a company dedicated to an interdisciplinary approach to performance. Meredith monk has outlined the scenario in her program notes for the 1990 ecm recording of this music. In the 1980s, monk wrote and directed two films, ellis island 1981, and book of days 1988. Sources the center is the voice, and the center is the i music. An innovator in mixedmedia forms, meredith monk uses music, dance, drama, and film in theater pieces that may move between ancient times and modern, between exotic fantasy and everyday reality. Book of days, an album by meredith monk on spotify. In 1991, monk composed an opera called atlas, commissioned and produced by. 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. Binaural beats concentration music, focus music, background music for studying, study music greenred productions relaxing music 443 watching live now. Meredith monk biography, albums, streaming links allmusic.
Stylistically, it follows a similar formula she established back in 1980 with dolmen music. 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. Meredith monk ellis island book of days 2007, dvd discogs. The composer, vocalist, dancer, choreographer, director and filmmaker meredith monk celebrates the 50th anniversary of the start of her professional career. Screenings will include 16 millimeter earrings 1966, book of days 1988, ellis island 1981, turtle dreams 1983, paris 1982, and several of monks short silent films 19661994. Johanna arnold alto, joan barber voice, andrea goodman voice, naaz hosseini voice, meredith monk voice, robert een voice, john eppler voice, ching gonzales voice, wayne hankin voice, nicky paraiso voice, timothy sawyer voice, nurit tilles keyboard, toby newman voice. Our april 28, 2020 gala will include a beautiful private yacht charter with views of the skyline, open bar, dinner, and a live music performance. At big ears, the tennessee theatre will host a rare 35mm screening meredith monks 1988 experimental feature film book of days, which monk describes as a film for the ears. It was based on music from a film of the same name two years earlier. She uses her voice to sing, moan, yodel, squeal, whisper and gurgle, at the same time conjuring up a panoply of characters, from elderly women and precocious children to shrieking ghosts and chanting priests. Meredith monk celebrates 50 years of work the new york times. Listen free to meredith monk book of days early morning melody, travellers 1, 2, 3 and more.
Dont wait to join the meredith monkhouse foundation quest gala benefit committee. Book of days art direction yoshio yabara cinematographer jerry pantzer creative director, music by meredith monk film producer catherine tatge, dominique lasseur. Documentation excerpts for on behalf of nature, a multidisciplinary performance piece by meredith monk. 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. In fact book of days is for me a desert island disc as the saying goes. Meredith jane monk born november 20, 1942 is an american composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. The meredith monk archive was donated to the new york public library for the performing arts in 2006 by meredith monk.
Meredith monk american performance artist britannica. Related collections the papers of meredith monks mother, the singer audrey marsh, are held by the music division, jpb 0676. The track turtle dreams immediately became a success and made meredith monk one of the fastest growing artists at that time. Meredith monk, american performance artist, a pioneer in the avantgarde, whose work skillfully integrated diverse performance disciplines and media. I use center in the largest sense of the word, because i feel that when i do a theater piece now, i m an orchestrator of music and image and movement, meredith monk explained to opera america in october 1984. Ebook meredith monk as pdf download portable document format. 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. Meredith monk is primarily known for her vocal innovations, including a wide range of extended techniques, which she first developed in her solo performances before forming her own ensemble. Meredith monk has spent over 50 years steadily churning out gracefully challenging works. 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. Between time and timelessness in book of days yael samuel. The film is a rare gem and i urge anybody interested in monk to seek it out. The voice is a language, a world of continuing discoveries. Memory game is both a look back at a pivotal point in meredith monks storied career, and a richly layered portrait of how vocal music, under the guidance of an indefatigable master, can play with our expectations in poignant and compelling ways.
As on that recording, monk uses only her voice in a series of overdubs that highlight her full vocal range. It has come to feel like part of the rhythm of living in. Meredith monk, still peerless at shocking serenity. Processing information the collection was processed and cataloged in 20062007. A guide to meredith monks music music the guardian. In one early piece, 16 millimeter earrings, she projected a movie of her face onto a dome. Meredith monk ellis island, book of days entertainment. 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.
742 243 368 205 424 511 760 1412 1528 598 1469 1025 1128 1051 254 740 825 1087 731 444 167 697 679 997 1455 759 1271 335 1232 311 1088 833 1183 1070 1167 204 1277