''The Happy End Problem (Music for Dance Volume 5)'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

improvisor Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as a founding member of the English avant-rock group Henry ...

, and is the fifth of a series of Music for Dance albums he made. It comprises two suites composed in 2003 by Frith "for flute, bassoon, gu zheng, percussion, violin and electronics" and was recorded in 2003 and 2004.

Background

The two suites on the album, "Imitation" and "The Happy End Problem" were composed by Frith for small ensembles of six and seven musicians. They were originally commissioned in 2003 by

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

Amanda Miller for two dances for her The Pretty Ugly Dance Company. Both suites premiered at the Stadttheater in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, "The Happy End Problem" in May 2003 and "Imitation" in April 2004. In "The Happy End Problem" Frith drew on elements from

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

's 1910 ballet, ''

Firebird Suite ''The Firebird'' (; ) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Michel Fokine, who c ...

''. "Imitation" focused on

Oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

elements and played on the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

's perception of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. At the time, the

shakuhachi A is a Japanese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the .

player, Kikutsubo Day was a student of Frith's at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and he constructed "Imitation" around her playing.

Reception

A reviewer at ''Sea of Tranquility'' summed up the album with the following comment: :"Overall two highly accomplished and fascinating pieces of music, more perhaps for the classical enthusiast than the progger." In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, François Couture wrote: "Whether you prefer the calm of 'Imitation' or the more disquieting overtones of 'The Happy End Problem,' both pieces fare very well without their choreographed component." John Kelman of

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

commented: "''The Happy End Problem''... is a fine summation of Frith's career to date: enigmatic beauty juxtaposed with near-minimalist tendencies; occasional passages of jagged but strangely appealing edges and unapologetic free play blending with cued compositional sections; and a confluence of cultural references that are unmistakable, even as they join together for a new, unified whole." Writing for Paris Transatlantic, Massimo Ricci stated that "the music benefits enormously from the stunning performances of all the players involved," and, regarding the final track, remarked: "My soul undergoes a meltdown about 15 minutes into the track, when Wu Fei's delicate gu zheng figures remind us of the frailty of purpose amidst the often overwhelming forces of life... one of the most touching sections of... an instant classic."

Track listing

#"Imitation" ##"Ukon" (

Frith Frith is a word derived from Old English meaning "peace; protection; safety, security, freedom, refuge". Etymology Derived from Old English ''friðu, friþ'', it is cognate to Old Norse '' friðr'', Old Saxon '' frithu'', Old High German '' ...

) – 6:18 ##"Kira" (

) – 5:37 ##"Kio" (

Scanlon Scanlon is an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Scannláin, meaning "descendant of Scannlán", and is a variant of the name Ó Scannail derived from the Irish word ''scannal'', originally meaning quarrel, contention, fight, and later, scan ...

) – 2:33 ##"Tan" (

) – 3:05 ##"Shi--o" (

) – 1:33 ##"Beni" (

) – 3:52 ##"Kasumi" (

) – 2:15 ##"Sumi" (

) – 1:12 ##"Hanabira" (

) – 3:48 #"The Happy End Problem" (

) – 21:00

Personnel

– guitar, bass guitar, laptop instruments * Kikutsubo Day (1-9) – shakuhachi *

Carla Kihlstedt Carla Kihlstedt (born 1971) is an American composer, violinist, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and currently working from a home studio on Cape Cod. She is a founding member of Tin Hat Trio (1997, ...

– violin *

William Winant William Winant (born 1953) is an American percussionist. In addition to his work in contemporary classical music—notably performing Lou Harrison's compositions—Winant has worked in a variety of genres, including noise rock, free improvisation ...

– percussion *

Theresa Wong Theresa Wong (born March 31, 1976) is an American cellist, vocalist, composer and improviser in the field of experimental music. In 2013 she lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. Early life and education She was born in Schenectady, New York, Uni ...

(1-9) – cello *

Patrice Scanlon Patrice is a given name meaning ''noble'' or '' patrician'', related to the names Patrick and Patricia. In English, Patrice is often a feminine first name. In French, it is used as a masculine first name. Popularity In the United States, the popul ...

– electronics, clarinet * Sheela Bringi (10) – flute * Heather Vorwerck (10) – cello * Wu Fei (10) – gu zheng

Sound and artwork

*"Imitation" recorded at Guerrilla Recordings,

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, February 2004 *"The Happy End Problem" recorded at Guerrilla Recordings, Oakland, California, February 2003 *Engineered, mixed and mastered by Myles Boisen *Artwork by Tom Kurth

References

External links

*. {{DEFAULTSORT:Happy End Problem, The 2006 albums Fred Frith albums Fred Records albums Albums produced by Fred Frith