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

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by English

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 themselv ...

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 Defi ...

and

improvisor Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

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 one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

, 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 or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

Amanda Miller for two dances for her

The Pretty Ugly Dance Company ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. Both suites premiered at the Stadttheater in Freiburg, Germany, "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, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

's 1910 ballet, ''

Firebird Suite ''The Firebird'' (french: L'Oiseau de feu, link=no; russian: Жар-птица, Zhar-ptitsa, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev' ...

''. "Imitation" focused on

Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

elements and played on the Western world's perception of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. At the time, the

shakuhachi A is a Japanese and ancient Chinese 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 in the United States, 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, 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 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) – 6:18 ##"Kira" ( Frith) – 5:37 ##"Kio" ( Frith,

Scanlon Scanlon is an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Scannláin, meaning descendant of Scannlán’. Notable people with the name include: * Agnes Scanlon (1923–2018), American politician * Albert Scanlon (1935–2009), English soccer playe ...

) – 2:33 ##"Tan" ( Frith,

) – 3:05 ##"Shi--o" ( Frith) – 1:33 ##"Beni" ( Frith) – 3:52 ##"Kasumi" ( Frith) – 2:15 ##"Sumi" ( Frith) – 1:12 ##"Hanabira" ( Frith,

) – 3:48 #"The Happy End Problem" ( Frith) – 21:00

Personnel

– guitar, bass guitar, laptop instruments * Kikutsubo Day (1-9) – shakuhachi * Carla Kihlstedt – violin * William Winant – 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 Sheela Ravichandran (Born 22 March 1945) is an Indian actress and director who appears predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Paired with Prem Nazir, they hold the Guinness World Record for acting in the largest number of films (130) together as he ...

(10) – flute *

Heather Vorwerck Heather may refer to: Plants *The heather family, or Ericaceae, particularly: **Common heather or ling, '' Calluna'' **Various species of the genus '' Cassiope'' **Various species of the genus '' Erica'' Name * Heather (given name) * Heather ...

(10) – cello *

Wu Fei Wu Fei (, born May 12, 1977) is a virtuoso Chinese American composer, performer, and improviser from Beijing, China. She performs on the Chinese guzheng, an ancient zither with twenty-one strings, as well as sings. She currently resides in Nashv ...

(10) – gu zheng

Sound and artwork

*"Imitation" recorded at Guerrilla Recordings, Oakland, California, February 2004 *"The Happy End Problem" recorded at Guerrilla Recordings, Oakland, California, February 2003 *Engineered, mixed and mastered by

Myles Boisen In Greek mythology, Myles (; Ancient Greek: Μύλης means 'mill-man') was an ancient king of Laconia. He was the son of the King Lelex and possibly the naiad Queen Cleocharia, and brother of Polycaon. Myles was the father of Eurotas who begott ...

*Artwork by

Tom Kurth Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

References

External links

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