Bedford, David featuring Kevin Ayers and the Whole World - The Garden Of Love CDEP (Mega Blowout Sale)
SKU
23-VP 180
“Written in 1970 on a commission from The London Sinfonietta for a 'Third Stream' concert, THE GARDEN OF LOVE is scored for a "classical" quintet, rock group with vocal solo, and "six beautiful dancing girls".
The essential idea is clever. Composer David Bedford starts with a melodic germ which is only heard in fragments throughout the aggressively ugly eighteen minute instrumental beginning section. After an extreme of cacophony is reached, the melody is finally heard in its entirety in a closing section of folk-like simplicity, a folk-rock setting of William Blake's poem 'The Garden of Love'. Although the final tune is appealing, the piece is not a pretty one, yet must have been great fun at its first and only performance, which is the source of this recording.
The liner notes contain two items of misinformation. The London Sinfonietta were not "the quintet Bedford had employed" but in fact the commissioners of the piece, and it is not true that "together with a few other audience members so disliked the rock music element of the piece that they walked out of the hall." The Sinfonietta members in fact left the stage just before the end because there is an instruction written in the score for them to do so.
It is one of those pieces that I am not really crazy about, but I also can't shake. I have listened to it many times !
Despite some extremely loud passages, the sound recording remains clear and undistorted throughout.”-James Eisenberg
“This disc contains Kevin Ayers and friends playing a through-composed David Bedford piece based heavily on call and response. It doesn't sound like Kevin Ayers albums until the end. It sounds more like Henry Cow, Pierre Marietan, orchestral Zappa such as 200 Motels, and Cecil Taylor all rolled up in one. I find it very exciting and lovely, and not at all cacophonous. With each listening, more reveals itself and I do wish more material like this would make it out. “
- LabelVoiceprint
- UPC604388303021