Monk

In her 40 year career, Meredith Monk has influenced music, theatre, and film, and is especially known for her interdisciplinary performance. Dolmen Music is primarily music, but many of the works contain echoes of theatrical performance. Ms. Monk’s music has an astonishing ability to communicate an expanse of diverse emotions by using such little material. She eases us into her world of timelessness during the progression of this album. Her music is generally viewed as minimalist in nature, and Monk places a focus on her extended vocal techniques, a field which she is considered one of the few pioneers in. The first piece “Gotham Lullaby” is an unconventionally simple but soothing piece. The piano’s arpeggiated chords are not unfamiliar, and Monk’s vocals project tranquility without any lyrics.

In “Travelling,” the vocals become more innovative, often resembling exotic calls. The music is quicker, but again led by the piano. Repetition and exploration is the basis of this song.

Some of Monk’s few lyrics are heard in “The Tale,” a piece where Monk’s interdisciplinary affinities are clearly present. The piece describes a character, maybe a story, through a combination of Monk’s laughing vocals and basic short lines: “I still have my telephone …/… I still have my philosophy.” Additional theatricality is found in the harsh bows from strings creating an effect reminiscent of car horns and by an abrupt interlude of breaking glass.

A piano beautifully opens “Biography” and Monk’s deep vocal line quickly follows. She manipulates the tone of her voice on a seemingly meaningless syllable to express significant emotion. As the piece progresses Monk’s voice shifts from erratic sobbing, back into her standard exploration of a syllable, and into something I can only describe as speaking in tongues.

The title track, “Dolmen Music,” is the focus of this album; it’s an epic suite for six voices, cello, and percussion, longer than all the other tracks combined. The piece is the apex of Monk’s minimalist desire “to express a sense of timelessness; of time as a reoccurring cycle.” The sound is everchanging, but rarely at a conscious level, and the repetition within the piece creates overwhelming tension. The piece contains interludes to break up the repetition or start a new direction, easing the ability to listen. “Dolmen Music” clearly sounds similar to archaic chant, reinforced by the title; a dolmen is an ancient megalithic tomb. The music begins slowly. Long notes are played on a solitary string, which fades away to allow the voices to enter the chant one by one.

Dolmen Music is a strong album, but the title track is easily the focal point, leaving us to question if a three minute minimalist work such as “The Tale” is actually effective.