To mark the Opus price awarded to the Bozzini Quartet, DAME is offering a 15% discount on the Quatuor albums of the label collection qb.

A major opus in Reich’s body of work, Different Trains pioneered in 1968 a new form of composition developed from his earlier tape pieces It’s Gonna Rain (1965) and Come Out (1966). The work consists of a prerecorded tape assembled from the voices of various people reminiscing about the Holocaust, sounds of American and European trains from the ‘30s and ‘40s, and three different string quartets. In addition to the tape is a fourth string quartet part for a live quartet. Quatuor Bozzini decided to offer a new reading of the work, including its very own recording of the three taped string quartets, a first ever since the premiere 1988 recording of the work, by the Kronos Quartet. Quatuor Bozzini embarked on this new reading after being advised to do so by Steve Reich himself. Quatuor Bozzini’s Different Trains turns a new page in the history of contemporary music. It provides a new landmark. A new must-have for you to discover.

Excellent 27’-long disc with the last Steve Reich work that I’ve heard that I would consider a masterpiece. “A major opus in Reich’s body of work, Different Trains pioneered in 1988 a new form of composition developed from his earlier tape pieces It’s Gonna Rain (1965) and Come Out (1966). The idea for the piece came from Reich’s childhood. His parents separated when he was one year old. His mother moved to Los Angeles, while his father stayed in New York. Since they had arranged divided custody, he often traveled back and forth between those two cities, with his governess, in the years 1939-42. He composed the piece keeping in mind that, as a Jew, he would have found himself in a different situation had he been living in Europe at the time. The work consists of a prerecorded tape assembled from the voices of various people reminiscing about the Holocaust, sounds of American and European trains from the 30s and 40s, and three different string quartets. In addition to the tape is a fourth string quartet part for a live quartet. Quatuor Bozzini decided to offer a new reading of the work, including its very own recording of the three taped string quartets, a first ever since the premiere 1988 recording of the work, by the Kronos Quartet. Quatuor Bozzini embarked on this new reading after being advised to do so by Steve Reich himself. Quatuor Bozzini’s Different Trains turns a new page in the history of contemporary music. It provides a new landmark.”

Four DAME albums are nominated for the 2006 Opus Prizes. Steve Reich: Different Trains by the Bozzini Quartet and Three Cities in the Life of Dr Norman Bethune by Tim Brady are both nominated in the “Disc of the Year — modern and contemporary musics” category. As for Chansons de la belle espérance by Pierre Cartier and The Feeling of Jazz by Trio Derome Guilbeault Tanguay, they are nominated in the “Disc of the Year — Jazz and world musics” category. Additionally, Filature by Joane Hétu is nominated for “Premiere of the Year.” The 10th Opus Prize Gala will take place on January 28, 2006 at the Salle Claude-Champagne, Université de Montréal.

Le Quatuor Bozzini est un prolifique ensemble de cordes entièrement féminin. [sic] Spécialisées dans l’interprétation des compositeurs classiques de notre temps, les musiciennes s’attaquent cette fois à l’Américain Steve Reich, un pionnier du minimalisme et de l’utilisation de motifs répétés. Le créateur du «loop», pourrait-on dire. Reich a aussi le mérite d’avoir intégré des bandes pré-enregistrées à ses œuvres, ainsi qu’à avoir élargi son champ d’action jusqu’à un opéra-vidéo en 2002. L’œuvre Different Trains date de 1988. Il s’agit de la superposition de plusieurs quatuors à cordes et de bandes où des bouts de phrases sont répétés. Le tout évoque les voyages en train que faisait Reich enfant, au début des années 1940, entre NYC et LA. Étant juif, il réalise par après la chance qu’il a eu d’être né en Amérique. En Allemagne, son voyage ferroviaire aurait sans doute été un aller simple vers la mort… Le Quatuor Bozzini en fait une interprétation magistrale, recréant les différents bruits d’un train avec leurs violons. Une œuvre hypnotique et impressionnante. Une fascinante réflexion humaine.

The Montréal-based string quartet Quatuor Bozzini offer a new reading of Steve Reich’s work Different trains, which follows the version by the Kronos Quartet from 1990. This work has been devided in three parts; America-before the war, Europe-during the war and After the war, all three clocking around nine minutes. Lovely violin playing has been larded with repetitive vocal samples and sounds from trains from the 30’s and 40’s, resulting in lovely and rich layers of sounds. Each track offers a certain tension, which makes you keep listening in full fascination. A very intruiging work!