Jethro Tull - The String Quartets - OUT NOW
A massive
treat for Jethro Tull fans and classical aficionados alike: Jethro
Tull The String Quartets is an album of classic Jethro Tull repertoire,
imaginatively arranged by John O’Hara for the Carducci string quartet with the
flute, guitar and vocals of songwriter and producer IAN ANDERSON, is out now through
BMG.
Have a listen to listen
to Loco (Locomotive Breath) from the album.
For some time, Ian (Jethro Tull frontman and
virtuoso flautist) and John O’Hara (keyboard player with Tull and Anderson) had
discussed the prospect of a specially conceived album of classic Jethro Tull
repertoire orchestrated for a string quartet.
Ian & John first saw the Carducci Quartet at the London Symphony
Orchestra’s LSO St Luke’s and, mesmerised by the group’s symbiotic relationship
which results in their playing as one single musical organism, Ian invited
them to take part in the recording. The
Carducci Quartet are:
Matthew Denton Violin
Michelle Fleming Violin
Eoin Schmidt-Martin Viola
Emma Denton Cello
Two violins, a viola and a cello make up that
perfect combination of instruments that is the string quartet. Composers such
as Beethoven, Bartók and
Britten have written for it, and Anderson’s music is reborn in this format. With judicious additions of flute,
acoustic guitar and mandolin along with a few vocal sections, this album offers
Tull fans the opportunity to enjoy familiar melodies and songs within the
styling and traditions of Classical Music.
Ian, who is no stranger to working
with orchestras, says: “John and I have
worked on various orchestrations and performed many orchestral concerts over
the last fifteen years. So, a couple of years ago, I came up with the idea of
recording a dedicated string quartet album in a contemporary but “Classical”
setting with brief appearances from myself. I felt that there were some songs
rather special to me which featured the string quartet such as A Christmas
Song, Reasons For Waiting and Wond'ring Aloud. These were my first experiences
of working with a quartet. John came up with a few suggestions of his own which
presented challenges. All had an
intimacy and presence which I looked forward to recapturing in the cosy and
very personal space of my office desk where I did the overdubs.”
About his approach to the orchestration, John
explains, “There seemed little point in
transcribing the band parts and distributing them to the players. I felt a
responsibility to delve deeper and offer a new imagining of each piece. An
orchestrator’s job is to arrange and compose a new version of an existing work.
However, I also felt a responsibility to the Jethro Tull listeners who cherish
this material and may not welcome a radical rendition of a beloved song. My
ambition was to create a thought-provoking album that remains true to Ian's
compositions.”
Ian concludes, “It has really been a lot of fun to work on this project. The Carducci
Quartet provided a spirited and committed performance, without which all would
have been futile. And, I only had to pay for lunch once as they brought
sandwiches. Bless.”
After poring over the entire Tull
catalogue, Ian & John decided on the following selection of songs. Different from the original recordings, Ian
has given some new cryptic titles.
Tracklisting:-
1.
In
The Past (Living
In The Past)
2.
Sossity
Waiting (Sossity:
You’re a Woman/Reasons For Waiting)
3.
Bungle
(Bungle
In The Jungle)
4.
We
Used To Bach (We
Used to Know/Bach Prelude C Major)
5.
Farm,
The Fourway (Farm on the Freeway)
6.
Songs
and Horses (Songs
From The Wood/Heavy Horses)
7.
Only
The Giving (Wond'ring
Aloud)
8.
Loco
(Locomotive
Breath)
9.
Pass
The Bottle
(A Christmas Song)
10.
Velvet
Gold (Velvet
Green)
11.
Ring
Out These Bells (Ring Out, Solstice Bells)
12.
Aquafugue
(Aqualung)
Available on CD and Vinyl (Gatefold) as well as Mp3/M4A and uncompressed hi-definition 24/96 WAV files.. You can read our review of this great collection of songs here
NH
