Finally, a proper recording of this. It's a choral and chamber ensemble piece in five movements, covering the plight of Pennsylvanian miners in the latter part of the 19th century and the early 20th century. It is bleak and often exhausting (in a good way), taking obvious influence from minimalism (overlapping repetition abounds), and it tells a fully fleshed out, all-too-real story, albeit not in any conventional, linear manner, instead adapting extracts from speeches, interviews with miners' relatives, radio adverts, and - on the haunting, almost ambient opening movement 'Foundation' - a list of names of those who died on the job. It really is a stunning (if harrowing) tribute to the working classes who fuel the world, and it's great to actually hear it with such clarity. It won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Music, and - though my relative ignorance of contemporary classical music makes me extremely hesitant to comment on whether that was deserved or not - it's difficult to think of anything that would've made for a more fitting recipient, especially at a time when the working classes are being battered more brutally than at any other time in my life. The wonderful Bang on a Can All-Stars are responsible for the musical backing here, which is as abrasive at times as it is accessible, taking in a wide range of influences and creating something that often feels uncomfortably intimate. Highly recommended stuff. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
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