john zorn

From Silence To Sorcery

It's John Zorn again and he's back on his own Tzadik label with more compositions relating to the sort of mysticism Derren Brown spends his life trying to disprove. It's all a bit silly really, but I can see that the historical aspect of it can be somewhat alluring for the academic Zorn who takes the Goetia which are apparently spells and incantations for summoning demonic spirits as the basis for this set of variations for solo violin. It's typically obtuse material and hardly for the uninitiates with the violin helping to paint a picture of its apparent ancient alliance with the devil. The second piece is a work for thirteen tuned drums and looks to Korean shamanism and Haitian voodoo for inspiration - not light hearted then and to be honest I can just imagine someone poking pins in a small figure to this music. The final piece on the disc sees Zorn in more familiar terriroty with a piece devoted to Jewish poet Paul Celan using clavichord and percussion. Interesting as ever...