Diamanda Galás — Defixiones: Will and Testament, Orders from the Dead (December 8, 2003)

 ^{Diamanda Galás — Defixiones: Will and Testament, Orders from the Dead} 
♦↑♦  Někdy její výkon vnímám jako citově příliš chladný. Pak si vzpomenu, že jejím úhlavním předmětem je smrt, a začínám chápat, že to není chlad — je to konfrontace: odmítnutí buď ze sentimentality, nebo ze strachu. To samo o sobě je elektrizující.
♦↑♦  A confrontational singer with glass–shattering vocals derived from the Schrei opera of German expressionism.
♦↑♦  In advance of the performance, she tells us about 13 albums that have been influential on her life and work...
♦↑♦  UK 2xCD+book Mute STUMM 205Location: New York, NY
Genre: Avant–Garde, Pop/Rock, Jazz
Styles: Experimental
Album release: January 20, 2004
Recording date: September, 2001 — June, 2002
Record Label: Brainwashing / MUTE
Duration:     96:26
Album Moods: Intense Literate Passionate Angry Bitter Cerebral Dramatic Outraged Provocative Visceral Difficult Harsh Menacing Ominous Uncompromising
Tracks:
Disc 1
01 The Dance: Ter Vogormia (Pier Paolo Pasolini)     13:02  
02 The Dance: The Desert, Pt. 1 (Pier Paolo Pasolini)     4:11  
03 The Dance: The Desert, Pt. 2 (Pier Paolo Pasolini)     5:31  
04 The Dance: Sevda Zinçiri (Pier Paolo Pasolini)     4:20  
05 The Dance: Holokaftoma (Pier Paolo Pasolini)     4:39  
06 The Dance: Ter Vogormia (Reprise) (Pier Paolo Pasolini)     2:28  
07 The Eagle of Tkhuma (Diamanda Galás)     2:46 
08 Orders from the Dead (Kudsi Erguner)     11:34  
Disc 2
01 Hastayim Yasiorum (Udi Hrant)     4:20  
02 If I Die on the Boat (Diamanda Galás)     2:37  
03 Ja Rame (I Am Rowing) (Henri Michaux)     9:09  
04 Epístola a los Transeúntes (Epistle to the Transients) (Diamanda Galás)  5:33  
05 Birds of Death (Diamanda Galás)     5:08  
06 Open Up (Diamanda Galás)     3:14  
07 Todesfuge (Death Fugue) (Paul Celan)     6:14  
08 Artémis     5:05  
09 See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Traditional)     6:35 
© 2015 Diamanda Galas All Rights Reserved.
Blaise Dupuy: recording producerDESCRIPTION:
♦↑♦  DEFIXIONES refers to the warnings engraved in lead which were placed on the graves of the dead in Greece and Asia Minor. They cautioned against moving or desecrating the corpses under threat of extreme harm.
♦↑♦  WILL AND TESTAMENT refers to the last wishes of the dead who have been taken to their graves under unnatural circumstances.
CONCEPT:
♦↑♦  The concert material in this song cycle includes music set to the texts of the Armenian poet/soldier Siamanto; the Belgian/French poet Henri Michaux; the Syrian/Lebanese poet Adonis; the rembetika songs of Sotiria Bellou; the Anatolian Greek Amanedhes; the blues music of the American musicians Bozie Sturdivant and Blind Lemon Jefferson, and the sacred songs of the Deep South. A new addition to the song cycle is a striking piece written by Galás called “The World Has Gone Up In Flames”, which premiered at Royce Hall (UCLA) November 2001. Galás warns that, even in death, those that were chosen to die have not been defeated nor are they forgotten. “My death is written in a rock that cannot be broken.”
♦↑♦  The work is concerned with the poet/author living in exile, away from his homeland. DEFIXIONES, WILL AND TESTAMENT speaks for individuals who have had to live as outlaws, as they were treated as outlaws; and for those who have had to create houses out of rock.DEDICATION:
♦↑♦  DEFIXIONES, WILL AND TESTAMENT is dedicated to the forgotten and erased of the Armenian, Assyrian, and Anatolian Greek genocides which occurred between 1914 and 1923.
Credits:
♦↑♦  Mathu Anderson Make–Up
♦↑♦  Peter Balakian English Translations
♦↑♦  Alison Brummer Production Assistant
♦↑♦  Paul Celan Composer
♦↑♦  Blaise Dupuy Drum Sequencing, Producer
♦↑♦  Kudsi Erguner Composer
♦↑♦  Diamanda Galás Arranger, Composer, Creation, Director, Perform., Piano, Producer, Voices
♦↑♦  Udi Hrant Composer
♦↑♦  Henri Michaux Composer
♦↑♦  Richard Morrison Liner Notes
♦↑♦  Pier Paolo Pasolini Composer
♦↑♦  Rex Ray Design
♦↑♦  Robert Schilling Project Manager
♦↑♦  Traditional Composer
♦↑♦  Austin Young Photography  © Lower Manhattan Cultural Council presents "Defixiones — Orders From the Dead"; Created and Performed by DIAMAND GALAS. Performance photographed at the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, Pace University.
AllMusic Review by François Couture;  Score: ***
♦↑♦  On November 11, 2003, Diamanda Galás released two albums, ending a five–year recording hiatus with a bang. Both are solo live recordings and present two very different sides of her. La Serpenta Canta showcased her song–based material (mostly blues). Defixiones: Will and Testament, Orders From the Dead is more typical of her operatic works of the 1990s. The album revolves around the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek genocides carried out by Turkey between 1914 and 1923. Galás has chosen poems and texts in Greek, Armenian, Spanish, French, and Hebrew that express the kind of anger, sorrow, and despair these people probably went through (some texts, like Gérard de Nerval’s “Artémis,” have no historic relation to the events, but foray into psychologicaly related topics). The music draws from various sources of sacred music (Greek Orthodox, Armenian, and Jewish, in particular) to form a hypnotic ceremonial. ♦↑♦  Galás is a powerful pianist, but her voice dominates throughout, as usual. The album begins with the 34–minute “The Dance,” sung a cappella for the most part, except for a discreet drone. Her vocal prowess articulates human emotions in a way that propels them to an epic level, even though the performance is less extreme than some of her most riveting works from previous decades (Plague Mass, for instance). ♦↑♦  Her vocal range remains highly impressive, but she doesn’t aim at frightening and shocking anymore. That said, this relative restraint makes the material all the more moving. The album ends with a rendition of the blues standard “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean,” also interpreted on La Serpenta Canta. ♦↑♦  http://www.allmusic.com/
Website: http://diamandagalas.com/ / http://brainwashed.com/
Also:
The Quietus , August 1st, 2012 06:24
♦↑♦  http://thequietus.com/articles/09545-diamanda-galas-favourite-albums-2?page=1  © Lower Manhattan Cultural Council presents “Defixiones — Orders From the Dead”; Created and Performed by DIAMAND GALAS. Performance photographed at the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, Pace University.
DISCOGRAPHY
♦↑♦  Vena Cava
♦↑♦  Diamanda Galas
♦↑♦  You Must Be Certain of the Devil
♦↑♦  Masque of the Red Death, 1988
♦↑♦  The Litanies of Satan
♦↑♦  The Divine Punishment & Saint of the Pit
♦↑♦  Plague Mass
♦↑♦  The Singer
♦↑♦  Masque of the Red Death, 1993
♦↑♦  Judgement Day
♦↑♦  Do You Take This Man? (with John Paul Jones)
♦↑♦  The Sporting Life (with John Paul Jones)
♦↑♦  Schrei X
♦↑♦  Malediction and Prayer
♦↑♦  La Serpenta Canta
♦↑♦  Defixiones, Will And Testament
♦↑♦  Guilty Guilty Guilty     © Diamanda Galas performs on the opening night of Antony's Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall Photograph Matt Kent Redferns via Getty Images
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Diamanda Galás — Defixiones: Will and Testament, Orders from the Dead (December 8, 2003)

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