Eleventh Hour (Fred Frith album)


Eleventh Hour is a double album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It comprises five long pieces composed by Frith between 1990 and 2001, and was performed by the Arditti Quartet with Uwe Dierksen, William Winant and Frith, in Germany and the United States in 2003 and 2004. Frith only plays on the second CD of this album.

Description

With the exception of "Stick Figures", the Arditti Quartet, under the direction of Frith, performed on all the pieces, and were recorded at Il Bagno in Steinfurt, Germany in June 2003.
"Lelekovice", for a string quartet, also called "String Quartet #1", was written in 1990 for Iva Bittová, Lelekovice being the name of the village near Brno in the Czech Republic where Bittová lives. It was first performed in July 1991 by the Edison Quartet at the Nieuwe Musiek Festival, in Middelburg, the Netherlands, and was used by the United States choreographer Amanda Miller in her dance piece, My Father's Vertigo in 1991. A recording was made in December 1992 by the Violet Wires String Quartet in London, which was released on Frith's 1994 album, Quartets. The recording on this album was made by the Arditti Quartet in 2003.
"Tense Serenity", for a string trio and trombone, was written in 1997 and was performed here by the Arditti Quartet as a trio and Uwe Dierksen on trombone.
"Allegory" and "Fell", both for string quartet and electric guitar, were composed in 2001, and were performed here by the Arditti Quartet in June 2003 in Germany. Frith's electric guitar was recorded later in March 2004 in Germany and added to the mix.
"Stick Figures", for six guitars and two players, was composed in 1990 and performed by Frith and William Winant in the United States in May 2004. They multi-tracked prepared electric guitars to create layers of guitar sounds.

Reception

A review in All About Jazz said this of the album: "Eleventh Hour documents Frith’s continued growth as a composer in the new music arena, and for all its juxtaposition of light and dark, it remains totally compelling and strangely beautiful." Another review at All About Jazz said that "Frith continues to beguile and surprise".

Track listing

;Disc 1
  1. "Lelekovice "
  2. *"Part I" – 1:48
  3. *"Part II" – 4:42
  4. *"Part III" – 0:49
  5. *"Part IV" – 3:18
  6. *"Part V" – 2:07
  7. *"Part VI" – 4:45
  8. *"Part VII" – 5:44
  9. *"Part VIII" – 1:04
  10. *"Part XI" – 4:02
  11. "Tense Serenity "
  12. *"Part I" – 11:23
  13. *"Part II" – 9:00
  14. *"Part III" – 4:58
  15. *"Part VI" – 3:58
  16. *"Part V" – 2:13
;Disc 2
  1. "Allegory "
  2. *"Part I" – 3:51
  3. *"Part II" – 7:00
  4. *"Part III" – 4:03
  5. "Stick Figures " – 17:28
  6. "Fell " – 11:55

    Personnel