Black Angels is one of
Kronos' finest works, a haunting cycle of compositions thematically linked by their relationships to war and brutality. The title piece, composed by
George Crumb in response to Vietnam, is marked by its contrasting emotional and dynamic shifts; for effect,
the Quartet augments its music with chants, shouts, whispers and the occasional moment of percussion. Multiple overdubs create the vast sound on 16th-century composer
Thomas Tallis' 40-part motet "Spem in Alium," a response to Holofernes' siege on the Jewish fortress of Bethulia. The only commissioned work on the record is Istvan Marta's "Doom. A Sigh," based on a pair of Romanian folk songs. ~ Jason Ankeny