The Happy End Problem

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For the mathematical theorem of a similar name, see Happy Ending problem.
The Happy End Problem
The Happy End Problem cover
Studio album by Fred Frith
Released 2006
Recorded 2003 and 2004
Genre Experimental rock
Length 51:13
Label Fred (UK)
Producer Fred Frith
Professional reviews
Fred Frith chronology
Impur
(2006)		 The Happy End Problem
(2006)		 Back to Life
(2008)
Fred Records chronology
Impur
(2006)
Fred Frith
(RēR/FRFC 01)		 The Happy End Problem
(2006)
Fred Frith
(RēR/FRA 05)		 The Technology of Tears
(2008)
Fred Frith
(RēR/FRO 11)

The Happy End Problem (Music for Dance volume 5) is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith, and was the fifth of a series of Music for Dance albums he made. It comprises two suites composed in 2003 by Frith "for flute, bassoon, gu zheng, percussion, violin and electronics" [1] and was recorded in 2003 and 2004.

A reviewer at Sea of Tranquility summed up the album with the following comment: [2]

"Overall two highly accomplished and fascinating pieces of music, more perhaps for the classical enthusiast than the progger."

Contents

[edit] Background

The two suites on the album, "Imitation" and "The Happy End Problem" were composed by Frith for small ensembles of six and seven musicians. They were originally commissioned in 2003 by choreographer Amanda Miller for two dances for her The Pretty Ugly Dance Company. Both suites premiered at the Stadttheater in Freiburg, Germany, "The Happy End Problem" in May 2003 and "Imitation" in April 2004.

In "The Happy End Problem" Frith drew on elements from Igor Stravinsky's 1910 ballet, Firebird Suite. "Imitation" focused on Oriental elements and played on the Western world's perception of Japan. At the time, the shakuhachi player, Kikutsubo Day was a student of Frith's at Mills College in the United States, and he constructed "Imitation" around her playing.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Imitation"
    1. "Ukon" (Frith) – 6:18
    2. "Kira" (Frith) – 5:37
    3. "Kio" (Frith, Scanlon) – 2:33
    4. "Tan" (Frith, Scanlon) – 3:05
    5. "Shi--o" (Frith) – 1:33
    6. "Beni" (Frith) – 3:52
    7. "Kasumi" (Frith) – 2:15
    8. "Sumi" (Frith) – 1:12
    9. "Hanabira" (Frith, Scanlon) – 3:48
  2. "The Happy End Problem" (Frith) – 21:00

[edit] Personnel

  • Fred Frith – guitar, bass guitar, laptop instruments
  • Kikutsubo Day (1-9) – shakuhachi
  • Carla Kihlstedt – violin
  • William Winant – percussion
  • Theresa Wong (1-9) – cello
  • Patrice Scanlon – electronics, clarinet
  • Sheela Bringi (10) – flute
  • Heather Vorwerck (10) – cello
  • Wu Fei (10) – gu zheng

[edit] Sound and artwork

  • "Imitation" recorded at Guerrilla Recordings, Oakland, United States, February 2004
  • "The Happy End Problem" recorded at Guerrilla Recordings, Oakland, United States, February 2003
  • Engineered, mixed and mastered by Myles Boisen
  • Artwork by Tom Kurth

[edit] References

  1. ^ Frith, Fred. Fred Frith compositions. Fred Frith homepage. Retrieved on 2007-03-06.
  2. ^ Barnes, Richard. Frith, Fred: The Happy End Problem. Sea of Tranquility. Retrieved on 2007-04-24.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Fred Frith
Henry Cow • Art Bears • Massacre • Skeleton Crew • Keep the Dog
Duck and Cover • French Frith Kaiser Thompson • Death Ambient • Fred Frith Guitar Quartet • Maybe Monday • Cosa Brava
Aksak Maboul • Material • Naked City
Discography
Guitar Solos (1974) • Gravity (1980) • Speechless (1981) • Live in Japan (1982) • Cheap at Half the Price (1983) • The Technology of Tears (1988) • The Top of His Head (1989) • Step Across the Border (1990) • Quartets (1994) • Middle of the Moment (1995) • Allies (1996) • Eye to Ear (1997) • The Previous Evening (1997) • Pacifica (1998) • Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire (1999) • Clearing (2001) • Freedom in Fragments (2002) • Accidental (2002) • Prints (2002) • Rivers and Tides (2003) • Eye to Ear II (2004) • Eleventh Hour (2005) • Impur (2006) • The Happy End Problem (2006) • Back to Life (2008)
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