JOHN ZORN

JOHN ZORN
SIX LITANIES FOR HELIOGABALUS (2007)
320 KBPS

Augmenting the Moonchild trio with the composer on alto sax, Jamie Saft on organ, Ikue Mori on laptop electronics, and a trio of female vocalists (Martha Cluver, Abby Fischer and Kirsten Sollek) serving as a chorus, "Six Litanies..." is significantly more than its predecessors, in many ways, it's the culmination of Zorn's work (barring Masada) over the past few years.
Trading with the hardcore of "Moonchild" (with Zorn and occasionally Saft joining in to augment) are passages of exotica-tinged organ music reminiscent of the work on "The Gift" (one could just hear how Ribot would wail over the top of parts of this), haunting, droning sounds with whispered vocals not unlike parts of "IAO" and interspersed vocal chorus passages that could have been lifted straight from "Frammenti del Sappho" from last year's "Mysterium". It's quite a shock when the explosive hardcore sounds yield to a three-part, sustained, wordless vocal, with nothing but a flutter from Ikue Mori to signal the transition, but like the best of Zorn's work, it all fits together. It all flows from part to part and piece to piece, and throughout, Zorn seems to get nothing but stunning performances out of his musicians (including an extended solo voice performance from Patton on "Litany IV" where he pulls out everything from sounds of vomiting to screeches, screams, chirping, blowing and even some downright fantastic falsetto singing).
There's a lot to love here-- Zorn and Patton's call and response at the beginning of "Litany II", Zorn leading Dunn and Baron on a freewheeling imrpov that ranks among the best of his frantic work on "Litany V" (where somehow all the elements of the rest of the record seem to come together), Saft just wailing on exotica sounds throughout the record, or the downright haunting droning organ and whispered vocals in "Litany III" are the best examples that come to mind. And really it makes for quite a listen, constantly unexpected and intriguing. If you like your music adventerous, this one's for you. Highly recommended.
This is a new upload with better quality than the previous... Enjoy!

1. Litany I
2. Litany II
3. Litany III
4. Litany IV
5. Litany V
6. Litany VI