Search - Del Sol String Quartet :: Dark Queen Mantra

For the Del Sol Quartet, this album is a culmination - and also the start of an ongoing musical journey. Terry Riley doesn't limit his music within a final double-bar but allows it to keep on growing - he's already composed more music for us to play together. As a quartet, we've found new energy and growth through the xperience of performing Terry's quartets off-book, by memory. As musicians, we've found an inspiring example - Terry has the strength to follow his own path balanced with the humility and curiosity of an eternal student. For our 25th anniversary festival, we are focusing on Terry's music and honored that Terry and Gyan will be joining us. Like so many worthwhile endeavors, this album began with af riendship. Del Sol violist Charlton Lee first met guitarist Gyan while playing in an ensemble led by the composer/bassist Gavin Bryars. ''I'd been wanting to find more opportunities to play with Gyan ever since we met,'' Charlton explains. ''And with Terry's 80th birthday on the horizon it seemed a perfect time to commission a new piece for all of us to play together.'' For the other dimension of this album, we had long been aware of Stefano Scodanibbio's awesome abilities as a trailblazing double-bass virtuoso, we had our first chance to perform his music thanks to Gyan. Gyan curated a memorial concert celebrating Stefano's music at The Stone in New York City and invited us to participate.