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Alvin Singleton's Argoru II at Documenta 14 in Athens, Greece

Jun. 01, 2017

Alvin Singleton's <em>Argoru II</em> at Documenta 14 in Athens, Greece

Documenta 14, the fourteenth installment of the renowned international art exhibition, expands this year from its home in Kassel, Germany to Athens, Greece. As part of the exhibition events in Athens, the festival hosts virtuoso cellist Seth Parker Woods for a performance of Alvin Singleton’s Argoru II, alongside works by George Lewis and Alexander Tremblay. The program takes place at the Athens Conservatoire as part of Documenta's “Listening Space” concert series. 

Argoru II is the second in Singleton’s Argoru series of compositions for solo instruments. “Argoru,” in the Twi language spoken in Ghana, means “to play”. As Carman Moore writes, 

In Argoru II, the composer constructs a world of “strange characters” for whom he seems to have created an original language which they use to scream out, cajole, shout, mumble, and chuckle. Single powerful shots alternate with long phrase ultra-soft scramblings. This is the theatre of sound.

You can find a recording of Argoru II, performed by Ronald Crutcher, on the recent Singleton portrait album Sweet Chariot on Albany Records. Listen to the recording of Argoru II, below: 

For more information on Alvin Singleton, visit schott-music.com.

Alvin Singleton
Argoru II (1970)
for solo cello
13’

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