Cypress String Quartet - Jay Cloidt: Spectral Evidence (2007)

The latest CD from composer Jay Cloidt features the premiere studio recordings of two ambitious and diverse works for string quartet, Spectral Evidence and eleven windows, performed by the Cypress String Quartet.
Spectral Evidence begins with a straightforward performance of the first two minutes of the Mozart quartet (No. 14 in G, K. 387). At first subtly then radically, the piece is broken down into parts and reassembled into a series of ten new movements. Meticulously recorded at George Lucas's SkyWalker Ranch, the music is solely based on the deconstruction and reconstruction of the melodic materials found in the original opening section. Spectral Evidence was commissioned for the Cypress String Quartet by the San Francisco modern dance company ODC/SF and choreographer Brenda Way. Allan Ulrich, in the San Francisco Chronicle, said of the work:
"Jay Cloidt's exceptional score, a Mozart string quartet and its subtle deconstruction and transformation into something ominous, tracks the choreography every step of the way... the Cypress String Quartet... performs Cloidt's score masterfully."
The Kronos Quartet originally commissioned and premiered eleven windows, written for string quartet, recorded sound environments, and electronics. The work incorporates sound elements collected from around the world by the composer — the swoosh of an electric door from a Seville hotel, the buzz of a Pachinko parlor in Nagoya, a farmer shooing birds away from a Balinese rice paddy, and more. The sounds of the Cypress Quartet, sometimes electronically treated, are dexterously woven through and melded with these sound environments to create otherworldly sonic landscapes.
Jay Cloidt is a composer and sound designer working in the San Francisco Bay Area. After receiving his BA in piano performance, he moved to Seattle and worked as a professional rock and blues musician in the 1970's before being "born again" as a contemporary music composer. Cloidt studied at the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College with Robert Ashley and David Behrman. He has collaborated with many performing groups, such as the Paul Dresher Ensemble, the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, the Gary Palmer Dance Company, California EAR Unit, and Kronos Quartet. His works have been performed at major venues such as New York's Lincoln Center, London's Royal Festival Hall, and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. The San Francisco Chronicle has dubbed Cloidt "The Spike Jones of the Bay Area new music scene."
Starkland previously released Cloidt's Kole Kat Krush CD to widespread acclaim. Stereophile awarded 4 Stars to the CD, stating that Cloidt is "one of the few composers in the post-sampler era to fully develop that tool's fascinating and witty potential." The All-Music Guide also gave the CD 4 Stars, describing it as "a wonderful, accessible, and yet challenging album from one of new music's brightest lights." And the American Record Guide called it "creative and attention-grabbing... haunting and original." Cloidt also has an electronic music CD, Dark Matter, on Phthalo.
The Cypress String Quartet has performed to great acclaim at prominent venues worldwide, including appearances at the Kennedy Center, the Chautauqua Institute, the Ravinia Festival, and Stanford Lively Arts. Praised by the Washington Post for their "beautifully proportioned and powerful" interpretations of classical masterworks, the quartet has been featured as a "Generation X Ensemble to Watch" in Chamber Music Magazine. Consisting of Cecily Ward and Tom Stone (violins), Ethan Filner (viola), and Jennifer Kloetzel (cello), the quartet has commissioned and premiered over 25 works from America's leading composers including Jennifer Higdon, Benjamin Lees, and George Tsontakis. Cypress has won the prestigious Aaron Copland Award in recognition of the quartet's work championing contemporary music.