Music from the Screens

by Mark W. B. AllenderThis collaboration between world composers Philip Glass and Foday Musa Suso presents a unique body of work grounded in musical virtuosity in both Western and North African musical cultures. The opening strains of "The Mad Cadi's Court" burst with an aggressive violin double-stop punctuated by an Algerian lute playing North African rhythms and tonalities. Strikingly different from what listeners have heard from Philip Glass from this era. These Algerian folk traditions permeate the entire disc, with many pieces energetic and others more esoteric and soundtracky. Composed as music for a production of Jean Genet's play The Screens, set in Algeria, the music both highlights and compliments the play's drama with sounds native to the setting of the play. Very welcome and refreshing.