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This work illustrates the struggle between good and evil and the human's place in that struggle. It is composed for "electric string quartet", and was finished, very appropriately, on Friday the 13th, 1970. It was commissioned by the University of Michigan, and was premiered by the Stanley Quartet. There is a modern recording made by the Kronos Quartet on the Nonesuch label.
This work employs numerology in the construction of the work on several levels: in formal construction, and in the creation of the rhythmic and pitch material. The work is formally symmetrical with tutti (all players playing at once) sections at the 1st, 7th and 13th subsections. The middle subsections (two through six and eight through 12) are organized thus: trio, duo, solo, duo and trio, creating inner palindromes in the formal structure.
The work makes use of several unconventional techniques in both the creation of new timbres, and in the design of the score. The players are called upon to play with thimbles on their fingers in the last subsection, must play water-tunes crystal goblets with their bows in another subsection (the "glass harmonica" effect which Crumb used again later in Dream Sequence), and must also "double" on maracas and tamtams (percussion instruments). The work is one of Crumb's finest achievements, succeeding in captivating listeners with its haunting, illicit nature, and projecting the duality of the human condition with tangible clarity.
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