Book of Days

Although Meredith Monk is often filed under “experimental,” the better label would be “experiential.” Book of Days (1988) is her soundtrack to the film of the same name, in which nuclear holocaust, AIDS, and the unstoppable march of time are thematically blended. The studio version recorded here is scored for 12 voices, synthesizer, cello, bagpipe, hurdy-gurdy, piano, and hammered dulcimer. The instrumentation evokes a medieval atmosphere but is accompanied by a hypermodern spirit that sometimes destroys language in favor of raw communication. Even without the film to guide us, the story haunts via its humanity.