Dolmen Music is an album by American composer and vocalist Meredith Monk

Meredith Monk

Meredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.-Life and work:Meredith Monk is primarily known for her...

 recorded in 1980-81 and released on the ECM New Series label.

Reception

Allmusic awarded the album 2 stars. In his review, Michael G. Breece stated "Meredith Monk has such a wonderful and unique vocal style that she is able to sing in complete abstraction (no known words or language for much of the album) yet maintain a very emotional and even sentimental quality in these abstractions, at times. Listeners who can get past just how unique and abstract her approach is will find immense joy and sadness deep within her pieces".

Track listing

All compositions by Meredith Monk

1. "Gotham Lullaby" - 4:15
2. "Travelling" - 6:15
3. "The Tale" - 2:47
4. "Biography" - 9:24
5. "Dolmen Music: Overture and Men's Conclave/Wa-ohs/Rain/Pine Tree Lullaby/Calls/Conclusion" - 23:39

• Recorded at Hometown Studios in New York City in March 1980 (track 5), and at Tonstudio Bauer in Ludwigsburg, West Germany in January 1981 (tracks 1-4)

Personnel

• Meredith Monk
  Meredith Monk
  Meredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.-Life and work:Meredith Monk is primarily known for her...
  
   — voice
  Voice
  Voice may refer to:* Human voice* Voice control or voice activation* Writer's voice* Voice acting* Voice vote* Voice message-In film:* Voice , a 2005 South Korean film* The Voice , a 2010 Turkish horror film directed by Ümit Ünal...
  
  , piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  
• Collin Walcott
  Collin Walcott
  Collin Walcott was a North American musician. He was a student of Ravi Shankar and Vasant Rai. Collin expanded the role of the sitar in western music. Walcott studied music and ethnomusicology at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and at The University of California at Los Angeles...
  
   — percussion, violin
  Violin
  The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
  
   (tracks 1-4)
• Steve Lockwood — piano (track 3)
• Andrea Goodman — voice (track 5)
• Monika Solem — voice (track 5)
• Paul Langland — voice (track 5)
• Robert Een
  Robert Een
  -Career:Known for his use of extended vocal and cello techniques, Een has recorded eight albums of his compositions, as well as composing scores for seven films. His music for dance and theater can be heard in the repertories of Liz Lerman, David Dorfman, Jennifer Muller, and Yin Mei among others....
  
   — voice, cello
  Cello
  The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
  
   (track 5)
• Julius Eastman
  Julius Eastman
  Julius Eastman was an African-American composer, pianist, vocalist, and dancer of minimalist tendencies. He was among the first musicians to combine minimalist processes with elements of pop music...
  
  — percussion, voice (track 5)