Seven Limbs is a newly composed virtuosic tour de force for string quartet and guitar by composer Douglas J. Cuomo, shot through with melodic beauty and rhythmic urgency, celebration and serenity, solemnity, and unbridled joy. Juxtaposing the wildly inventive guitar playing of Nels Cline - lead guitar for the acclaimed indie band Wilco - with the Aizuri Quartet’s classically-based, forward-thinking musical outlook, Seven Limbs sets these five expert musicians in a landscape that is slightly unfamiliar - where the ground under their feet is always shifting in unexpected ways.

Based on the Tibetan Buddhist fundamental practice of purification, Seven Limbs is a musical ritual in seven movements. The limbs are Prostration; Offering; Confession; Rejoicing; Requesting the Turning of the Wheel of Dharma; Beseeching the Buddhas not to pass away; and Dedication.

PROGRAM

Seven Limbs by Douglas J. Cuomo

PERFORMERS

Nels Cline, guitar
The Aizuri Quartet
Emma Frucht, violin 1 | Miho Saegusa, violin 2
Ayane Kozosa, viola | Karen Ouzounian, cello