East St. Louis, 1968

It’s a truly ’60s flashback—to composer Soldier’s childhood specifically. Soldier seems to be pursuing some sort of intellectual mash up philosophy in many of the pieces included on this disc of chamber works—Baroque suites meet North American powwow dances, a bass flute player channels a young rapper—but in East St. Louis, 1968, Soldier takes us back in time by running the viola line over a bed of sonic samples and rhythms meant to chronicle his memory of being an 11 year old carrying his own viola through his hometown in Southern Illinois.

—MS