Search - Charlemagne Palestine :: Godbear

A Beautiful and Important Recording

R. G. Villalobos | Houston, TX United States | 02/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Charlemagne Palestine is a vessel. His work stands out even in the pantheon of minimalist composers. This recording is obviously out of print and a bit rare now but if you have the money I really recommend that you buy it. Palestine is playing the piano here and he uses tremolos. A tremolo is the rapid repetition of a single note or group of notes. The droning resonance splits apart with pitches, chords and overtones. Palestine's music just washes over you.



The name "Godbear" is a reference to Palestine's relationship with teddy bears. Palestine recognizes the power of the teddy bear as guardian. The bears protect us as we sleep. During Palestine's performances he would sit teddy bears all over his piano. As a visual artist he would use teddy bears in his installations. It's a healthy meditation, animistic though it may be. The whole conversation has more to do with promoting an experience rather than a philosophy, I think.



In this CD, three pieces open out to fill the air and pull the listener up by the ears. Godbear is an important album and if you have read this far go ahead and buy it. Palestine was maybe one of the least prolific artists in terms of generating recordings for sale but what we have in Godbear is great music and it will be felt far into the future."