Meredith Monk's "Dolmen Music"--Review

Simple layers of music merge together to create a unique sound on Meredith Monk's 1980 album Dolmen Music. A dolmen is a small, plain tomb built with huge boulders. Monk's album, similarly, is hugely powerful music built with small, plain parts. The tracks on the album range from the meditative "Gotham Lullaby," to the rousing piece "The Tale." The tracks are harmonically sparse and rhythmically frank, made great by Monk's stunning voice. With the ability to emulate everything from an indigenous flute to a robot, Monk has no need for words in her pieces. When she does use them in "The Tale," they are strange and thought provoking-- "I still have my allergies"-- Who was trying to take them away? The Album comes to a climax on the last track, when other voices join Monk, imitating her original sound. This eleven-minute piece is an Opera without words; further illustrating Monk’s ability to make music from sound.