Julius Eastman - Stay On It

Week-End put together two key Julius Eastman compositions first featured as part of the pivotal Unjust Malaise CD set released all the way back in 2005. That 18 year gap shows just how much of a battle it's been to turn the wider world on to Eastman's genius, though he's certainly having his moment now - is he the Arthur Russell of the 2020s? (In a fair world, every decade would belong to both of them...) Long time appreciators might already be familiar with these two exceptional pieces (and can envy new adopters who are hearing this for the first time - the revelation of discovery is always mammoth with this music), but to have them presented back-to-back in this fashion provides an interesting map of Eastman's shifting inspirations and mindset. The title track, recorded in 1973 with the Creative Associates, is celebratory and insistent, reminding me in part of Steve Reich's City Life, joyous and playful, displaying a lightness of touch that belies its sophisticated arrangement. I wouldn't describe it as typical Eastman, but it's certainly a calling card piece, declarative in a way that minimal music isn't always able to achieve. The Holy Presence of Joan D'Arc, the 20min+ track from 1981 that comprises the second side is a different proposition. Said to be Eastman's last known recording, it's a notably heavier affair, seeing him conduct a ten piece cello ensemble to dramatic effect, eliciting the kind of wrought tension only the pitch of the cello can. Since we know it to be the last recording, it's difficult not to project a sense of foreboding finality. It might just be coincidence, but it's undeniably there - this is music that suggests an ending and for it, is unavoidably sorrowful, though it is never despondent. Eastman radiates too much energy for that. Even after all this time. How much Julius Eastman is too much Julius Eastman? Never enough.