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About

Dave Douglas represents to me the quintessential 21st century musician; a perpetually curious musical exporter with a panoramic overview of the various traditions of which he is a part, and which have seem him span musical worlds from Horace Silver and Mary Lou Williams to John Zorn and Shigeto. His compositional vision has resulted in many fine and unique works. When he agreed to create a new work with the Monash Art Ensemble in 2014, I knew we were in for something groundbreaking; that he chose a medieval form as the basis for this project was as intriguing as it was exciting.

As Johan Huizinga described so lovingly in his immortal 'The Autumn of the Middle Ages', the 14th century was a time of extremes, the likes of which we can only dimly imagine now, a time when light and darkness were concepts of a physical, psychological and spiritual immediacy that defined life in all its aspects. It was a time of heraldry, of ritual, of esoteric speculation, conflict and pestilence. Rich pickings, therefore for the crafters of fabliaux, the vernacular, often bawdy verses that lie behind such immortal masterpieces as Boccaccio's Decameron and Chaucer's Caterbury Tales. It is the flavour of this literature that Dave Douglas has adopted as the platform for these nine beautiful...  more

Musicians

Paul Grabowsky, Director

Dave Douglas, trumpet and composer

Lachlan Davidson, flute / clarinet / soprano / saxophone

Rob Burke, clarinet / alto saxophone

Paul Cornelius, tenor saxophone

Mirko Guerrini, bass clarinet / baritone saxophone

Ben Harrison, trumpet

Niran Dakika, trumpet

Jordan Murray, trombone

Craig Beard, tuned percussion

Paul Grabowsky, piano

Peter Knight, electronics

Kieran Rafferty, drums

Geoff Hughes, guitar

Elizabeth Sellars, violin

Will Martina, cello

Marty Holoubek, contrabass

Credits

Dave Douglas, Executive Producer

Project Coordinator, Rob Burke

Recorded, mixed and mastered, Ross Cockle

With thanks to the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University, the Australian Art Orchestra, the Vizard Foundation, Merryn Tinkler and the Monash Academy of Performing Arts.

Dave Douglas would like to acknowledge and draw attention to two sources of inspiration for the composition of Fabliaux. One is the book by William Manchester, 'A World Lit Only by Fire'. The other is the life and music of David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London.