The latest entry in Wild Up’s complete account of music by Julius Eastman focuses exclusively on one of his greatest works, 1979’s Gay Guerillia. Although the score is open to any group of instruments of a similar timbre, Wild Up director Christopher Rountree stretched those definitions a bit to forge an orchestral version with four loose instrumental categories.
As Rountree explained, “Our idea for our interpretation is to reach toward one another timbrally so that the instruments begin to blend and transcend their characteristic sounds.” The resulting arrangement recasts the music with fuller voicings and enhanced richness, while still transmitting an essential power and drive. Structured like a chorale fantasia based on…