“The Sound of 200 Guitars Wailing”

The New York Times reports:

THE scene at Damrosch Park last August promised something spectacular: amplifier setups for 200 guitarists and 16 bassists, configured in a horseshoe that stretched along the south end of Lincoln Center, across the front of the park’s band shell, and curved up alongside the Metropolitan Opera House. The rehearsals for “A Crimson Grail,” an epic-scale work by the experimental composer Rhys Chatham, had gone exceedingly well — first at the nearby Church of St. Paul the Apostle, then, at 1 p.m. on the day of the event, in the park.

“The sound was so fantastic,” Mr. Chatham recalled recently via Skype from his home in Paris. “It took my breath away.”

Here’s something else, from Lincoln Center, that the Google coughed up on this:

In 2005, the New York composer Rhys Chatham was commissioned by the city of Paris to write a piece of music. The result was A Crimson Grail, a work for 400 electric guitars, which premiered at the basilica of Sacré-Coeur for La Nuit Blanche, an all-night arts festival. For its first U.S. performance, the work has been extensively revised by the composer for an outdoor performance at Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park, to suit the dynamics of the park’s outdoor acoustic. A Crimson Grail will call on the talents of 200 guitarists (including 16 electric bassists), who will be selected from an applicant pool drawing on the many talents of musicians in New York City and beyond. The piece was rehearsed and soundchecked in August 2008, but inclement weather forced its cancellation. We are looking forward to its long-awaited World Premiere on August 8, 2009.

Requirements for performing in A Crimson Grail:

1. It is necessary to be a competent guitarist with at least a rudimentary comprehension of standard musical notation. A bit of basic music reading is involved to be able to perform. All musicians participating will be assigned to one of four sections, each of which will have their parts provided in simple written notation and textual instructions, and explained by section leaders.

Also…

Please note the following restrictions: No acoustic guitars. No hollow body electrics. No vibrato or whammy bars.

What? No Starcasters allowed at this gig?