In a way, everything she does is about ecology – that interconnectedness; those wild vocal noises – and ‘On Behalf of Nature’ is a treatise without text, an outcry without words. […] Sometimes it feels weird being a bystander to her music: this kind of elemental rite should involve us all.
Kate Molleson, The Guardian
On Behalf of Nature is titled after one of Monk’s recent, wordless stage shows: a meditation on ecological themes, including climate change. Despite that impassioned editorial focus, her resulting suite of songs and motifs avoids coming across like a lecture. And because she always revises the music from a dramatic piece before creating an album, ‘Nature’ sounds purposeful and complete throughout its hour-long running time. Aside from her vocal troupe, the instrumental forces include ace percussionist John Hollenbeck, harpist Laura Sherman, and the reed-instrument player Bohdan Hilash. […] In her liner notes to ‘Nature’, it is acknowledged that ‘the voices and instruments have equal weight’ this time—a state of play that might startle those who think of her talent in narrower terms. Still, she’s always been more than one of the world’s great singers. Some of Monk’s best pieces, like the 1991 opera ‘Atlas’, have also boasted dazzling instrumental writing. Her vocal instrument remains the envy of singers fifty years her junior. But on ‘Nature’, the uniqueness of her compositional vision is just as impressive.
Seth Colter Walls, Pitchfork
Eine akustische Abenteuerreise voller Kurzweil und Überraschungen, die tatsächlich – lässt man sich denn darauf ein - einen autonomen Raum, eine erstaunlich transparente Klanglandschaft schafft, die teilweise (‚Eon‘, ‚Harvest‘) mit einem Steve Reichschen Impact aufzuwarten versteht.
Ulrich Kriest, Konkret
Meredith Monk’s compositions and performances transcend genre, conjuring bold soundworlds, through innovative vocal techniques and, perhaps most profoundly, rediscovering music as as a site of ritual and transformation. This magical disc is both rite and protest […] In 19 short movements, the work is scored for vocal ensemble and shifting configurations of winds, percussion, keys and harp […] the recording is crisp and all performances strong.
Kate Wakeling, BBC Music Magazine
Die Musik basiert auf kleinen, repetitiven Fragmenten, die Monk über einen längeren Zeitraum hinweg in skizzenhaften Notizen festgehalten hat. Sie basiert dennoch ihrem Wesen nach schon insofern nicht auf Notation, als außergewöhnliche Klänge, Vokaltechniken und körperliche Resonanzen des Stimmklangs im Mittelpunkt der Aufmerksamkeit stehen […] Die in der Regel kurzen rhythmischen Motive schichtet Monk zu dichten, vielstimmigen Texturen und kreiert auf diese Weise 19 Miniaturen von einer bis zu sechs Minuten Länge, die allerdings keineswegs uniform und zugleich so in Zusammenhang gesetzt sind, dass sich ein Bogen durch das gesamte Werk zieht.
Dietrich Heißenbüttel, Neue Zeitschrift für Musik
On ‘Behalf of Nature’ is in itself a force of nature, the kind of performance that makes a deeply memorable impact even if the music itself is something for which you might find yourself having to acquire a taste. Meredith Monk has for many years been exploring what she calls ‘primordial utterance;’ non-verbal vocal sounds that take the place of conventional language but which easily convey as much meaning and emotion as sung words. […] This is a ‘meditation on out intimate connection with nature’ and by no means a lecture on where we are going wrong. This is visionary stuff and is something which we should all seek out and embrace. To put it in a nutshell, Meredith Monk is the Hildegard von Bingen of our times, and if Hildegard was still around you'd surely want to hear her latest album.
Dominy Clements, Music Web International