Cage, John

Music For Merce Cunningham

Label: Mode Records Country: USA

"Originally issued in 1991 and out of stock for a few years, this long awaited reissue has been remastered from the original session tapes in hi-resolution 96khz/24-bit. The result is a more detailed and tactile recording with greater dynamic range. The booklet is presented in a new layout with rescanned photos and new French and German translations of the original texts written by Cage, Tudor, Kosugi, Pugliese and the MCDC's David Vaughan.

This CD is the first audio document of the collaboration between Cage and Cunningham, in expert performances by the core group of musicians of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from the late 1980s. Two works have been chosen from different periods of their collaboration. In the infamous Cartridge Music, the performers make use of phonograph cartridges to play various objects, toys and furniture to create a cosmos of unusual sounds.

The 53 minute long Five Stone Wind is percussive in nature. The basic sounds from David Tudor are derived from recordings of earth vibrations which trigger the electronics and treatments. The unique percussion sound is created from hand-made clay pots modeled after African "Udu" drums, which can make sounds from room-shaking bass to high pitched ceramic slaps. Live percussion is added to eight pre-recorded drum tracks, yielding an exotic and other-worldly atmosphere punctuated by solos from Kosugi."-Mode Records