JOHN CAGE : Music for Merce Cunningham

'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.'



Tracklist
1 John Cage, David Tudor, Takehisa Kosugi– Five Stone Wind 55:02
Electronics [Live] – David Tudor
Percussion [9 Clay Pots], Tape – Michael Pugliese
Violin [Amplified], Electronics [Live], Flute [Bamboo] – Takehisa Kosugi
2 John Cage– Cartridge Music 18:53
Performer [Phonograph Cartridges, Amplified Small Objects] – David Tudor, Michael Pugliese, Takehisa Kosugi

Credits
Composed By – John Cage
Design, Graphics – Brian Brandt
Edited By – David Avidor, Mikhail Liberman
Engineer – Rob Miller
Executive-Producer – Brian Brandt, The Cunningham Dance Foundation, John Anton
Liner Notes – David Tudor, David Vaughan, John Cage, Michael Pugliese, Takehisa Kosugi
Photography By – Jack Mitchell, Michael Pugliese, Nigel Voak, Niko Tenten
Producer – Brian Brandt
Remastered By – Steve Puntolillo

Notes
Recorded at Paris, France in September 1988 (Cartridge Music) and Washington, DC in May 1989 (Five Stone Wind).
24-bit remastering at Sonicraft.
The liner notes and artist biographies appear in English, German and French.