The music of George Cacioppo (1927-84) is important in the history of 20th century music composition as the missing link between the American “sound based” music of the 1960s with the “sound centered” music of Giacinto Scelsi and his disciples, the French spectral composers, Tristan Murail and Gérard Grisey.

Critical of serial music and academicism’s failure to take into account the nature of sound itself, Cacioppo was inspired by radical composers such as Varèse, Cage and Feldman, and produced the American equivalent of the “sound centered” compositions of Giacinto Scelsi in Italy.

Cacioppo created a distinctly new “sound based” approach to harmony where there is a continuous transformation of “pure” tones into clusters and then into “noise”, or the contrary.

On the other hand, Cacioppo treats time in a very supple manner, the temporal flow is rather slow and unmeasured in order to allow his sounds to breathe as freely as possible, or as Cage said “to let the sounds be themselves”.

This marks the first collection on CD of Cacioppo’s unique music, in recent recordings by leading French soloists and ensembles; plus a rare chance to hear Cacioppo perform one of his own pieces.

Liner notes by Cacioppo’s colleague Gordon Mumma and Gerard Pape.

Time on Time in Miracles (1965) for soprano, 2 horns, 2 trombones, piano, cello and percussion 7:19
Mod 3 (1963) for flute, percussion and contrabass 5:24
Holy Ghost Vacuum or America Faints (1966) 25:57
Advance of the Fungi (1964) for male choir, 3 clarinets, 3 trombones, 2 horns and 1 percussion 13:57
Two Worlds (1962) for soprano, flute, oboe, piano, percussion, violin, viola, cello and contrabass 7:58
Bestiary 1: Eingang (1960) for soprano, piano and 5 percussionists 8:12

Janet Pape and Sevan Manoukian, soprano
George Cacioppo, electric organ (Holy Ghost Vacuum or America Faints)
Nicholas Isherwood, bass voices
Ensemble 2e2m, Paul Méfano, conductor
Atelier de Musique Contemporaine du CNR de Versailles, Renaud François and Lionel Arnaud, conductors