* Lucky Find. This special edition of just 80 copies, with different back cover, was created specifically to coincide with Palestine's major exhibition Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland at The Jewish Museum in New York in 2017 * Charlemagne Palestine stands as one of the towering figures in the history of musical Minimalism - a composer whose voice commands unparalleled respect and adoration within the avant-garde community. “Arpeggiated Bösendorfer + Falsetto Voice”, one of Alga Marghen's most remarkable discoveries, reveals stunning recordings from 1974 that have remained hidden for over four decades, offering extraordinary insights into the formation of Palestine's most iconic works. In 1974, Ileana Sonnabend - one of the most noted gallerists in 20th Century art history - commissioned Palestine to create a limited edition double LP to celebrate the opening of her new Soho space. What emerged was “Four Manifestations On Six Elements”, but what has remained largely unknown is that several recording attempts were made. The first sessions took place in Pennsylvania, at Swarthmore College's Bösendorfer Imperial Piano, recorded late at night under the guidance of Mayo Thompson and Kurt Munkacsi within the college's cavernous theatre.

These stunning recordings that comprise “Arpeggiated Bösendorfer + Falsetto Voice” are of extraordinary historical importance. While Palestine was discovered by Tony Conrad working in the shadows, these sessions capture him at the height of his early creative powers, charting territories no other composer had yet traced. The fact that these recordings were pushed into shadow for over 40 years seems confounding - they are the equal and mirror of “Four Manifestations On Six Elements”, ranking among the most important documents from Minimalism's golden era.

This special edition of just 80 copies, with different back cover, was created specifically to coincide with Palestine's major exhibition Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland at The Jewish Museum in New York - the artist's first U.S. museum exhibition of his immersive plush toy installations. The timing is particularly poignant, as the release connects Palestine's early sonic explorations with his later shamanic visual practice, both rooted in his Brooklyn Jewish heritage and childhood experiences. Stemming from Palestine's revolutionary technique of strumming the piano - repeating successions of notes to generate overtone harmonics - Swarthmore's Bösendorfer becomes an immersive, rippling cloud of ambience and rhythm. What makes these recordings truly singular is the presence of Palestine's falsetto voice, an element entirely absent from his early releases yet occasionally present in more recent works. This offers a rare glimpse into an aspect of his practice from this period that few have been allowed to recognize. The voice work here anticipates the shamanic qualities that would later manifest in Palestine's visual installations - those hundreds of plush toys and teddy bears that he regards as shamanic representations of the soul. Just as his childhood experience in Brooklyn's Jewish community would inform his later “meshugahland” installations, the falsetto passages on these recordings reveal an early exploration of voice as spiritual instrument, connecting to his formative years singing in synagogue choirs and ringing carillon bells at St. Thomas Church in Manhattan.

For those familiar with Palestine's later organ works, “Arpeggiated Bösendorfer + Falsetto Voice” provides crucial context. The extended techniques employed here, the patient accumulation of harmonic overtones, and the integration of voice as pure sonic material establish direct lineages to La Monte Young's sustained tone explorations, Terry Riley's repetitive structures, and Tony Conrad's amplified string techniques. The recordings encounter Palestine consumed by extraordinary creative powers, enough to bring the most hardened listener to tears. Beyond the stunning quality of his piano technique, it is the vocal element that transforms these sessions into something approaching transcendence. The falsetto emerges like ethereal breath over airborne clusters of sustained Bösendorfer chords that ebb, flow, and pulse with effortlessly natural grace.

Musically overwhelming and drenched in historical significance, “Arpeggiated Bösendorfer + Falsetto Voice” represents one of the most important archival discoveries in recent memory. This special edition, limited to just 80 copies with unique artwork created for the Jewish Museum exhibition, offers collectors a rare opportunity to own a piece of both musical and art history - one of the greatest albums of musical Minimalism that the world has ever heard.