2008 repress, featuring a 24-bit Hi-Definition remaster; originally released in 1991. Volume 4 in the Music of Cage series. The first audio document between John Cage & Merce Cunningham. It includes a 55-minute piece called "Five Stone Wind" performed by David Tudor (live electronics), Takehisa Kosugi (amplified violin, live electronics, bamboo flute) and Michael Pugliese (clay pots and tapes) as well as a 19-minute version of the classic "Cartridge Music" (same 3 performers, "using phonograph cartridges to play various objects, toys and furniture to create a cosmos of unusual sound" ). 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.
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.
Essential.