An almost mind bogglingly diverse compilation from Cherry Red - Things put together that really should not work on paper but it’s like a pychedelic fever dream of Radio 3 late junction meets Jarvis Cocker’s Sunday service and some more.. I’m enjoying this immensely and for £11 for four CDs it’s exceptional value and the kind of utter genius that seems to be Cherry red’s licensing team at the moment. I might sneak into their cellar and sleep there.
• Notes From The Underground’ showcases landmark recordings which shaped the musical and cultural landscape of the 20th century.
• Including major works like Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’, ‘Déserts’ by Edgard Varèse, Edith Sitwell’s ‘Façade’, Arnold Schoenberg’s ‘Pierrot Lunaire’, and John Cage’s 1940’s compositions for prepared piano, which were absolutely revolutionary.
Unveiled to the public, these works created a scandal that polarised audiences and sparked furious debate, bordering on serious public disorder. Other works, including Allen Ginsberg’s epic poem ‘Howl’, Miles Davis’ Third Stream interpretation of Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’, and ballet music for ‘Parade’, composed by Erik Satie, even entered dangerous legal territory. Despite initial opposition, all cleared the prevailing air and proved to be universal in their influence.
Some, among them, Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Coltrane, Pierre Boulez, Bill Evans, Ravi Shankar, Pierre Schaeffer, Gustav Mahler, Claude Debussy and Charles Ives, were real crusaders; innovators whose concerted musical explorations enabled them to acquire a deeper understanding of their art that would enable them to attain hitherto unknown creative heights.
This presentation also includes music from four radical cinematic productions; Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí’s incendiary 1929 surrealist short, Un Chien Andalou, from Lindsay Anderson’s savage attack on the establishment, if Music from Electra by the Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis and from Patrick McGoohan’s fantastical, highly provocative era-defining political allegory, The Prisoner.
Track Listing:
DISC ONE: CLAUDE DEBUSSY 1 Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) - London Symphony Orchestra / Conductor: Pierre Monteux IGOR STRAVINSKY Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) (1913 version) Part One – ‘Adoration Of The Earth’ 2 Adoration Of The Earth - Introduction 3 The Augurs Of Spring - Dances of the Young Girls 4 Ritual of Abduction 5 Spring Rounds 6 Games of the Rival Tribes 7 Procession of the Sage 8 The Sage 9 Dance of the Earth Part Two – ‘The Sacrifice’ 10 The Sacrifice - Introduction 11 Mystic Circles of the Young Girls 12 Glorification of the Chosen One 13 Evocation of the Ancients 14 Ritual of the Ancients 15 Sacrificial Dance Boston Symphony Orchestra/Conductor: Pierre Monteux KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN 16 Studie 1 PIERRE SCHAEFFER Two selections from Cinq études de bruits (Five Studies Of Noises) 17 Étude violette 18 Étude noire JOHN COLTRANE QUINTET FEATURING ERIC DOLPHY 19 My Favourite Things MUSIC FROM THE PRISONER A B & C (Episode 3 - On scientific intrusion into the mind) 20 Sidney Torch - Virtuosi Moderne - Off Beat Moods - Part 3 - Dramatic Sustained FALL OUT (episode 17 - on the exultation of individualism) 21 The Four Lads - Dry Bones
DISC TWO: EDGARD VARÈSE 1 Déserts (World Premiere, 1954) Orchestre National de France / Conductor: Hermann Scherchen. Magnetic tape operator: Pierre Henry DAPHNE ORAM 2 Amphitryon 38 DAPHNE ORAM & DESMOND BRISCOE 3 The Ocean 4 Winter’s Journey (intro) (1958) PIERRE BOULEZ 5 Sonatine for Flute and Piano MUSIC FROM UN CHIEN ANDALOU 6 Vicente Alvarez and his Tropical Orchestra - Tango Argentino MILES DAVIS 7 Concierto de Aranjuez (Adagio) from ‘Sketches Of Spain’ ALLEN GINSBERG 8 Howl
DISC THREE: DITH SITWELL & WILLIAM WALTON FAÇADE - An Entertainment (1923) 1 Fanfare 2 Hornpipe 3 En Famille 4 Mariner Man 5 Trio For Two Cats And Trombone 6 Through Gilded Trellises 7 Tango Pasodoble 8 Scotch Rhapsody 9 Lullaby For Jumbo 10 Fox-trot 11 By The Lake 12 The Man From A Far Countree 13 Jodelling Song 14 Country Dance 15 Black Mrs. Behemoth 16 Popular Song 17 Polka 18 Waltz 19 Four In The Morning 20 Something Lies Beyond The Scene 21 Sir Beelzebub RAVI SHANKAR 22 Kafi-Holi (Spring Festival of Colours) MIKIS THEODORAKIS 23 Electra Suite No. 9 ORNETTE COLEMAN QUARTET 24 Kaleidoscope LUCIANO BERIO - CATHY BERBERIAN 25 Thema (Omaggio a Joyce) for voice and tape LES TROUBADOURS DU ROI BAUDOUIN MISSA LUBA - A mass sung in pure Congolese style 26 Kyrie 27 Gloria 28 Credo 29 Sanctus 30 Benedictus 31 Agnus Dei OLIVIER MESSIAEN 32 Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) 8: Louange à l’immortalité de Jésus (Praise to the immortality of Jesus) BILL EVANS TRIO 33 My Foolish Heart
DISC FOUR: GUSTAV MAHLER 1 Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor IV. Adagietto - Sehr langsam New York Philharmonic Conductor: Bruno Walter JOHN CAGE Four Sonatas (for Prepared Piano) 2 Sonata VII 3 Sonata IV 4 Sonata II 5 Sonata III Maro Ajemian: piano ERIK SATIE Parade (Ballet Suite) 6 Prélude du rideau rouge (Prelude of the Red Curtain) 7 Prestidigitateur chinois (Chinese Conjurer) 8 Petite fille Américaine (Young American Girl) 9 Ragtime du paquebot (Ragtime of the Passenger Steamer) 10 Acrobates (Acrobats) 11 Suite au prélude du rideau rouge (Continuation of the Prelude of the Red Curtain) French National Radio Orchestra / Conductor: Manuel Rosenthal ARNOLD SCHOENBERG Pierrot Lunaire, Op.21 (1912) / Part 1 12 Mondestrunken 13 Colombine 14 Der Dandy 15 Eine blasse Wäscherin 16 Valse de Chopin 17 Madonna 18 Der kranke Mond Helga Pilarczyk: speaker. Conductor: Pierre Boulez CHARLES IVES 19 Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 19 ‘Concord, Mass III. The Alcotts John Kirkpatrick: piano ALI AKBAR KHAN 20 Raag Chandrakauns - Alap & Gat
