Post by Lute June 27, 2015 (1 of 3)
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Thank you so much, Robert (and of course everyone else involved in this release).
This one came out of left field.
First of all, I have to say WHAT EXCELLENT, DISCRETE use of the the surround channels. Fantastic! I mean we're talking NEOS, Kairos, and Wergo type of aggressive surround. I LOVE it!
To be clear, only the first and last tracks are discrete. Most of the middle section is only ambient in the rear channels. But it's great to hear BIS go immersive.
And... praise must be given to Nicholas Isherwood!
But, before I get ahead of myself. This is John Cage. So, the music is abstract, avant garde... And as such, it is a bit unusual and perhaps not to everyone's liking. Or... I should say one needs to be in a certain frame of mind to appreciate what Cage is trying to express. The program ranges from simple chants to bizarre readings of various verses of poetry and other lyrics. Actually, on first listening much of it might seem rather plain, but Isherwood and his expressive bass baritone voice give a committed account that makes this unique music quite appealing.
The last work entitled "Ryoanji", named after the famous Zen Buddhist temple in Japan, brilliantly captures the essence of Japanese Buddhist sutra chants. A crystal wine glass works amazingly well as a substitute for the more typical Japanese bell or gong. It's a very meditative piece.
At just under 45 minutes this is a slightly short program, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Bravo!
Here's a bit more... http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/18/john-cage-aria-cd-review-nicholas-isherwood-bis
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Lute said:
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Good to hear you like this disc. As a huge Cage fan, I'm considering purchasing this one too, though I don't know these works.
I recommend the recent Cage/The Works for Percussion from Mode Records -- who publish official recordings of Cage‘s entire legacy; esp. volume 2 of The Percussive Works is incredible, with late 30s percussive works by Cage, extremely noisy and exhilarating. I heard this live a few years ago at the Proms (!), conducted by the great Israeli conductor Ilan Volkov (now in Reykjavik) .
Volume 2 is in DVD-video DTS surround (I have it on CD, which already sounds excellent, but with the DVD you get to see the performance)
http://www.moderecords.com/catalog/243_cage.html
Volume 1 is also very much recommended (also in DTS surround, and in higher def)
http://www.moderecords.com/catalog/229_cage.html
Mode has various DVD surrounds, also a new disc of all early percussive works by Stockhausen (haven't heard this yet -- on CD, that is); see here for a list of their DVDs
http://www.moderecords.com/modedvds.html
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