Music for Merce, Vol. 3 (digital only)
Liner Notes   Cat. No. 80712     Release Date: 2011-06-09
The late Merce Cunningham was renowned for his legendary collaborations with the most significant experimental musicians of the late 20th century. Particularly notable is his association with John Cage, who served as the founding musical director of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company until Cage’s death in 1992.

Spanning six decades from the early 1950s onward, these recordings capture the breadth of the Cunningham repertory and the rich diversity of Cunningham’s musical collaborations. Composers whose work features prominently in this collection include seminal figures of late-20th-century experimental music such as John Cage, David Tudor, Gordon Mumma, Christian Wolff, and Takehisa Kosugi, among others. For the most part, these compositions have not been recorded elsewhere and are making their first appearance on CD. This is a document of enormous historical import that will be a revelation to both listeners and scholars interested in the evolution of American experimental music over the past five decades. The box set includes a 124-page booklet featuring a 15,000-word essay by Amy Beal, one of the foremost scholars of contemporary American music.

Volume Three includes:

1. David Behrman (b. 1937)
...for nearly an hour... (1968) 3:23
Dance: Walkaround Time (1968)
Valda Setterfield, Carolyn Brown, Barbara Dilley Lloyd, Beverly Emmons, voices
(Recorded in 1968 in Buffalo, New York)

2. Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016)
n Memoriam: Nikola Tesla, Cosmic Engineer (1969) 9:44
Dance: Canfield (1969)
John Cage, Gordon Mumma, Jean Rigg, David Tudor, voices, live electronics, acoustical-space sound-activators
(Recorded on tour in 1972)

3. Christian Wolff (b.1934)
For 1, 2, or 3 People (1964) [excerpt] 12:07
Dance: Tread (1970)
David Tudor, baroque organ, live electronics
(Recorded on tour in 1972)

4. Christian Wolff (b.1934)
Burdocks (1971) [excerpt] 16:59
Dance: Borst Park (1972)
David Behrman, viola; John Cage, percussion; Gordon Mumma, horn, cornet; David Tudor, bandoneon; Garrett List, trombone; Frederic Rzewski, piano
(Recorded on tour in 1972)

5. John Cage (1912–1992), Gordon Mumma (b. 1935), David Tudor (1926–1996)
52/3 (1972) [excerpt] 16:39
Dance: Landrover (1972)
John Cage, piano; Gordon Mumma, live electronics; David Tudor, live electronics
(Recorded on tour in 1972)
6. Gordon Mumma (b. 1935)
Telepos (1972) 18:27
Dance: TV Rerun (1972)
Gordon Mumma controlling sounds activated by dancers with telemetry-accelerometer belts
(Recorded September 12, 1972, Venice)

Various Artists

Music for Merce, Vol. 3 (digital only)

MP3/320 $9.99
FLAC $9.99
WAV $9.99
...for nearly an hour... [excerpt]
David Behrman
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In Memoriam: Nikola Tesla, Cosmic Engineer [excerpt]
Pauline Oliveros
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For 1,2, or 3 People [excerpt]
Christian Wolff
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Burdocks [excerpt]
Christian Wolff
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52/3 [excerpt]
John Cage
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Telepos
Gordon Mumma
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