Browse by Label: CHOOSE (GERMANY)

Artist:	SPRENGER, KONRAD
Title:	Miniaturen
Label:	CHOOSE (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	CHOOSE 015CD

"Miniaturen or in English: 'Miniatures' is Konrad Sprenger's first solo album. The dictionary defines a miniature as 'a representation or image of something on a small or reduced scale.' Sprenger worked for over two years to find a 'grand form in which to represent his myriad bagatelles; drawing from hundreds of finished and unfinished recordings recorded over the last ten years with a diverse palette of musicians, artists and friends. The result is an unlikely juxtaposition of 32 abbreviated sonoric vignettes, each with its own internal logic, each a setting within a diverse range of musical styles (ranging from pop, Kraut, baroque, American minimalism etc.), recognizable on the one hand, yet always unexpected. The instrumentation is equally abstruse: from mechanical bird organs and automated musical machines from the 1800s to sine waves, harmonium, timpanies, steel drum, sirens and countless other examples; this is a sonic exploration of endless possibilities where each work takes the listener one step forward, building on perceptual associations, so that one never knows where one will end up next. The sonic 'miniatures' function as reduced modules, always referring to some 'other' music or sounds we must have heard somewhere, but which we are forever unable to pin down. After producing recordings by Ellen Fullman, Arnold Dreyblatt, Doc Schoko and countless others, and performing for years as Konrad Sprenger with such luminary bands as Ethnostress and Ei and the art group Honey-suckle Company, Sprenger has finally made his own artistic statement with Miniaturen once again adorned with a cover by artist Jonas Lipps." --Arnold Dreyblatt

Artist:	ASHLEY/WALTER MARCHETTI, ROBERT
Title:	Oct. 25th, 2001: Merkin Concert Hall, NYC
Label:	CHOOSE (GERMANY)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$48.00
Catalog #:	CHOOSE 011LP

"Back in 2001, Thomas Buckner organized a series of concerts at Merkin Hall in New York City. The idea was to have a contemporary classic composer inviting another composer, a kind of alter-ego, to perform together. When Robert Ashley, whose concert was considered the peak of the whole series of events, decided to invite his old friend Walter Marchetti, it was immediately clear that there would have been something unforgettable going on. The night of October 25th, 2001, the audience at the Merkin Hall had the privilege of being present at one of the more dense, intimate and breathtaking sonic events in contemporary music history. Sides A and B include the live rendering of two Walter Marchetti sound works previously issued on CD by Alga Marghen. A 25-minute excerpt of 'Nei Mari del Sud. Musica in Secca' and one painful variation from 'De Musicorum Infelicitate.' The performance of those tape pieces was conceived as an action theatre event, the first concert of the legendary Italian composer in the States after more than 30 years! Side C includes the recording of Robert Ashley's 'Yes, But Is It Edible?,' a composition for piano and voice dedicated to Thomas Buckner who performs it with the composer. This 27:30 min long piece is a true masterpiece, with Robert Ashley introducing us to creation and coincidence, space and time, private parts and characters, with direct references to the ONCE group and his friends David Behrman, Alvin Lucier, Gordon Mumma, Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley, 'Blue' Gene Tyranny, George Manupelli, as well as Maria Callas and Patsy Cline, Elvis and Lennon, Monteverdi, pop music, Irish and Jewish new-comer's Broadway musical parody of America, Lloyd-Weber, Saturday Night Life, Chinese opera, mariachi bands, country music and much more. Side D includes 'Practical Anarchism,' a touching homage that Robert Ashley dedicated to Walter Marchetti. Previously published as a text by Alga Marghen in the booklet of the Antibarbarus CD, this is actually the first time ever that this piece for solo voice, performed by the same Robert Ashley, is made available on record. Also on side D is 'Musica Per un Bicchiere non Molto Grande,' an early ZAJ piece by Walter Marchetti, performed here by Robert Ashley. Edition of 300 copies."

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