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Mix Pierre Henry 03.0 (4CD set)

$24.99 ... CD 4CD

A fantastic box set that features 3 separately issued CDs of work by Henry -- plus one bonus CD only available in the box! Disc 1 features 2 pivotal works in the career of the composer. Variations Pour Une Porte Et Un Soupir is beautiful batch of spare electronics -- translated as "Variations Between A Door & A Sigh" -- the piece is exactly that! One track will evoke strange creaking door sounds, the next will have a breathy, sigh-like quality -- and then the whole thing starts all over again. Maddening, but wonderful in its own way! After that, the CD moves into La Reine Verte -- composed for a show with Maurice Bejart, and a continuous electronic work that's filled with slowly progressing analogue bubbles, almost in a 60s sci fi sort of way, but a bit freer and looser, and pretty darn scary! Disc 2 features Futuristie -- a fantastic symphony of noises by Pierre Henry, less electronic than some of his other work, and featuring sounds from a huge variety of sources! Excuse our French if we get a few of the details wrong (the notes aren't in English!), but it appears that instruments used include porcelain eggs, sable, shells, snails, prepared piano, Basque drums, paper, cellophane, money, flutes, guitar, polyester, and countless other odd items, chosen for their odd sounds. The booklet shows Henry sitting in front of about 2 dozen tape recorders -- and we're not sure if that's the way the piece was played, but it makes sense. Still sounds pretty darn live to our ears though! Disc 3 features a new version of Henry's Antogonismes IV -- originally commissioned by the WDR in Cologne, and presented here with stunning sound that really lives up to the spirit of the piece! The theme of "antagonisms" is very apt -- as the work slowly progresses by working up noises between various instruments and sound sources, building and shifting in the manner of some of Henry's pivotal work from the early 60s. Disc 4 features a bonus CD -- with the pieces Hugosymphonie and Gouttes D'Eau, from 1985, exclusive to this package!  © 1996-2009, Dusty Groove America, Inc.