Tuesday, October 24, 2006

The movement of (and) images



["As early as 1939, when he was in residence at the Cornish School of Music in Seattle, John Cage investigated the application of electrical technology to music. His first (perhaps the first) electroacoustic composition was Imaginary Landscape No. 1, a six-minute radio piece for muted piano, cymbal, and two variable-speed record turntables, designed to accompany the production of Jean Cocteau's play Marriage at the Eiffel Tower. The piece was performed by Cage, his wife Xenia, and two friends in two separate studios, mixed in the control room, and beamed the short distance to the theatre. Imaginary Landscape No. 1 looks ahead to any number of Cage compositions involving radio, magnetic tape, and computer technologies."]

Anafor[A], a short mash-up, performed 3 times, more than 66 years later, is but a faint echo of Cage's landscape. Yet, he opened the way. View Sam Renseiw's short compressed footage of the performance at Holmen by clicking here or enter the electronic maze above. (patafilm # 276, 01'44'', 7.8 MB, Quicktime/mov - Streaming Flash version at Blip.tv)