Litany for the Whale

John Cage - Litany for the Whale

Performed by Paul Hillier and Theatre of Voices

I have been performing, reading, looking at, and listening to John Cage's work for years - I number myself amongst those who consider him to be an important composer and not simply an important influence. One of the earliest Theatre of Voices concerts, at London's Almeida Festival in 1990, was devoted primarily to Cage's music, and, since then, I seem to have been working toward this recording. After I moved to California in 1990, I began putting together the forever-fluctuating nucleus of the present Theatre of Voices, and this included working with Shabda Owens on text-sound compositions (by Cage amongst others) using electronics. Shabda has known the composer Terry Riley for some years (he tunes pianos in Just Intonation for both Terry and LaMonte Young) and made it possible for the three of us to get together at Terry's house in the Sierras and pre-record some of the materials used on this disc. The remaining material was recorded later in Germany, though only after moving to Bloomington, Indiana, in 1996 was I in a position to bring the project to fruition. It now forms the first of a projected series of recordings of modern American music which Theatre of Voices will undertake over the coming years. (Paul Hillier)

Tracklisting:

1. Litany for the Whale {25:49}
Alan Bennett and Paul Elliott - voices

2. Aria No. 2 {6:23}
Paul Hillier - voice; Shabda Owens - electronics

3. Five {5:04}
Andrea Fullington, Allison Zelles, Alan Bennett, Paul Elliott and Shabda Owens - voices

4. The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs {3:06}
Paul Hillier - voice; Alan Bennett - closed piano

5. Solo for Voice 22 [from Songbooks] {3:48}
Andrea Fullington and Paul Hillier - voices; Shabda Owens - electronics

6. Experiences No. 2 {4:08}
Andrea Fullington - voice

7. 36 Mesostics re and not re Marcel Duchamp {11:41}
Terry Riley and Paul Hillier - voices; Shabda Owens - electronics

8. Aria {10:16}
Andrea Fullington, Allison Zelles, Alan Bennett, Paul Elliott, Shabda Owens, Terry Riley and Paul Hillier - voices; Shabda Owens - electronics

9. The Year Begins to Be Ripe {1:22}
Paul Hillier - voice; Alan Bennett - closed piano

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