I have an affinity for percussion records and I'm sure I'll be posting lots on this blog. This one from The Blackearth Percussion Group was released on Opus One records (Greenville, ME) and includes works by Lou Harrison, John Cage, William Albright, Edward Miller, Mario Bertoncini, and an incredible performance of "Apple Blossom" by Peter Garland. I've included scans of the booklet containing in-depth descriptions of each piece. Here's a quick bio taken from the back cover, of which unfortunately, I'm unable to provide a scan-
The BLACKEARTH PERCUSSION GROUP was founded in 1972. The members are faculty artists-in-residence at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. The quartet - Garry Kvistad, Richard Kvistad, Allen Otte, and Michael Udow - is the only full-time professional percussion group in this country, and has toured throughout the U.S. and Canada, appearing at universities, on concert series, and with symphony orchestras. Along with the numerous compositions written for them, BLACKEARTH includes in its repertoire works by members of the group, and cites "an advancement in the art of composition for percussion" as one of its main objectives. The group has previously recorded for Opus One and Advance records. A significant aspect of the group is cultivating and working with an awareness of the socio-political role of music and musicians in society.
Enjoy. More Opus One records soon.
Boy that Peter Garland composition is especially beautiful. Thank you for sharing, it's a great record all around. It's cool too, that Peter Garland is from Maine, and here he is with his West Coast mentor and friend, Lou Harrison.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this. I enjoyed listening to them while I was a student at NIU - all the way up until the record shattered the needle on my turntable. I was afraid to play the LP ever since.
ReplyDeleteSuch a good post. I studied with all of these guys and heard this stuff live in the day. An historic recording that just is not available now. Great work, thanks! (Rolf Thunander)
ReplyDeleteGreat music, the best performance I've heard of Garland's Apple blossom. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThis sounds too interesting not to hear, thanks.
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