earle brown

Folio And Four Systems

A shining light in the field of 20th century composition, Earle Brown has been credited with pioneering graphical scoring for improvisational concerts as far back as the '50s. Now at 80 years old, Brown has gathered an impressive list of performers and collaborators for this collection of open form music, including Morton Subotnik, Merzbow, Ikue Mori and Christian Wolff. Consequently, the disc takes in a wealth of different approaches to performance, instrumentation and interpretation. Brown goes it alone for the first piece on the disc however, a pitter pat of multitracked percussion, bass and breathy trumpet. Masami Akita of Merzbow notoriety takes the helm for an interpretation of 'November 1952', a largely subdued affair by Akita's ferocious standards, which he performs on prepared acoustic guitar, ring modulator and computer. Other highlights include the duet of Ikue Mori with Sylvie Corvoisier, which pursues a sound not too dissimilar from Mori's superb collaboration with Zeena Parkins, Phantom Orchard; Mori's flickering electronics finely woven into Courvoisier's understated piano phrases. Courvoisier makes a further appearance on the final piece in the collection, this time alongside Mark Feldman's austere, restrained violin. It's another excellent example of musicians coming together in a moment of symbiosis via Brown's unique scoring. A superb collection from a composer that demands greater recognition.