John Cage: First Construction (In Metal)

First Construction (In Metal), composed in 1939 by John Cage is a monochromic monolith. Wile many vintage percussion ensemble works included a panoply of percussion instruments, Cage restricted himself, aside from piano, to metals. Even the piano strings are manipulated by an assistant, yielding metallic, siren-like sounds. The opening moments are uncompromising. Cage deftly employed multiple thunder sheets to create thick waves of white noise against which rhythmic and melodic themes slowly emerge. His studies of world music with Henry Cowell in New York City in the mid-30's surely influenced the Balinesian gamelan-esque passages for gongs and tam-tams as cyclic timekeepers, clarifying the underlying mathematics. -Gregory Beyer

Recorded June 2011 at Boutell Memorial Concert Hall, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois
Third Coast Percussion: Owen Clayton Condon, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, David Skidmore
With Gregory Beyer & Ross Karre
Produced by: Ryan Muncy & Brian Brandt
Engineered, Edited, Mixed & Mastered by: Dan Nichols, Aphorism Audio

Third Coast Percussion would like to thank Gregory Beyer and the Northern Illinois University School of Music, Greg MacAyeal and the Northwestern University Music Library John Cage Collection, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts John Cage Music Manuscript Collection, Professor William Moersch and the University of Illinois Percussin Studio, James Ross, Brad Tubman, Peter Robles, Joseph Genden, Teddy Boys, Samir Mayekar, Sidney K. Robinson, and Ethelbert Williams.

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Third Coast Percussion is a GRAMMY® Award-winning Chicago-based percussion quartet. For over fifteen years, the ensemble has created exciting and unexpected performances that constantly redefine the classical music experience. To learn more, visit:
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