Columbia- Princeton Electronic Music Center 1961 - 1973 (1998)

The Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center was the first electronic music center to be established in the United States. From 1959 to the late 1970s, it was one of the premiere sound facilities in the world. The vast majority of pieces composed at the Center—approximately three hundred—were composed during this period. Some have become classics of music history. This selection, drawn from those seminal years, is an excellent overview of the wide variations in musical style and aesthetic that was encouraged by the Center’s guiding spirit, Vladimir Ussachevsky. Charles Dodge’s Earth’s Magnetic Field is a relaxed, expressive piece in which he captures a sense of radiance. The New York Times called it one of the “ten most significant works of the 1970s.” Ingram Marshall’s Cortez manipulates a speaker’s voice to create a brooding meditation on an apocalyptic poem by poet-friend Snee McCaig. Alice Shields was a young member of the Center’s initial team. Musique concrète sound sources and the composer’s prerecorded voice form the basis for Dance Piece No. 3 (1969) and Study for Voice and Tape (1968).

Tracklist

Bülent Arel
1 Postlude from “Music for a Sacred Service” (publ. by American Composers Alliance; BMI) (1961) 3:55
Charles Dodge
2 Earth’s Magnetic Field (publ. by North Cape Music; ASCAP) (1970) 14:05
Ilhan Mimaroglu
3 Prelude No. 8 (To the memory of Edgard Varese) (publ. by Ilhan Mimaroglu; ASCAP) (1966) 3:55
Bülent Arel and Daria Semegen
4 Out of Into (publ. by American Composers Alliance; BMI) (1972) 14:47
Ingram Marshall
5 Cortez (publ. Ibu Music; BMI) (1973) 8:37
Recorded voice and poem: Snee McCaig
Daria Semegen
6 Electronic Composition No. 1 (publ. by American Composers Alliance; BMI) (1971) 5:47
Alice Shields
7 Dance Piece No. 3 (publ. Symbolion Music; BMI) (1969 ) 5:57
8 Study for Voice and Tape (publ. Symbolion Music; BMI) (1968) 5:01
Recorded voice and poem: Alice Shields

New World Records: 80521