philip corner: gong/ear: dance-ing, 1  & 2

A major figure in 20th century arts and music (and beyond), Philip Corner studied with Henry Cowell and Olivier Messiaen, and was one of the original Fluxus conspirators, among other highlights of his long and storied career. As part of the body of his 'Metal Meditations' work, Gong/Ear is a decades-long series of improvisations with dancers. Utilizing his favorite Paiste tam-tam, these two recordings from Corner's NYC Leonard Street loft in 1989 are a feedback loop of perceptions between gong and dance: 'the initiating sound (or is it the dancer's posture?) is made physically audible. Responsive movement is turned back into sound. Musical attentiveness sends it back and it continues.' Gong/Ear: Dance-ing, 1 & 2 is released in a limited edition of 305 copies, each with a hand-cut facsimile brass gong, silkscreened with Corner's calligraphy and mounted onto the jacket. Download coupon included.

Philip Corner - excerpt no. 2 : with Elisabetta Vittoni NY April 13, 1989