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NOTE: AGP117 has been deleted at the request of the publisher. While the Edition RZ LP appears to be out of print, a CD with a recording that is either similar to or identical to this one is available from ReR Megacorp for a very reasonable price that includes shipping.

AGP117 is a transcription of one of my most prized LPs, containing two works by the Romanian composer Iancu Dumitrescu. Medium II is for solo double bass, and Cogito / Trompe L'Oeil is for two double basses, prepared piano, and percussion.

In Medium II, the sounds produced by the double bass explore the edge between tones and noise, and yet an everpresent tonal center is provided by the notes produced by the open strings, giving the excursions into higher tones something of the feel of a raga. The rhythms of the piece remind me at times of the breathing of some great beast or of the surge of the ocean through a tidal cave. The addition of more instruments in Cogito introduces further tonal centers and still more timbral complexity, with considerably more sound energy in higher registers.

Dumitrescu describes Medium II as the hidden, mysterious reverse of Cogito, and suggests that the two works could even be played simultaneously. If you have the right media-playing software, you may be able to arrange such a performance for yourself. Personally, I tremble at the thought. The installment includes a PDF file with scans of LPs liner notes.

01 - Medium II [23:38]

02 - Cogito, Trompe L'Oeil [19:57]

AGP117 description