Strange And Sacred Noise (mode153), by John Luther Adams

Strange And Sacred Noise (mode153)

by John Luther Adams

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$12 USD or more
DVD + Digital Album
5.0 Surround Sound DVD also has a hi-res 48khz/24-bit PCM stereo option. Note: The music has no video.
BONUS: "A Brief History of Noise" John Luther Adams and Allen Otte in conversation (with video, 62 minutes)

Includes unlimited streaming of Strange And Sacred Noise (mode153) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 7 days

$20 USD or more

	1.	...Dust Into Dust... - For 2 Snare Drums & 2 Field Drums 09:15
	2.	Solitary And Time-Breaking Waves - After James Tenney, For 4 Tam-Tams 10:44
	3.	Velocities Crossing In Phase-Space - After Conlon Nancarrow And Peter Garland, For 8 Tom-Toms And 2 Bass Drums 09:40
	4.	Triadic Iteration Lattices - To Edgar Varése And Alvin Lucier, For 4 Air-Raid Sirens 08:22
	5.	Clusters On A Quadrilateral Grid 1 - To Morton Feldman, For 4 Marimbas 08:39
	6.	Clusters On A Quadrilateral Grid 2 - For 4 Vibraphoned 04:36
	7.	Clusters On A Quadrilateral Grid 3 - For 4 Sets Of Crotales And Orchestra Bells 04:31
	8.	Clusters On A Quadrilateral Grid 4 - For 4 Marimbas 08:35
	9.	...And Dust Rising... - For 2 Snare Drums & 2 Field Drums 08:43

about

John Luther Adams is an Alaskan composer. For Adams, Alaska is not a catalogue of ideas and sounds, instead, Alaska is a provocation. For all of its enormity, Alaska leans inward towards essential qualities and purified forces, and in Adams’ music we find this same sense of space and the same tendency inward towards the purified. His is an intimate and focused music that reverberates in a large place.

Strange and Sacred Noise is a monumental work for percussion quartet in 9 movements. The spatially separated percussionists make this an ideal work for surround-sound, as waves of percussion criss-cross around the room often to a hallucinatory effect.

Its dynamics range from the threshold of audibility to the threshold of pain. It embraces unsettling timbres and virtually the entire audible spectrum of sound. Much of this music is loud. It buzzes the eardrums, rattles the rib cage, and immerses the listener in an overwhelming physical presence of sound. Some of that presence arises spontaneously in the air, through the dynamic interplay of complex, high-energy sounds – thundering drums, roaring tam-tams, hammered bells, wailing sirens – the acoustics of the performance space, and the psycho-acoustics of our own hearing.

The instrumentation is at once unique and spare. Each movement is dedicated to the sonic exploration of a quartet of similar instruments – two snare drums and two field drums provide plaintive melodies in …dust into dust… as well as …and dust rising…, and the thundering velocities crossing in phase-space is scored for multiple tom-toms and bass drums. Other movements are scored for sets of tam-tams, mallets, and unique explorations of quartets of triangles and devastating air-raid sirens.

Expert performances by Percussion Group Cincinnati, who commissioned and premiered the piece.

Liner notes by Steve Schick and the composer.

credits

released January 31, 2005

license

about

Mode Records New York, New York

A record label devoted to New Music, recorded and presented with the highest standards.

moderecords.com

contact / help

Contact Mode Records

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Strange And Sacred Noise (mode153), you may also like:

Sila: The Breath of the World
by John Luther Adams

supported by 11 fans who also own “Strange And Sacred Noise (mode153)”
go to album
Lines Made by Walking
by John Luther Adams

supported by 11 fans who also own “Strange And Sacred Noise (mode153)”
go to album
The Become Trilogy
by John Luther Adams

supported by 10 fans who also own “Strange And Sacred Noise (mode153)”

Gorgeous. I adore this music. Favorite track: Become Desert. Minivan Riots
go to album
Standing On Giant Shoulders
by Seafood Sam

On his majestic new LP, Seafood Sam commits to sweetening the vibe, no matter the situation. Bandcamp Album of the Day Apr 18, 2024
go to album
Different Type Time
by Cavalier

NoLa rapper streamlines his experimental style without sacrificing originality or freshness; guests include Eric Jaye and Quelle Chris. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 18, 2024
go to album
Four Singles
by Operator Music Band

Four speaker-melting singles from New York's premiere "live techno" outfit, descended from vintage synthwave, deep house, and dance punk. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 18, 2024
go to album
Arctic Dreams
by John Luther Adams

supported by 10 fans who also own “Strange And Sacred Noise (mode153)”
go to album