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Lawrence English, "For/Not For John Cage"
Initially a work inspired by Cage's 100th birthday this year, this album began life as a soundtrack to his One11 film. However as those recordings progressed, Australian composer Lawrence English began to develop a wider body of pieces that were inspired, both directly and indirectly, by the legendary artist, and take on a life of their own.
Cage’s use of chance, and his interest in Zen Buddhism are among the more often occurring themes and influences on these eight pieces, which are deliberate and meditative, but retain a loose, improvisational feeling at times.The ghostly wisps and sustained lower-frequency moments of "Otidea Onotica" possess a certain peaceful quality, though that is contrasted by the quickly rising and falling tonal outbursts around them.
"Gymnosporangium" and "Amanita Inaurata" also have this apparition-like sparseness, with the former especially employing the varying tones and pitches of "Otidea Onotica"."Hygrophorous Russula" takes a different path, sounding like a slow-motion fall accompanied with higher register textural passages.
The back to back pieces "Naematoloma Sublateritium" and "Coprinus Comatus" make for an especially overt contrast, with the former relying on almost foghorn like dark sounds that go to a distinctly creepy, dark place, while the latter has a warmer, inviting character to it, even if they follow similar structures compositionally.
Closer "Entoloma Aborivum" stands out as perhaps the most drastically different piece on this album, given its harsher, more commanding tone.Even though it moves at a glacial pace, the heavily reverberated textures, at times resembling elongated guitar noise, are harsher and more commanding than what preceded it.The closing moments also have a shrill, feedback like quality that adds a bit of welcome abrasion to an otherwise gentle work.
For/Not For John Cage may show differing levels of inspiration courtesy of the legendary composer, but English's work also stands on its own as the work of a powerful, established artist in his own right.At times ascetically sparse, other times boisterous and dominating, there is a significant amount of variation within these eight pieces, but they all sit nicely beside one another as a coherent work.
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