Treatise: CD
2 CD Jewel Case In 2017 the London Experimental Ensemble performed all 193 pages of the Cornelius Cardew graphical score Treatise and recorded the performance live.
Cornelius Cardew (1936-1981) was part of the British experimental artist movement, a member of ground-breaking London improvisation ensemble AMM Music, and a contemporary of
2 CD Jewel Case
In 2017 the London Experimental Ensemble performed all 193 pages of the Cornelius Cardew graphical score Treatise and recorded the performance live.
Cornelius Cardew (1936-1981) was part of the British experimental artist movement, a member of ground-breaking London improvisation ensemble AMM Music, and a contemporary of Stockhausen, Cage, and Young. He was one of the most prominent avant-garde composers of the 20th Century, and founded many influential improvisation groups including the Scratch Orchestra. His score Treatise was created over four years from 1963 to 1967 and remains to this day one of the most acclaimed graphical scores of contemporary music. Treatise is both a musical artform and an intricate visual piece of art, incredible for the detailed lines and geometry spanning so many pages at a time when such renderings had to be drafted by hand. There are few existing physical recordings of Treatise available, aside from a 1967 performance in Prague until now.
Members of The London Experimental Ensemble have all been members of Eddie Prévost's London improvisation workshop. Eddie, as an original founding member of AMM Music, was a frequent collaborator and friend of Cardew. Carol Finer Chant, who played with Cardew in the Scratch Orchestra, graciously joined the Ensemble for the performance.
For an idea of what this recording of Treatise offers, we have only to consult Prévost’s very informative liner notes; “It is rich in sonic detail and empathy and thus enriches the listener.”