John Cage meets Aphex Twin.

15 MP3 Songs
AVANT GARDE: Sound Collage, AVANT GARDE: Sound Sculpture

Details:
This CD contains two compositions - The Breakfast Suite (tracks 1 - 6) and Art Academy Fragments (tracks 7 - 15).

The Breakfast Suite is an exploration of the micro-acoustic sound world of some humble kitchen appliances. These common but little-regarded kitchen appliances are an all-but-ignored part of the morning breakfast ritual. As we wait each morning in Pavlovian anticipation while our eggs sizzle to sunrise perfection and our coffee is perking to its savory conclusion, do our minds register the fantastic soundscapes that are being revealed? If a crumb falls in a toaster and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound?

Art Academy Fragments are nine ambient compositions based on the sounds and acoustic space of the historic Art Academy of Cincinnati buildings in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Richard Bitting (b.1950) is an artist, composer and teacher residing in Cincinnati, Ohio. His visual work is in museums and private collections across the United States; his music has been performed internationally. Mr. Bitting is an adjunct professor at the Art Academy of Cincinnati where he teaches Music in the 20th Century and Introduction to Music Composition.

Artistâs Statement
The natural soundscape is rich with color and nuance beyond imagination. It is from this sonic metaworld that I draw inspiration for my projects.

The human perception of sound has a relationship with the other senses. As I grew to appreciate this relationship between the senses, I began to realize that my musical scoresâthe physical scores themselvesâcould serve not only as performance directions, they could convey meaning as visual art in their own right. Visual artâpainting, sculpture, etc.âhas its own way of expressing rhythms and harmonies. I have created separate works in both visual and sonic media that are representations of these same, intangible ideas.

As a species, we have evolved to rely primarily on our sense of sight. Our brains have evolved to edit our soundscapes, to filter out âperceivedâ background ânoiseâ and to process only that sound we deem necessary as information. I invite you to close your eyes, open your mind, and listen to the world through fresh ears.

People who are interested in John Cage Karlheinz Stockhausen should consider this download.