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 ofCogito, 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.

I have waited until now to transcribe this LP because a CD of Medium III, Cogito, and other works used to be available on theEdition Modern label out of Romania. I am told that this CD is now out of print, though you may be able to find one of the few remaining copies through internet distributors. I have never heard the CD, and so cannot say how different Medium II is from Medium III, or how different the two performances of Cogito are. If someone who has the CD judges the two releases to be different enough, I would be delighted to include a transcription of the CD in a future AGP installment.

To download AGP117 files, right-click on each of the following links and select SAVE LINK AS.

01 - Medium II [23:38] 02 - Cogito, Trompe L'Oeil [19:5]

Liner notes from LP

AGP117 description FLAC fingerprints