Baku: Symphony of Sirens. Sound Experiments in the Russian Avant Garde

This is a truly stunning piece of work, spearheaded by Miguel Molina Alarcon of the Laboratorio de Creaciones Intermedia at the Universidad PolitA©cnica de Valencia in Spain.

Baku: Symphony of Sirens is an ambitious reconstruction of the hitherto lost sound-world of the early 20th-century Russian avant-garde. It comprises two CDs, the first containing reconstructions based on meticulous historical research, and the second featuring original recordings.

The centerpiece of this set, as suggested by the name, is an absolutely staggering reconstruction of Arseny Avraamov's Symphony of Sirens, performed in Baku in 1922 to mark the fifth anniversary of the Russian Revolution. I had been tantalized by references to this event in a number of books on experimental music; to finally experience even an approximation of it was breathtaking. It is simply one of the most remarkable phenomena in the history of music.

The second disc opens with ten tracks of Dziga Vertov's 1930 sound film Enthusiasm!: Symphony of the Dombass, a groundbreaking work of sonic documentation.

The two discs are packaged in a lovely booklet that is a treasure trove of information on the content of the CDs and on the milieu in which these remarkable works were created. It alone is worth the value of the collection, but if you want to see it, you'll have to buy a copy for yourself.

If you're not sold yet, just take a look at the track listings and see if you're not intrigued.

Review from boomkat.com:

An incredible artefact from ReR, this double-disc release comes housed in a beautifully detailed book, all dedicated to the pioneers of the Russian avant-garde in the early twentieth century. The first disc captures a modern-day reconstruction of Arseni Avraamov's Symphony Of Sirens, a public sound event originally conceived in 1922, made up from factory sirens, military regiments, steam locomotives and choirs, all representing the lively sonic signature of the port city of Baku. In addition to that there are 39 short-form sound pieces, reproduced from original works by the key experimenters of the era, including Dziga Vertov and Sergei Prokofiev. The second disc is probably even better, kicking off with Dziga Vertov's Enthusiasm! The Dombass Symphony from 1930. This is an original recording by the Man With A Movie Camera director, and it's an epiphany for any fans of early electronic/noise music, featuring painstaking, laborious documents of the clamour heard in mines, factories and furnaces. Further to that, the disc rounds off with a library-like collection of shorter sound works captured around the same time, including recordings from Alexander Mossolov, Leon Trotsky, Boris Pasternak and Dmitri Shostakovitch. The accompanying book is crammed with explanatory text and photographs, making this an invaluable item for anyone with an interest in Soviet-era art and music.

Содержание:

CD1

01. Arseny Avraamov - Symphony Of Sirens
02. Velimir Khlebnikov - The Radio Of The Future
03. Ivan Ignatyev, Ego-Futurists Group - The First Spring Concert Of Universal Futurism
04. Mikhail Matiushin, Kazimir Malevich, Alexei Kruchenykh - Victory Over The Sun: Introdution
05. Mikhail Matiushin, Kazimir Malevich, Alexei Kruchenykh - Victory Over The Sun: Act 1 – Bully's Song
06. Mikhail Matiushin, Kazimir Malevich, Alexei Kruchenykh - Victory Over The Sun: Act 2 – Petite Bourgeoisie
07. Mikhail Matiushin, Kazimir Malevich, Alexei Kruchenykh - Victory Over The Sun: Other Excerpts And Final Opera With "Military Song"
08. Dziga Vertov - Laboratory Of Hearing - From The Rumor Of A Cascade
09. Dziga Vertov - Laboratory Of Hearing - From The Rumor Of A Sawmill
10. Arseny Avraamov - The March Of The Worker's Funeral
11. Nikolai Foregger, His Orchestra Of Noises - Mechanical Dances
12. Sergei Prokofiev, Georgi Yakoulov - Factory
13. Dziga Vertov - Radio Ear / Radio Pravda
14. Konstantin Melnikov - Sonata Of Sleep
15. No Artist - Pause-Sleep...
16. Igor Severyanin - Overture
17. Igor Severyanin - Echo
18. Vasilisk Gnedov - Poem 14
19. Alexei Kruchenykh - Dyr Bul Schyl
20. Vladimir Kasyanov, the Futurist Circle - Drama In The Futurists' Cabaret No.13
21. David Burliuk - The Family Of Vowels, Laughingly
22. Elena Guro - Finland
23. El Lissitzky - About Two Squares - A Suprematist Story
24. Olga Rozanova - [Spain]
25. H2so4 Group - Dada
26. Simon Chikovani - Tsira
27. Nothingists - Manifesto From Nothingism
28. Nothingists - Decree About The Nothingness Of Poetry
29. Vasily Kandinsky - To See
30. Kazimir Malevich - Poem
31. Olga Rozanova - Poem Without Title
32. Daniil Harms - Lapa-Paw
33. Igor Terent'ev - Endless Toast In Honor Of Sofia Georgievna
34. Mikhail Lorionov - Ozz...
35. Psycho-Futurists Group - Zatirlikali Lirlyuki
36. Vasily Kamensky - Poem To Letter 'K'
37. Varvara Stepanova - Rtny Khomle
38. Roman Jakobson - Mglybzhvuo
39. Roman Jakobson - Distraction
40. Vasilisk Gnedov - Poem Of The End

CD2

01. Dziga Vertov - Enthusiasm! The Dombass Symphony – 1
02. Dziga Vertov - Enthusiasm! The Dombass Symphony – 2
03. Dziga Vertov - Enthusiasm! The Dombass Symphony – 3
04. Dziga Vertov - Enthusiasm! The Dombass Symphony – 4
05. Dziga Vertov - Enthusiasm! The Dombass Symphony – 5
06. Dziga Vertov - Enthusiasm! The Dombass Symphony – 6
07. Dziga Vertov - Enthusiasm! The Dombass Symphony – 7
08. Dziga Vertov - Enthusiasm! The Dombass Symphony – 8
09. Dziga Vertov - Enthusiasm! The Dombass Symphony – 9
10. Dziga Vertov - Enthusiasm! The Dombass Symphony – 10
11. Alexander Mossolov - Zavod, Symphony Of Machines
12. Julius Meytuss - Dnieprostroi, The Dnieper Hydro-Electric Power Station
13. No Artist - Pause
14. Roman Jakobson reads Velimir Khlebnikov - Incantation By Laughter
15. Alexei Kruchenykh - Winter
16. Vladimir Mayakovsky - Naval Romance
17. Lili Brik Reads Vladimir Mayakovsky - From Street To Street
18. David Burliuk - House-Painter
19. Sergei Esenin - Confessions Of A Hooligan
20. Vasily Kamensky - The Way I Live
21. Semen Kirsanov Reads Velimir Khlebnikov - Not To Panel
22. Lenin - What Is Soviet Power
23. Anatoli Lunacharsky - On People's Education
24. Alexandra Kollontay - To The Workers
25. Leon Trotsky - 10th Anniversary Of The Left Opposition
26. Boris Pasternak - Night
27. Anna Akhmatova - To The Muse
28. Osip Mandelshtam - Gypsy Girl
29. Ilya Ehrenburg Reads Marina Tsvetaeva - You Walk, Resembling Me...
30. Naum Gabo, Noton Pevsner - The Realistic Manifesto
31. Dmitri Shostakovich - Radio Message Broadcast
32. Dmitri Shostakovich - Radio Broadcast Of The Leningrad Symphony

Продолжительность: 01:17:29 + 01:17:23

Носитель: Double Audio CD
Год выхода: 2009
Издатель: ReR Megacorp
№ по каталогу: ReR RAG 1&2
Формат: MP3 320 kbps
Размер файла: 410 Мб
Baku - Symphony of Sirens. Sound Experiments in the Russian Avant Garde (2009).rar
Baku - Symphony of Sirens. Sound Experiments in the Russian Avant Garde (2009).rar
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