East Meets West: Extensions 2 (2004)

Recorded in 1972 by Philips for a Quadraphonic release, Les Percussions de Strasbourg's album East Meets West is reissued here as a Super Audio CD, and the engineers at PentaTone have taken full advantage of the pristine master tapes and the wonders of DSD sound technology. The LP originally contained Alain Louvier's Shima and Çandrakâla and Kryptogramma by Georges Aperghis, but this CD also includes Francis Miroglio's Extensions 2, also recorded at the time. These avant-garde percussion pieces work quite well for ... Read More

Recorded in 1972 by Philips for a Quadraphonic release, Les Percussions de Strasbourg's album East Meets West is reissued here as a Super Audio CD, and the engineers at PentaTone have taken full advantage of the pristine master tapes and the wonders of DSD sound technology. The LP originally contained Alain Louvier's Shima and Çandrakâla and Kryptogramma by Georges Aperghis, but this CD also includes Francis Miroglio's Extensions 2, also recorded at the time. These avant-garde percussion pieces work quite well for demonstration purposes, because the dimensions of the performance space, the rapid changes of sonorities, and the broad dynamic range are ideal for multichannel recording. As music, however, these works are much less fascinating, for the percussion writing is of the scattershot, "try everything" variety so common in the 1970s. Miroglio's wild barrages in Extensions 2 go on far too long, taking up two-thirds of the disc but yielding few surprises. Louvier's delicate sonic traceries may appeal... Read Less