Kroumata Percussion Ensemble

Featuring

Johan Silvmark
Leif Karlson
Kroumata Percussion Ensemble
John Cage
Henry Dixon Cowell
Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist

Yoshihisa Taira

Did you know?

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Performer Biography

The Kroumata Percussion Ensemble, a Swedish group, was formed in 1978 by five members who all had similar backgrounds, starting with drums and progressing through pop and jazz to formal percussion training.

Composition History

Henry Cowell's piece "Pulse" was dedicated to John Cage "and his Percussion Group" and can be seen as a greeting from Cowell's prison to the free world of art.

Recording & Production

The audience at the live performance of Taira's "Hierophonie V" in Gothenburg made no sound for 20 minutes, knowing it was being taped for this record.

Composer's Artistic Vision

John Cage, a composer known for his experimental approach, once brought an audience to the verge of despair with a single, unending note for about 15 minutes.

Album & Artwork

The name "Kroumata" for the percussion ensemble comes from an ancient Greek word for percussion instruments.

Compositional Technique

Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist's "Sisu" uses a unique approach where the melodic element is found in timpani and gongs, while the mallet instruments, typically melodic, provide rhythmic interruptions.

Composer Biography

Henry Cowell, a composer and Cage's teacher, was wrongly imprisoned in San Quentin from 1936 to 1940 on an immorality accusation, and was later cleared in 1942.