A SWEETER MUSIC

MEREDITH MONK - "STEPPE MUSIC (EXCERPTS)"

of SANBORN John

Collaboration with Sarah Cahill

UNITED STATES, 2009, 00:08:08

Genre : Video art
Keyword : Music

Summary :
In 2009, Sarah Cahill commissioned 18 composers to write on the subject of peace, and she received a diverse collection of reflections on violence, loss, history, pain and enlightenment; all meditations on the meaning of "peace". The composers include Kyle Gann, The Residents, Meredith Monk, Terry Riley, Phil Kline, Yoko Ono, Fredric Rzewski and Jerome Kitzke.

She then invited video artist John Sanborn to create video experiences, inspired by each composition, as a performance environment to extend the character and tone of each work. The evening length live event premiered at CAL Performances in Berkeley, in 2009, and has toured the world.


A meditation on tranquility and the slow emotions of natural change, this composition by Meredith Monk has a bell like clarity of revelation. One note becomes a chorus, and the chorus becomes a mood as small elements shift and alter their place in our vision, until they assemble into a panoramic fresco. Fragments that transform into landscapes of simple beauty and grace reflect each step in the progression.

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