Pierre Henry
Le Voyage, d’après Le Livre des morts tibétain
Philips (France) 197x
836 899 (LP)
sleeve : EX-(SRW, some wear on edge and corner)
media : EX/EX(some slightly noise)
A 1963 work by Pierre Henry, who, together with Pierre Schaeffer, founded the GRMC (Groupe de recherche de musique concrète) within French national broadcasting in the early 1950s and helped establish musique concrète, a new form of contemporary music based on sound and recording technology. The original edition was released in 1967 as part of the Prospective 21e Siècle series, co-curated with François Bayle; this copy appears to be a 1970s reissue with redesigned artwork. Inspired by The Tibetan Book of the Dead, the work was created at Henry’s own Studio Apsome and was also used for a ballet choreographed by Maurice Béjart. Sustained tones from electronic oscillators and layers of noise trace shifting states of consciousness between death and rebirth, resulting in a work of pure electronic sound with an austere, otherworldly intensity.
A1: Souffle 1
A2: Après la mort 1
B1: Divinités paisibles