Giacinto Scelsi, Michiko Hirayama
Hô / Khoom / Pranam
Ananda (Italy) 1978
N.3 (LP) Original pressing. coated sleeve.
sleeve : EX-(light dirts, light color-faded.)
media : EX/EX(some slightly noises.)
An album released in 1978 from the label Ananda, founded by Italian surrealist composer Giacinto Scelsi—known for his collaborations with John Cage and Morton Feldman and regarded as a mentor to Alvin Curran—together with Curran and Roberto Laneri. It features "Ho", four melodies for solo voice composed in 1960; "Pranam I", composed in 1972 for voice, twelve instruments, and tape; and "Khoom", composed in 1962 for voice and six instruments. All pieces showcase the intense vocal performances of Japanese vocalist Michiko Hirayama, who was active in Italy from the 1950s, delivering soaring and diving falsettos with unrestrained dynamism. This is a rare and invaluable work that offers a direct experience of Scelsi’s mystical compositions, which revolve around a compositional method that explores every possible variation of a single pitch. It's truly astonishing.