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U.S. Steel Cello Ensemble

Bitter Suites

Label: Holidays Records

Format: Vinyl LP

Genre: Sound Art

Out of stock

Deluxe repress edition of this incredible masterpiece made out of two live performances of the U.S. Steel Cello Ensemble recorded in 1979 at The Showing Room in NYC and at Helen Shlien Gallery in Boston. The Ensemble performs playing large sheets of metal and producing amazingly droning sounds. These live recordings are the result of an evolutionary refinement of instrumental design and playing techniques which Robert Rutman explored and develped after a ten year period of practice. He invented the two only instruments played by the Steel Cello Ensemble: the Bow Chime - a six foot sheet of steel formed into a horizontal curve with an iron bar attached to the top corners of the metal sheet - and the Single String Cello - an eight foot sheet suspended vertically from a stand. This limited reissue has been released in occasion of Bob Rutman's 83rd birthday party concert at Cookies, in Berlin. Otherworldly masterpiece!

Robert Rutman (Berlin, 1931) went to the USA to study art in 1955. In 1975, he started building steel-metal sculptures to be played with a bow, like a violin, and founded the U.S. Steel Cello Ensemble. 1939 (Pogus, 1990) documents some of these resonating sculptures and their ghostly drones: Tabla and buzz chime, Steel cello and bow chime, Chant bow chime and horn, Three bow chimes, Song of the steel cello.
Details
Cat. number: HOL-058
Year: 2013
Notes:

Limited to 300 copies