Vladimir Ussachevsky

16-page booklet including liner notes in English. This composer portrait is dedicated to Vladimir Ussachevsky (1911–1990), a pioneering figure in electronic and choral music. The album features six of his groundbreaking works in electronic music alongside two significant choral pieces, highlighting the breadth of his creative output. The final two works on the CD, Three Scenes from The Creation (1960; rev. 1973) and Missa Brevis (1972), showcase Ussachevsky’s innovative use of the human voice.Three Scenes from The Creation is based on texts from Ovid’s Metamorphosis and the Akkadian epic Enuma Elish, narrating the primordial gods’ struggle to create order from chaos. Here, recorded choral tracks are edited, assembled, and manipulated with electronic accompaniment in the studio. The Prologue was performed in concert and released on Columbia Records, while the Interlude combines recorded soprano and bass voices with electronic and concrète sounds, live mezzo-soprano, and modified recordings of piano, bell, and Chinese dinner plate

. These techniques reflect Ussachevsky’s mastery of studio manipulation and his role in developing electronic music at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. After nearly two decades immersed in electronic composition, Ussachevsky returned to acoustic music in the early 1970s, naturally gravitating toward choral forms. Missa Brevis draws on the traditional core texts of the mass-Kyrie, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei-reflecting the lasting influence of his early experiences with Russian Orthodox choral music, but without electronic elements.

This collection, originally issued as CRI 813 and later reissued by New World Records, offers a comprehensive look at Ussachevsky’s dual legacy as a trailblazer in both electronic and choral music.