Henry, Pierre
Band members Related acts
- Pierre Henry -
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- none known
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Genre: progressive Rating: ** ( 2 stars) Title: Variations for a Door and a Sigh Company: Limelight Catalog: LS 86059 Year: 1963 Country/State: France Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: gatefold sleeve; small cut out hole; note our copy does not have the white sticker shown on the above photo Available: 1 GEMM catalog ID: 4409 Price: $50.00 Cost: $66.00
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I own plenty of weird music, but this effort by
famed French modernist Pierre Henry may be one of the most bizarre of them
all. Originally released in 1963 by Philips under its French title
"Variations pour
und Porte et un Soupir", in
1969 the ABC affiliated Limelight
label decided to reissue the album in the States. (The decision to
reissue it may have been inspired by Henry's recent collaboration with the band Spooky Tooth
on the album "Ceremony".) Written
and produced by Henry, "Variations for a
Door and a Sigh" featured 25 tracks culminating almost an hour's worth of 'songs' (I'm using the term loosely) that
were
composed entirely from the sound of breathing, a musical saw and a squeaky
door Henry apparently found in a 17th century French chateau ... Augmented by
some tape manipulations, for no other reason than the concept is so bizarre the
set's worth a laugh or two. There are even a couple of short segments
that reflect a semblance of melody, though it's doubtful most folks will
ever have something like 'Hesitation' or 'Stretching' playing in their
heads. One of
the things that I found fascinating about this set was the fact that its
acquired a large cut following. If you look it up on the web you'll
find dozens of reviews and even more discussions wherein people claim it as
a major influence on their own work.
"Variations
for a Door and a Sigh" track listing: 1.) Slumber (Sommeil) (instrumental) - 2:52 2.) Hesitation (Balacement) (instrumental) -1 :12 3.) Song 1 (Chant 1) (instrumental) - 0:27 4.) Awakening (Eveil) (instrumental) - 1:23 5.) Song 2 (Chant 2) (instrumental) - 1:33 6.) Stretching (Etirement) (instrumental) - 0:58 7.) Gestures (Gestes) (instrumental) - 1:37 8.) Reckoning (Comptine) (instrumental) - 1:32 9.) Fever 1 (Fievre 1) (instrumental) - 2:18 10.) Yawning (Baillement) (instrumental) -1:46 11.) Song 3 (Chant 33) (instrumental) - 1:44 12.) Wrath (Colere) (instrumental) - 1:44 13.) Hesitation 2 (Balancement 2) (instrumental) - 1:32 14.) Breathing (Respirations) (instrumental) - 1:57
(side 2) 1.) Fevere 2 (Fievre 2) (instrumental) - 2:28 2.) Gymnastics (Gymnastique) (instrumental)- 2:12 3.) Song 4 (Chant 4) (instrumental) - 0:35 4.) Wailing (Brailements) (instrumental) - 1:30 5.) Waves (Vagues) (instrumental)- 1:36 6.) Song 5 (Chant 5) (instrumental) - 1:22 7.) Trance (Transe) (instrumental) - 2:00 8.) Death-Rattle (Rales) (instrumental) - 2:15 9.) Snoring (Ronflement) (instrumental) - 2:37 10.) Song 6 (Chant 6) (instrumental)- 0:56 11.) Death (Mort) (instrumental) - 5:15
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