“Lovingly remastered from the original Columbia Records master tapes”, compositions by Herald Tribune music critics that included Lou Harrison and John Cage, these are 1938-1952 classical, new-music compositions that pushed the envelope of new music. Stunningly beautiful stuff, the recordings are such high quality I thought they were contemporary interpretations recorded last month. See below for more detailed descriptions or check out the incredible 60 page booklet that accompanies this.

Paul Bowels 1) (1:09) oboes and woodwinds, upbeat and bouncy 2) (1:51) lilting triplets, playful 3) (1:03) piano, bouncy playful again with winds, a bit pensive 4)* (1:38) more playful bounciness, some dissonant piano chords in there 5)* (2:04) serene with woodwinds and bass, pleasant melodic 6) (1:32) more pensive, military snare drums 7) (0:47) very hyper feeling, a bell brings to mind a busy receptionist 8) (2:08) optimistic melodies, soundtracky, nice

Lou Harrison 9) (1:28) lovely somber strings and harp 10)* (2:44) more, just lovely 11) (1:02) pensive, fast, foreboding 12)** (4:04) dropdead gorgeous, harp scales and slow phrased cello, lovely harmonies 13) (1:37) slow, minimal melody

Virgil Thompson 14) (17:16) Opera, male vocals accompanied by piano, near-free association words, delivered rather monotone, all about Capitols

Peggy Glanville-Hicks 15) (2:49) tymphany and vibes, percussion, tribal feel almost, until quiet slow piano appears 16)* (4:05) nice piano, mostly solo but with some percussion, slow chords 17) (2:51) upbeat pensive, piano and percussion

John Cage 18)* (4:48) slow, with cool dissonance in places 19) (4:51) slow and sparse 20)* (11:05) dissonant slow sparse bow exchanges, killer 21) (1:28) a baroque feel about this, chamber music