Rhys Chatham: A Crimson Grail at Liverpool Biennial

Rhys Chatham

Legendary composer and guitarist Rhys Chatham is bringing the UK premiere of his composition 'A Crimson Grail' to Liverpool Cathedral on 14 September as part of the city's Biennial Festival.  The performance is to feature 100 guitarists and 8 basses.  Today (July 27) is the last chance for any shit hot guitarists amongst you to get involved and actually PLAY in this avant garde punk 'Orchestra' in this prestigious venue.  We think this will be a great occasion to get along to as a punter too.  Full details are on the official site, who say:

"Rhys Chatham's career started as the piano tuner to the radical avant-garde composer La Monte Young. He quickly became established within the experimental music scene in New York whilst still in his teens, becoming the first Music Director of The Kitchen, the home to the New York art scene in the 1970's. Here he presented works by over 250 composers working with everybody from Philip Glass and Sonic Youth to Robert Fripp of King Crimson whilst all the while creating his own compositions. Heavily influenced by both the early Ramones concerts he attended in his youth, his work expresses the sheer power of punk-rock whilst all the while being intertwined with the beautiful and precise nature of his minimalist contemporaries.

A Crimson Grail, due to its huge scale has only previously been performed twice, once in the Lincoln Center in New York and once in the Sacré-Cœur in Paris. For this, the third ever performance and UK premiere, one hundred volunteer guitarists and eight bassists will join Rhys Chatham and his team in a performance of A Crimson Grail in the glorious setting of Liverpool Anglican Cathedral."

#Avant-garde #Punk #Rhys Chatham #Sideburns #Darren Bibby