Accordion & Voice

Vinyl LP pressing. Pauline Oliveros was an accordionist and composer. Her instrument was tuned in just intonation and she often included it in her meditative improvisational music. Her music was not meditative in the sense that it was intended for listening to while meditating, rather each piece was a form of meditation, such as her aptly-titled "Sonic Meditations." "Accordion & Voice was the first of my recordings as a soloist. I was living in an A-frame house in a meadow just below Mount Tremper at Zen Mountain Center. I had a wonderful view of the graceful saddle mountain top. When away on a performance trip I would imagine the mountain as I played 'Rattlesnake Mountain.' I followed the feelings and sensations of my many experiences of the mountain - the changing colors of the season, the breezes and winds blowing through the grasses and trees. 'Horse Sings from Cloud' taught me to listen to the depth of a tone and to have patience. Rather than initiating musical impulses of motion, melody and harmony I wanted to hear the subtlety of a tone taking space and time to develop. The tones linger and resonate in the body, mind, instrument and performance space. My thanks to Important Music for bringing these pieces to be heard again." -Pauline Oliveros, 2007.