A Sweeter Music Recording

In a storefront on University Avenue in Berkeley Sunday afternoon, there was a CD release party for pianist Sarah Cahill above, and her A Sweeter Music suite of commissions.



The commissions for new piano music by Cahill from 18 composers dates from the Iraq War. Cahill grew up in Berkeley with a professor father, and remembered the protest music she heard as a child in the 1960s. During those awful years when we were invading and occupying Iraq, she realized there was no musical equivalent being created, even though thousands of people were marching through the streets in protest.



So she took it upon herself to do something about it, and the results have been trickling in since 2007. (Click here for a series of posts about the music and ensuing performances around the Bay Area.)



The recording quality by Other Minds Records is superb, and features fascinating music by Terry Riley, Meredith Monk, Frederic Rzewski, Kyle Gann, Carl Stone, Phil Kline, Yoko Ono, and The Residents. The recording is only Part 1 of A Sweeter Peace, and I hope Charles Amirkhanian (above right, with Homer Flynn from The Residents) and Sarah get around to Part 2 soon.