Rothko Chapel

Description

L'album Rothko Chapel is the result of a clever blend of associations and musical inspirations. It opens with the piece that lends its name to the album, Rothko Chapel by Morton Feldman, its name referring to the multifaith chapel built in Houston, Texas to house a collection of site-specific paintings by Mark Rothko. Feldman believed that his music lies "between categories, between time and space, between painting and music" and described the score as his "canvas." Among his most significant influences were abstract painters, including his eminent friend Rothko. Rothko, for his part, aspired to "elevate painting to the level of music and poetry." Feldman was also influenced by the libertarian example of John Cage's work. "Cage's main influence was a green light," said Feldman. "It was a permission, the freedom to do what I wanted." Cage, the most relentless of the 20th-century experimentalists, had a particular fondness for Satie, the musical inventor of originality with a touch of humor to which he could relate. Kim Kashkashian here defends the subtle and radiant textures of Feldman's soundscapes, joined by Sarah Rothenberg on celesta and supported by percussion and a choir. On piano, Rothenberg plays Satie's Gnossiennes and Cage's In A Landscape. The Houston Chamber Choir performs Cage's Four, Five, and Ear for Ear.