Music for Ondes Martenot (Avant Garde Project 177) FLAC24 torrent

The Avant Garde Project is a series of 20th-century classical, experimental, and electroacoustic torrents digitized from LPs whose music has in most cases never been released on CD, and so is effectively inaccessible to the vast majority of music listeners today. This is wild stuff, so check it out if you\'ve never heard this sort of music before. The analog rig used to extract the sound from the grooves is near state-of-the-art, producing almost none of the tracking distortion or surface noise normally associated with LPs.

AGP1-157 are available for direct download at

AGP148-176 are now available at http://ubu.com/sound/agp/index.html

AGP169-176 are also available at http://thepiratebay.se/user/human2011

NOTE: All of the AGP installments since 163 are 24-bit, 44.1 kHz FLAC files. The extra bits of quantization reveal more realistic detail using a 24-bit DAC and good audio equipment. To burn these tracks to CD, you will first have to convert them to 16-bit files. This is easily done using the converter tool in Foobar2000 or other software.

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AGP177 is the second of two featuring music played on the Ondes Martenot--one of the first electronic instruments, invented by Maurice Martenot in 1928. The Wikipedia article on the instrument has some nice information and pictures.

The LP transcribed for AGP177 was recorded in 1968 for Erato, and re-released by the Musical Heritage Society (MHS 821), which is the pressing I have. The LP is in excellent condition and the pressing is reasonably quiet, but the recording is much darker with less fine detail than the LP transcribed for AGP176. The highlight is Olivier Messiaen\'s Fete des Belles Eaux for six (!) Ondes Martenot, written for the 1937 Paris Exposition. Another recording of this work is available on CD, played by Ensemble d\'Ondes de Montreal and released by Atma Classique. I was going to include a transcription of The Contemporary Chamber Ensemble performing Edgar Varese\'s Equatorial for bass voice and an instrumental ensemble that includes two Ondes Martenot, but that recording is available as an mp3 download from the Nonesuch website.

The installment includes a PDF file with scans of the notes on the cover of this LP and the LP transcribed for AGP176, including information on the composers, works, and performers.

Equipment used for A/D conversion: Linn Akiva phono cartridge, Linn LP12/Lingo turntable, Linn Ekos SE tonearm, Audioquest LeoPard tonearm cable, PS Audio PS2 preamplifier, Kimber PBJ interconnect, M-Audio Audiophile USB A/D converter.

01 - Olivier Messiaen, Fete des Belles Eaux for sextet of Ondes Martenot, Side A [24:19]
02 - Olivier Messiaen, Fete des Belles Eaux for sextet of Ondes Martenot, Side B [5:35]
03 - Darius Milhaud, Suite for Martenot and piano [9:50]
04 - Jacques Charpentier, Lalita for Ondes Martenot and percussion [9:46]

NOTE: To the best of my knowledge, these recordings are not currently available commercially. If you know otherwise, please let me know ASAP, as I do not wish any artists to be deprived of the royalties that they so richly deserve.