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Maria Callas (1988)

Christian Marclay

Christian Marclay

Ti­tle of the album: More Encores
Ti­tle: Maria Callas (Track 09)
Publisher: Ed. No Man's Land, Würzburg
Da­te: 1988
Me­di­um: record 25 cm
Cover: Garland & Marclay

 

The piece Maria Callas is one of 12 works on the LP More Encores by Christian Marclay. The piece is based exclusively on a recording of Maria Callas, which Marclay manipulated, altered and then recorded again, ultimately dedicating his adaptation back to the singer. Thus he also named the piece after the musician whose music he used. With his record player manipulations, Marclay interrupted and repeated or extended Maria Callas's singing until it became a long, seemingly never-ending whine that irritates the listener to the highest degree.

The other pieces are based on the music of Johann Strauss, John Zorn, Martin Denny, Frederic Chopin, Fred Frith, Arthur Ferrante & Louis Teicher, Jimi Hendrix, Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg and Christian Marclay. John Cage is a recording of a collage created by cutting discs from several records and glueing them back together into a single disc. In all the other pieces, the records were mixed using multiple turntables, manipulated and recorded in analogue with overdubbing. For the alteration of the Louis Armstrong piece, Marclay used a hand-operated gramophone to play and re-record. Thus, for all his adaptations, Marclay used a context that he felt suited the musicians in question.

Released in 1988, it is one of Christian Marclay's best-known albums and was reprinted in 1989 and 1997, as well as being released on CD in 1997 and 1999.

ATJ