Today we offer something completely different. This transcendent piece lasts over 25 minutes and requires your commitment for its duration. And you need a quiet place in which to hear it. So, if this is not right for you today, save it for later, or skip it altogether. Tomorrow we will have our usual offering. For those of you who would like to give this a try, you may, as I did, experience a beautiful meditation, timeless and, yes, transcendent. It is a piece which expresses in music the famous paintings of Mark Rothko in the chapel created for them in Houston. While I have listened to this piece, I have found it meaningful to open another browser and look up on Google the Rothko Chapel (“all” and “images”) and also Rothko himself. The music is so in tune with the paintings and with the ethos of the chapel. This recording was the first and is widely considered definitive. It was conducted by my friend and mentor, Gregg Smith, and was under the supervision of the composer. It starts out very quietly for about 20 seconds. Be patient. You will find the right volume to listen to the piece. One last important note: the piece is over at 25:38. You need to stop it then! Because a few seconds later a noisy ad may appear and ruin everything!

– Dennis Keene

MORTON FELDMAN (1926-1987) Rothko Chapel

The Gregg Smith Singers
Gregg Smith, Conductor
Karen Phillips, Viola
Patrick Stephens, Percussion