Orange Mountain Music 0182

1. Wichita Vortex Sutra
2. Have You Seen This Movie (Distant Figure)
3. Magic Psalm (Etude No.17)

Allen Ginsberg – 100 celebrates Allen Ginsberg’s 2026 Centennial. This three track EP honors the music and poetry Glass and Ginsberg paired together for their many collaborations, including Wichita Vortex Sutra, Hydrogen Jukebox, and Symphony No. 6 (Plutonian Ode).

1. Wichita Vortex Sutra
Allen Ginsberg and Philip Glass first collaborated on Wichita Vortex Sutra. A chance meeting in St MarksBOOKS in the East Village led to their first collaboration, when Allen Ginsberg pulled his book of poetry off the shelf and landed on Wichita Vortex Sutra (1966), a poetic reflection of the anti-war mood of the 1960s. Glass composed music to match the rhythm of Ginsberg’s reading. The work premiered at a benefit for the Vietnam Veteran Theater in 1988, at the Shubert Theater, Ginsberg reading his poem and Glass playing piano. The work inspired a larger collaboration and became a part of the evening length opera Hydrogen Jukebox, which had its world premiere at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina in 1990.

2. Have You Seen This Movie (Distant Figure)
“Have you Seen this Movie” was released in 2023 as a part of The Fall of America Vol II, a musical interpretation of poems from Ginsberg’s The Fall of America: Poems of These States 1965-1971. Ginsberg’s late 1960’s reading of Have You Seen This Movie is paired with Philip Glass’ Passacaglia for Solo Piano (aka Distant Figure) performed by pianist Anton Batagov is music by Philip Glass (Distant Figure) and poem by Allen Ginsberg. To quote Glass: “It’s like the pieces were made for each other.”

3. Magic Psalm (Etude No.17)
Philip Glass’ original sketch for Etude No. 17 was titled “Etude No. 17 (Magic Psalm)” The original manuscript was found tucked away in a book of Allen Ginsberg’s poems in Glass’s library, presumably written with Ginsberg’s 1960 poem Magic Psalm on Glass’ mind, akin to their first collaboration Wichita Vortex Sutra. For Allen Ginsberg’s Centennial in 2026, the Ginsberg Estate and Glass brought this old-new idea to life, with Allen Ginsberg’s archival reading of Magic Psalm (1960) and pianist Maki Namekawa’s recording of Etude No. 17 (2012) from OMM. Magic Psalm with poetry by Allen Ginsberg and music by Philip Glass is heard here for the first time.

Allen Ginsberg reading courtesy of the Allen Ginsberg Estate
Etude No. 17 performed by Maki Namekawa courtesy of Orange Mountain Music
Editing, Mixing and Mastering: Alex Gray
Orange Mountain Music in collaboration with Dunvagen Music and the Allen Ginsberg Estate

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COMPOSITIONS:
Etudes for Piano