Charlemagne Palestine (b. 1947, Brooklyn, USA) is a sound and visual artist, musician, performer, installation artist. He has published more than 60 albums (solo and collaborations) and played at festivals around the world. Working from a highly personal approach centred around ritual and shamanism, he has created an extensive body of experimental musical compositions, performances and visual artworks. Perhaps his best-known works are his piano pieces. These feature short sequences, repeated endlessly with the gradual introduction of variations. Despite being linked to it, he has rejected the minimalist label, using the term “maximalism” for his compositions.
Strumming Music, 2021
For HOUSE OF COMMONS, Charlemagne Palestine will present a special performance of his work Strumming music piece, originally composed in 1976 and considered a major work of contemporary minimal music. It will take place on the Bastøy Ferry as it crosses the Oslo Fjord from Moss to the island of Jeløya. On a Bösendorfer Imperial piano, Palestine will perform the composition, which is based on the principle of repetition and an organic rhythmic dimension, with his unique use of the piano pedals. Known for his hour-long performances, Palestine developed his strumming pieces based on Jewish music traditions, improvisations on chimes, and minimalist music which he explored in New York in the 1960s.
