I Buried Paul (1996) 11'

Instrumentation: cl,perc,kyb sampler,egtr,vc,db

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Commissioner:

First Performer: Bang on a Can All-Stars, Phoenix Arts, Leicester, England, 25 January 1996

Program note:

The legendary Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever" includes a false fadeout — you think it is the end but then the music returns and is turned upside down. Nothing is as it was. Then John Lennon says, "Cranberry sauce." His voice was lowered an octave in the recording studio, and all the world believed that Lennon said, "I buried Paul." When the record came out, people went crazy trying to find other clues that Paul McCartney was really dead. DJs played Beatles records backwards on the radio, and, as a result, some very strange music — and a lot of noise — was broadcast. This piece is about that noise.

—Michael Gordon

I Buried Paul is dedicated to Maya Beiser, Lisa Moore, Steven Schick, Evan Ziporyn, Robert Black and Mark Stuart.