Copyright © 1981 by Richard C. Higgins. All rights reserved.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

ISBN 0-914162-54-3 applies to this book.

Produced at Open Studio in Rhinebeck, N.Y., a non-profit facility for individual artists & independent publishers, funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts & the New York State Council on the Arts.

Each conductor should determine how he

wants each movement to sound and should fix the

system of rules for interpreting each notation

accordingly.

printed editions

twenty-six mountains

for viewing the sunset from

by dick higgins

1981

for four singers, two percussionists, two pianists, two

violinists, one cellist, three optional dancers and an

optional lighting panelist.

for paul

rules of play:

1) conductor signals time and major entries.

2) percussion instrumentation and piano preparation

are free.

3) effect is of constant motion without dominant patterns.

4) aesthetic is highly erotic, delicious, sensuous.

5) if special lighting is available, start in darkness,

work up 26 minute lighting score with rich colors, end in

darkness.

The first mountain has many ripples and hills on it.

singer 1

bel canto 60" (1 minute)

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2 zrrr

cello

4 instruments

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

female dancer

PPPPP

The second mountain tosses and turns like a dragon aflame.

120" (2 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

no vibrato

singer 3

no vibrato

bel canto

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

female dancer

The third mountain is serene, and her cedars give her a glorious smell in the summer.

180" (3 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

female dancer

The fourth mountain could be served chilled over ice to gourmet accountants.

240" (4 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

female dancer

a -L

The fifth mountain is lonely, but never goes anywhere.

300" (5 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

11 events

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

female dancer

The sixth mountain is inspired by the makers of electrical conveniences.

360" (6 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

The seventh mountain is devoted to the number seven, and to people who are curious about the night.

The eighth mountain starts and comes with sparks.

480" (8 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

female dancer

The ninth mountain is my sacred one and perhaps yours.

The tenth mountain is very young, and so are the trees on it and the people who live nearby. The eleventh mountain is the littlest one, and the people who come

there laugh and drink a lot.

The twelfth mountain is very popular with summer hikers, who swim nude in a small pond near the top.

oriental singing style

720" (12 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

female dancer

The thirteenth mountain is suspended in the mists by old leather straps.

780" (13 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

violin 1

violin 2

dancer 1

niale dancer 2

•^'"niale dancer

The fourteenth mountain is devoted to names, and is divisible by seven and by two.

840" (14 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

female dancer

fn

The fifteenth mountain disappears after the ninth month of pregnancy.

900" (15 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

nale dancer 1

rnale dancer 2

female dancer

The sixteenth mountain is visited by lovers in the evening and is safe from police harassment.

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

female dancer

IMIIII

960" (16 minutes)

The seventeenth mountain is hardly known at all, but it has many magnificent ledges and rocks with fine views.

singer 1

1020" (17 minutes)

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

female dancer

prepared piano

pizz.

violin 1

violin 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

The eighteenth mountain was discovered by Giordano Bruno and is useful for showing many mathematical truths.

1080" (18 minutes)

sprechstimme

singer 1

singer 2

female dancer

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

The nineteenth mountain is very crowded, and many who live there are former revolutionaries.

1140" (19 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

'Tiale dancer 2

female dancer

The twentieth mountain is licked and stroked and caressed.

singer 1

1200" (20 minutes)

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

female dancer

The twenty first mountain is only seen from the twentieth mountain, across a small bridge of skin.

singer 1

1260" (21 minutes)

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

'^âle dancer 2

f^rnale dancer

The twenty second mountain has small nipples and an exquisite smell.

1320" (22 minutes)

The twenty third mountain requires your immediate attention lest its alarms and red buzzers explode.

1380" (23 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

nale dancer 1

male dancer 2

fernale dancer

The twenty fourth mountain comforts and will never desert you.

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

1440" (24 minutes)

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

female dancer

The twenty fifth mountain was struck by lighting many times last year, and it hatched.

1500" (25 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

niale dancer 2

female dancer

The twenty sixth mountain arises from deep bell sounds and disappears into the waves.

1560" (26 minutes)

singer 1

singer 2

singer 3

singer 4

percussion 1

percussion 2

piano

prepared piano

violin 1

violin 2

cello

male dancer 1

male dancer 2

female dancer

west glover, vt.

march 5,1980

Twenty Six Mountains for Viewing the Sunset from by Dick Higgins

The first mountain has many ripples and hills on it.

The second mountain tosses and turns like a dragon aflame.

The third mountain is serene, and her cedars give her a glorious smell in the summer.

The fourth mountain could be served chilled over ice to gourmet accountants.

The fifth mountain is lonely, but never goes anywhere.

The sixth mountain is inspired by the makers of electrical conveniences.

The seventh mountain is devoted to the number seven, and to people who are curious about the night.

The eighth mountain starts and comes with sparks.

The ninth mountain is my sacred one and perhaps yours.

The tenth mountain is very young, and so are the trees on it and the people who live nearby.

The eleventh mountain is the littlest one, and the people who come there laugh and drink a lot.

The twelfth mountain is very popular with summer hikers, who swim nude in a small pond near the top.

The thirteenth mountain is suspended in the mists by old leather straps.

The fourteenth mountain is devoted to names, and is divisible by seven and by two.

The fifteenth mountain disappears after the ninth month of pregnancy.

The sixteenth mountain is visited by lovers in the evening and is safe from police harassment.

The seventeenth mountain is hardly known at all, but it has many magnificent ledges and rocks with fine views.

The eighteenth mountain was discovered by Giordano Bruno and is useful for showing many mathematical truths.

The nineteenth mountain is very crowded, and many who live there are former revolutionaries.

The twentieth mountain is licked and stroked and caressed.

The twenty first mountain is only seen from the twentieth mountain, across a small bridge of skin.

The twenty second mountain has small nipples and an exquisite smell.

The twenty third mountain requires your immediate attention lest its alarms and red buzzers explode.

The twenty fourth mountain comforts and will never desert you.

The twenty fifth mountain was struck by lighting many times last year, and it hatched.

The twenty sixth mountain arises from deep bell sounds and disappears into the waves.

The twenty seventh mountain is not there.

$12.00 ISBN 0-914162-54-3

Other musical publications by Dick Higgins

include:

Piano Album: Short Piano Pieces^ 1962-

1984; $10.00

Tfen Ways of Looking at a Bird (violin

and harpsichord); $10.00

Please write for our complete catalog:

Printed Editions

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