Although it would presumptuous of us to review our own recording, we do want to provide some information which has not been given.

"The Music of Frederick Sommer" is portfolio containing a CD (Walton Mendelson electronic wind instrument and Stephen Aldrich electronic keyboard, 59 minutes long), with the 15 scores performed on the CD reproduced in color, at 9 1/2 inches by 12 inches. The performances were recorded between April, 1996, and August, 1997. They have been grouped into two suites, and several scores have been performed twice.

The best description of the style of performance would be that it sounds like an amalgam of Satie, Poulenc, and Hindemith for violin and piano.

In 1934, Sommer (1905-1999) visited Los Angeles. Walking through the art museum one day, he noticed a display of musical scores. He saw them not as music, but as graphics, and found in them an elegance and grace that led him to a careful study of scores and notation.

He observed that the best music was visually more effective and attractive. He assumed that there was a correlation between music as we hear it and its notation; and he wondered if drawings that used notational motifs and elements could be played. He made his first scores, "drawings in the manner of musical scores," that year.

Of Sommer's known works, his photographs. drawings, glue-color on paper, and writings, it is only these scores that were a part of his creative life throughout the entirety of his artistic career. He was still drawing elegant scores in 1998.

Technology and thirty years of playing the scores have come together to allow us to make a performance on CD. While the scores don't have specific notes, the graphic elements direct the improvised performance. Every performance is different, but the score, through its visual organization, guides us.

Walton Mendelson Stephen Aldrich

I came across this book as required reading for my intro to ethics course. The first chapter was very interesting, but as time passed, I grew somewhat disinterested. While it is a very nice collection of ethics articles, it lacks TRUE diversity.

The readings are fairly diverse, though only within the realm of "common" ethics -- very little space is given to opposition philosophers such as Nietzsche, Crowley, Russell, etc.

Overall, the editors have done a grand job of presenting articles on the more prevalent issues in ethics, both past and present. It could have been more enjoyable (to me) with the inclusion of vastly opposing arguments, but I must say that it does serve the purpose quite well in that it makes you analyze your own beliefs. Highly recommended for those who desire varied readings in "compassionate" ethics; interesting, but not of utmost importance to those looking for more diversity.

this is a wonderful and enlightening book I recommended to all with an open mind.

This book on ethics is very well-written and its just delightful to read. Don't miss this book, it shou be high on everyone's reading list!