Persian Surgery Dervishes

Persian Surgery Dervishes is a recording of two live solo electric organ concerts, the first held in Los Angeles on 18 April 1971 and the second in Paris on 24 May 1972, by the avant-garde minimalist composer Terry Riley, following his A Rainbow in Curved Air and In C. The two very different performances of the same composition are meant to show the importance of improvisation in Riley's music. Riley plays a modified Yamaha electric organ tuned in just intonation.

The original double-record version was released by the French label Shandar. It was republished, first by Mantra Records, then by Dunya Records. There existed also a single-record version, also on Shandar, containing just the Paris concert, which had been sponsored by the label itself.

Parts of this album served as soundtrack for a French film released in 1973, La chute d'un corps, directed by the French columnist Michel Polac.

Track listing

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All music is composed by Terry Riley (electric organ & feedback)

Performance One, Los Angeles, April 18, 1971
No.TitleLength
1."Part 1"20:45
2."Part 2"22:00
Performance Two, Paris, May 24, 1972
No.TitleLength
1."Part 1"25:00
2."Part 2"22:45

References

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  • Ed Maurer. "Discography of Shandar Records". Archived from the original on 2015-10-02.
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