"Cycles of Spheres: Mapping the Planets in Silk and Sound" is a national touring exhibition featuring the silk batiks of artist Mary Edna Fraser accompanied by the music of composer Mark Mercury. The elements of the musical suites are drawn from planetarium soundtracks and feature Mercury's blend of contemporary classical and futuristic electronic music. JOURNEY TO INFINITY Suite #1 -- Selections from the "Journey To Infinity" planetarium soundtrack were fashioned into this musical suite, which depicts a voyage through our solar system and out into the colorful nebulae of our Milky Way Galaxy. GREATEST WONDERS Suite #1 -- Drawn from the soundtrack to the planetarium show "The Greatest Wonders of the Universe," this musical tapestry takes the listener on a grand tour of our solar system and the universe, visiting the seven greatest wonders of each, from the total solar eclipse we see from Earth to vast mirages in space-ghost images of nonexistent galaxies. DEEP SPACES -- Orchestral and electronic moods and sonorities, excerpted from individual soundtracks, were blended to create this sequence of impressions. The principal shows for which the music was originally composed and produced are: "The New Solar System," Albert Einstein Planetarium, National Air and Space Museum; "UPDATE: The Universe," Hayden Planetarium, New York; "Journey To Infinity," L'Hemisferic, Valencia, Spain; and "Ultimates Of The Universe," a production of the St. Louis Science Center's McDonnell Star Theater. In "Cycles of Spheres: Mapping the Planets in Silk and Sound," large-scale silk batiks of planets and galaxies float as sculpture. As if frozen in time, each silk tableau provides a visual window to an individual planet's identity and personality. Space music enhances the exhibit by evoking the majesty of our nine planetary worlds and the universe beyond. "Cycles of Spheres" is curated by Anne Collins, a Guggenheim Fellow with the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, who specializes in the relationship of art to science and technology; and archived on CD-ROM by electronic imagist Gregory K.H. Bryant, who has collaborated with Mary Edna Fraser on projects since 1995. The graphics for this CD are derived from one of the exhibition's artworks: "Pacific Full Moon," Batik on silk, 50 x 44. Copyright ©1999 Mary Edna Fraser. Used by permission. The music on this CD was composed, recorded, and produced by Mark Mercury. For more information on the artworks and music, visit the artist and composer on the Internet: www.maryedna.com and www.markmercury.com.