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Appropriately hypnotic, Entheo! I don't know whether you noticed a very recent thread indicating that Frederic Chiu is issuing a recording of the Gurdjieff/de Hartmann collaborations in the near future. I confess to much preferring the incantatory efforts of Satie and Mompou to these, but they're still a heckuva lot better than some of the New Age-y noodlings. In the posting, there are several YouTube segments of Chiu working with the recording personnel to get just the right sound quality. Given your interest in this music, I'd strongly recommend this, if you haven't reviewed it already.
Appropriately hypnotic, Entheo! I don't know whether you noticed a very recent thread indicating that Frederic Chiu is issuing a recording of the Gurdjieff/de Hartmann collaborations in the near future. I confess to much preferring the incantatory efforts of Satie and Mompou to these, but they're still a heckuva lot better than some of the New Age-y noodlings. In the posting, there are several YouTube segments of Chiu working with the recording personnel to get just the right sound quality. Given your interest in this music, I'd strongly recommend this, if you haven't reviewed it already.
tim, yes i'm aware of the chiu recordings, and thank you for the heads up. my favorite artist for performing gurdjieff/ de hartmann is alain kremski -- for me he is the one who captures the spirit of "objective music", the feel which differentiates this music from any other. if you can find his recordings - not easy - i highly recommend acquiring them. they transmit what i believe to be what gurdjieff & de hartmann were attempting to convey beyond the notes themselves.
Appropriately hypnotic, Entheo! I don't know whether you noticed a very recent thread indicating that Frederic Chiu is issuing a recording of the Gurdjieff/de Hartmann collaborations in the near future. I confess to much preferring the incantatory efforts of Satie and Mompou to these, but they're still a heckuva lot better than some of the New Age-y noodlings. In the posting, there are several YouTube segments of Chiu working with the recording personnel to get just the right sound quality. Given your interest in this music, I'd strongly recommend this, if you haven't reviewed it already.
tim, yes i'm aware of the chiu recordings, and thank you for the heads up. my favorite artist for performing gurdjieff/ de hartmann is alain kremski -- for me he is the one who captures the spirit of "objective music", the feel which differentiates this music from any other. if you can find his recordings - not easy - i highly recommend acquiring them. they transmit what i believe to be what gurdjieff & de hartmann were attempting to convey beyond the notes themselves.
for those of you who might be interested in a bit of background into the gurdjieff/de hartmann music, i've come across a wonderful interview and examples of the music performed on traditional instruments (dudukis). mr. eskenian is quite correct that although the pieces were written for the piano, it is incapable of capturing the microtones of the music. also note the circular breathing technique employed by the musicians (very difficult; didjeridu players and indeed some horn players like clark terry used this technique):
long time between recording sessions; been concentrating on the drums and finally got my piano tuned hence the incentive to finish this one up. with accompanying Sufi-inspired artwork; hope you'll enjoy...
Hi, Entheo! Ahhhhhhhh..... sigh! Morricone is for me one of the most talented of film composers, and this is a great example of his artistry. The theme provides a perfect emotional setting to the poignant rue of Cinema Paradiso. Thanks for sharing this!
thanks for listening, watching and commenting tim! i worked it up to play at a memorial service and decided to go ahead and record it along with some stills from the film. one of my all-time favorite movies, this has inspired us to put it at the top of our netflix list and i believe it just came in the mail today, so i better be sure a box of kleenex is on the coffee table tonight.
far from perfect, but there comes a point at which the law of diminishing returns kicks in and there are just too many other pieces to tinker with before i meet my maker. more grist for the mill...
This piece is one in a collection of lyric pieces by the great composer Edvard Grieg. This particular one, "At Your Feet", struck me as a Bhajan -- an Indian devotional song, one that expresses divine love, and is usually expressed at the feet of the Beloved. Hence the pantheon of Hindu gods, goddesses, and their devotees, such as Krishna, Radha and the Gopis, and Lord Ram, Sita and Hanuman. Hope you'll enjoy...
this happy little scarlatti sonata gave me fits, but because i'm now infatuated with a schumann fantasy it was time to 'get it on the books' and move on...
Schumann prefaced the work with a quote from Friedrich Schlegel: "Resounding through all the notes, in the earth's colorful dream, there sounds a faint long-drawn note, for the one who listens in secret." He was exiled from his beloved Clara at the time he wrote this fantasy.
Hi, Entheo! Terrific job on this -- very moving! Schumann wrote this piece as part of a commemoration to Beethoven, 10 years or so after LvB's death -- and the speculation I've read regarding the 3rd Mv of the Phantasie is that Schumann was trying to evoke the mystical/spiritual qualities of Beethoven late music. But, frankly, I don't relate to it that way at all. I hear it as being a rapturous love song; one of the greatest of all time -- and your notes regarding it seem to be aiming in the same direction. Sumptuous sound, in addition to being molto espressivo -- thanks for sharing it!
Hi, Entheo! Terrific job on this -- very moving! Schumann wrote this piece as part of a commemoration to Beethoven, 10 years or so after LvB's death -- and the speculation I've read regarding the 3rd Mv of the Phantasie is that Schumann was trying to evoke the mystical/spiritual qualities of Beethoven late music. But, frankly, I don't relate to it that way at all. I hear it as being a rapturous love song; one of the greatest of all time -- and your notes regarding it seem to be aiming in the same direction. Sumptuous sound, in addition to being molto espressivo -- thanks for sharing it!
thanks tim! the 3rd mvmt came to my particular attention in the documentary "seymour - an introduction" (highly recommended, btw) as mr. bernstein called it out as one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written, and it's hard to argue with that. schumann was exiled from his beloved clara during the period that he wrote this fantasy, and i'm in violent agreement with you in hearing the 3rd as a passionate love song to clara. due to my limited abilities i've split the 3rd into two parts, so pt 2 is coming (eventually!).
i'm fairly happy with the record quality this time. i keep tinkering with the mic locations, record levels, post-processing, etc. it's a very limited studio and i'm a one man band so to speak, so i have to keep reminding myself that the perfect is the enemy of the good.
The culmination of a year’s worth of work (all of 2016), warts and all (and Kip-dog makes his presence known right at the beginning!). My deepest gratitude to my good friend maestro Theodore Edel who, month after month, revealed layer after layer of this beautiful aural flower to me...
A great listen, Entheo! I know I've said this before, but how anybody can say that this evokes the mystic qualities of late Beethoven has gotta be out of their mind! This is one of the truly great passionate love songs, and it literally brings tears to my eyes every time it's performed in that spirit. And you accomplished this in spades -- what's a few attendant warts among friends?
