Hearts of Space #1065 - Gymnosphere--Song of the Rose [a contemplative classic for well-tuned space piano]@160.txt
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PGM 1065 : "GYMNOSPHERE: SONG OF THE ROSE"
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PGM NOTE : a contemplative classic for well-tuned space piano
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PGM GENRE : Artist Special, Piano
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FEED DATE : 1-02-15
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INTRO: In 1975 Hearts of Space was a two-year old late night
program on KPFA-FM in Berkeley, California. One rainy November
midnight, a local artist named JORDAN DE LA SIERRA showed up
unannounced at the back door of the radio station and demanded to
play the piano on the program, which was already in progress!
From that unforgettable encounter came a legendary recording of
"experimental, explorational, Ambient/new age/neo-classical music"
called GYMNOSPHERE: SONG OF THE ROSE.
I'm STEPHEN HILL and on this transmission of Hearts of Space, we
revisit this timeless classic. We'll feature music from three of
the four sides of the original double album. Along with PAUL HORN's
'Inside the Taj Mahal', it was among the first "acoustic-Ambient"
albums. It was also the first original recording I produced -- for
Jordan de la Sierra was (and is) an exceptional artist in every way.
Born in Fresno in California's Central Valley, he studied music
at the San Francisco Conservatory and Mills College, where he met
TERRY RILEY, LA MONTE YOUNG and other avant-garde composers
influenced by Khyal master PANDIT PRAN NATH, who were cross-
pollinating Western and East Indian classical music. It was the
beginning of the electronic music era, and out of this rich
tapestry of cultural and technical possibilities came a contemp-
lative classic.
Recorded in 1976 and released in 1978 on an early Northern California
new age label, GYMNOSPHERE was an impressive double vinyl LP with a
20-page booklet. It was soon reduced to a single LP with no booklet,
and then went out of print when the label failed a few years later.
Thus began a long exile, punctuated by a cassette re-release in 1985
that also disappeared within a year. These were the realities of the
"good old days" of the analog record business: all but the most
popular music quickly went out of print.
Then in 2013, Jordan and I were approached by an independent label
from Chicago called The Numero Group that specialized in reissuing
lost-but-not-forgotten classics. And so in December 2014, after
over 30 years in limbo, GYMNOSPHERE was re-released in its original
double album and 20-page booklet format, on vinyl, CD, and
digital download.
Several innovations contribute to the unique sound of this record-
ing: the nine-foot concert grand piano is in a special "well-tuned"
scale, rather than the conventional "well tempered" scale. This
means that the notes ring and decay in elegant harmony -- without
any out-of-tune "beating" of the overtones. The felt dampers of the
piano were raised for the entire recording, creating a sustained
harmonic drone. Analog tape delay was used to create rhythmic
repeats, creating a shimmering fractal texture.
And last but not least, the studio tapes were taken to Grace Cathedral
-- the premiere acoustic space in the Bay area -- and played back
through a large sound system where the reverberation of the great
stone church was recorded and later mixed with the direct and delayed
sound of the piano. In this way, the piano was "spatially expanded"
into a vast, ancient space-harp that sings...for almost a minute.
In his notes, Jordan calls it "music as a form of spatial food for
our finer being-bodies." Amen, Brother. JORDAN DE LA SIERRA's
GYMNOSPHERE: SONG OF THE ROSE...reborn, on this transmission...
of Hearts of Space.
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JORDAN DE LA SIERRA
"II. Temple of Aesthetic Action" < 0:00->24:48 >
"III. Music for Devotional Pastimes" < 24:48->51:44 >
"IV. Sphere of Sublime Dances" (part) < 51:44->58:59 >
: GYMNOSPHERE: SONG OF THE ROSE; Numero Group NUM059; 2014
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00OC7MEII/heartsofspace
original LP release on Unity Records (UR-701) in 1977
: Info: http://bit.ly/175876f or
www.numerogroup.com/products/jordan-de-la-sierra-gymnosphere-song-of-the-rose
Notes: https://www.hos.com/#album/717
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PRODUCED BY : STEPHEN HILL and STEVE DAVIS
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BAY AREA WEATHER : after the rain, chilled clarity
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(c) 2015 Hearts of Space
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