Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.64.1003160626350.479@panix3.panix.com>
From: Alan Sondheim <sondheim@panix.com>
To: Cyb <cybermind@listserv.aol.com>, Wryting-L <WRYTING-L@listserv.wvu.edu>
Subject: 4 hopeful pieces with descriptions
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:26:53 -0400 (EDT)
4 hopeful pieces with descriptions http://www.alansondheim.org/city.mp3 I've been thinking about the infinity of cities, the depth of soundscapes and the romantic plenitude of nature. This is out the window of our loft; every sound in the city contributes, every cough or whistle miles away, every tire on asphalt. It always amazes me: this is the murmuring of a technological world coming to an end, perhaps, within a century. There are sub-bass harmonies here as well - harmonies which dominate the aural landscape, but which are inaudible to human ears. Even in this recording, one senses them. I've just finished Lamartine's uncanny Raphael, a book in which the natural world of meadows and streams runs through emotional states, tending towards both exaltation and cessation. I can imagine Julie at walk among the Brooklyn forests of streets, still listening, but with a greater hunger. HOPEFUL: The depth of the city revealed as a new cosmos with everyone present, all the time. http://www.alansondheim.org/melodeon.mp3 Recently acquired this 1847 melodeon thanks to book trading. The bellows are bad; the vacuum box won't hold a vacuum; three valves are broken; the vacuum box needs to be opened; several reeds won't sound. So it's in great need of repair. In the meantime, furious pumping and a lot of reverb makes this odd sound file; you can hear the bellows working. It's actually quite a beautiful instrument, and will sound great once it's restored. HOPEFUL: A melodeon sounding like it did in 1847, when it was in someone's parlor. http://www.alansondheim.org/hybrid1.mp3 http://www.alansondheim.org/hybrid2.mp3 Playing around with the rishi on the oud, alternating with finger-picking. It's difficult to keep the rishi (pick) available if I'm using everything else on the strings. So it's rishi in the mouth, rishi on the floor, rishi on the knee, rishi held sometimes with two fingers, with a curled finger, with a thumb and finger, rishi sometimes dropped. On the other hand the sonority of the two interacting playing modes really interests me. HOPEFUL: Smooth transitions in-tune make for wonderful textures, melodies, and harmonies. HOPEFUL: The CITY SYMPHONY will make me rich; the MELODEON will bring untold pleasure to millions; the HYBRID OUD PLAYING will set new standards in improvisation world-wide.