THE ALBUM IN WHICH BLACKBIRD IS SOLOIST, DUETTIST AND QUADRETTIST!
In common with several composers past and present, I became fascinated with the song of the male blackbird many years ago. At first, my interest was drawn simply to the complexity of the phrases, subsequently attracting and encouraging a deeper investigation.
40 minutes featuring the finest recordings by Ron Geesin of male blackbirds, including 6 minutes of very rarely heard Winter Subsong. Some pieces are musical, others clarified field (actually shed) recordings. This download is high-quality 24bit/48KHz with 7-page illustrated text.
- BLACKBIRD QUADRALOGUE (19'53"): stereo mix of an octophonic installation that ran in the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, E. Sussex, for 3 months in 2014 - featuring an imaginary interplay between 4 blackbirds where their complex calls range from realtime down to -16 semitones.
- NEW BLUE BLACKBIRD (5'39"): for blackbird and choir, originally performed at the Chelsea Festival on June 14th 2008 and recorded by David Gilmour's team, used by kind permission. This version is restructured by repositioning the blackbird's phrases for extra clarity.
- BLACK SAD BIRDS (2'56"): slowed-down blackbirds accompanied by an even slower and doleful electronic blues.
- JAZZY BLACKBIRDS (2'51"): a syncopated jazzy blackbird duet accompanied by Ron's vintage-style piano.
- BLACKBIRD SUBSONG - in 3 parts (6'07"): unedited Winter Subsong, recorded from a distance of 2 metres and digitally clarified to reveal this rarely heard phenomenon
- BLACKBIRD SUBSONG - 1 octave lower (1'07"): exactly that - to further expose the truly amazing complexities within this bird's seemingly infinite repertoire.
