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Gardens of Stone: Amanda Handel & Michael Jackson
This vibrant CD of Australian contemporary classical music is a unique creative venture initiated by Amanda Handel, and presented in collaboration with Michael Jackson.
Conjuring landscapes and other natural features of the Blue Mountains, the music reflects a journey which moves between highly charged and powerfully rhythmic passages into areas of delicate sonority.
Crafted with luxurious dissonances, the piano writing explores extended modal harmonies against the bedrock of fixed didjeridu pitches. This unusual acoustic combination creates a wealth of resonance and surprising timbral effects.
Much more than just an accompaniment or drone, the didjeridu plays an integral role within the texture and phrasing of Amanda's compositions. Michael plays a battery of didjeridus and the didjeribone with astonishing virtuosity and a richly complex tone, using a large repertoire of rhythms, overtones and vocalisations.
Gardens of Stone features a solo piece on each of the two instruments, and the album closes with a spontaneous improvisation where Amanda and Michael leap into uncharted territory, eliciting a strange and exciting new realm of sound.
Gardens of Stone CD price $30 ($25 + $5 postage). Please use the Paypal button, or send me an email.
Verdant Somnolence is a piano improvisation with electronic manipulation. The piano strings were prepared with a piece of parchment.
Adoration began as a composed piano piece (The Seduction of Andaluica) which has been fragmented and expanded so as to include two lines of saxophone playing, field recordings, the poetry of FG Lorca and astonishing sound design and electronic wizardry! The solo piano version is on the AMEB syllabus for the Certificate of Performance. Please hear the solo piano version and see my stunning photos from Andalucia, on YouTube HERE
The score is published by Wirripang.
Ghosts & Angels: Amanda Handel & GL Seiler
Performers - Amanda Handel: piano /GL Seiler: electronic sound /Matt Handel: saxophones / Paul Handel: bass guitar & trumpet
Description - Ghosts & Angels is a bewitching journey evoking the mysterious sounds of deep dark Spain in an alchemy of alluring acoustic music and electronic wizardry.
The album's concept arose from my enduring intrigue with the dark side of Spain. The project began with field recordings such as church bells, processions, birds, water (fountains, sea, rain), horse and carts on cobble stone...etc, which I made in Spain and then added a few more dimensions from sounds arising here at home (thunder storms and my old dog Max howling). I was also inspired an old legend passed down from the days of Moorish rule over the kingdom of Granada. Soon after writing the foundational piano scores, I asked an old friend - Greg Seiler - an electronic artist, to collaborate with me in fully realising the project.
The additional music for saxophones, trumpet and bass guitar is played by Matt and Paul Handel. In some instances the music is scored and in others, improvised. I also have quoted samples of text by the revolutionary poet Federico Garcia Lorca (executed by Franco in 1936). My voice has been treated by Greg, and woven into the strata of the all-organic soundscapes and acoustic instruments.
To purchase a copy of the CD ($20 + $5 ph), please use the paypal button or contact me directly via EMAIL
