Circle, I
thought, should begin with metal and end in wood. Metal
gets your attention and wood provides the solace. I
thought, let's try a new form. We travel from percussion
metal to didjeridu, then to bassoon, to wooden percussion. And
then, finally, everyone together at the end, coming full
circle. We
did triple trackings (superimposed improvisations), so
I was able to judge and cue instruments in this context.
We
took several takes of different layers, aware of the
danger (which is often expressed in the studio) of over-analyzing,
approaching sterility and losing the spontaneity. There
were recorded layers in Circle that
we didn't use. We
very carefully wanted the second layer to match the first.
The third layer turned out to need to be less thick,
more filigree, more like the ribbon that ties it all
together.
While
I certainly wouldn't call Circle new
age, its got such vibrancy in its Klangfarbe as
a result of the studio. In fact, I can't imagine it
being performed live. It's the only piece that
I have that I wouldn't perform live.
Sketch
for studio realization of Circle
(also
available for download in high-resolution)
