AUDIO ART - Read original chinese review in pdf file
TRANSLATION FROM CHINESE
AUDIO ART
Editor’s CD
The Spin of Time
Spinning Around Our Star
By Huang Ku-Kuang
Performer: Margaret Penn
Producer: Michele Tucci
Recording: Michele Tucci
Mastering: Michele Tucci
Agency: Leeming
According to the website or the booklet of the record, most people would mistake the pianist Margaret Penn for Oreobambo or one of the members. However, Oreobambo is neither Margaret Penn nor a group name but a personal pseudonym of Michele Tucci, an Italian musician, not the American actor. Therefore, to be more precise, “Spinning Around Our Star” is a recording of Margaret Penn’s performance of Michele Tucci’s works.
The Spin of Stars and Time
In “Spinning Around Our Star,” we perceive “Time” from the perspective of stars.
While we are listening to the music of harpsichord and piano, those beautiful notes illustrate a vivid theme and image of the infinite universe. The ‘Fresh Water Springing from the Uku Pacha’ depicts an image of water that keeps springing up from the underworld. This connotes the birth of life. The word “Uku Pacha” (underworld) is cited from the Incas for its special indication of an Incan worldview. When it comes to ‘The Clock of the Spheres is for You,’ we could see a starry night sky. Stars are spheres. They all have limits and meet their own doom someday, but for all beings who live on the sphere, their movement represents the shift of time. Thus, whether it is the sphere under our feet or the spheres above our head are all our “Clocks.”
When we move to ‘Spinning Around Our Star,’ the vision goes further. The opening sound of the harpsichord turns into the music of merry-go-round. And when the sound shifts from harpsichord into piano, it not only presents the evolution of an instrument but also implies the progress of Time. The scene then turns into a touching view of the infinite universe that reveals the triviality of a human being. For all the beings that are living on the Sphere of Our Star, those stars seem to be moving around us. However, this is a subjective misconception. In fact, we, as the being on the Sphere, are merely another little being rotating around another star.
Sirius System
If we followed the revolution of our star, we would be ejected out higher and further into a much more rare experience in the final track “Sigi Tolo, Po Tolo and Emme Ya.” The mystery inside is a long story, and it should begin with the ancient tribe of Dogon, living in the central plateau region of Mali. The Dogon knew about the existence of the Sirius System much earlier than modern astronomers and knew exactly about its structure. “Sigi Tolo” in the Dogon language is what we commonly called “Sirius A,” the fixed star in the system, and “Po Tolo” refers to its companion “Sirius B,” the white dwarf. As to “Emme Ya,” it names another companion that is still in doubt in our astronomy. What this track represents is a twisted relation and influence between these three stars. While they rotate, they all spin around each other at the same time. This is the insight of the track.
The Magnetic Realm
Michele Tucci, as a composer, photographer and recording engineer, takes all the production, recording and even the photography in charge. The piano in the recording is a Fazioli F-308. And the recording takes place in a small, irregular hexagonal room. He first used an ATR 102 to record on one inch analog tape at 30ips and then converted at 24/192 with a Weiss ADC2. As we can tell, there is a stereo pair of microphones that pick up the sound near the piano. Therefore, the sound image is great and well-formed; the tone quality is fine and delicate; the tone color is vivid and colorful. The music sounds are realistic and alive. Although it is a recording of merely two instruments, the harpsichord and the piano, you can experience its magic and charm better with a more advanced audio system. In other words, we have a better chance to enter in what Michele Tucci calls “the magnetic realm.”
Trust me, this is a wonderful and moving album that you never want to miss.
