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1206 'WINTERTRONIC' : feb.15-22

Winter...has a way of overstaying its welcome. After several months of sullen skies, numbing cold, and too many days of frigid rain, sleet, or snow—even the most ardent champions of the season fall silent. We've arrived...at forbearance. 

Here in California, the trees blossom in mid-February regardless of the weather. After a big rain, the ground is strewn with pink and white petals. Soon the storms will taper off and spring will arrive. For most of the country though, there's still a long time to wait. 

Ambient electronic artists find inspiration in the winter atmospheres, and create music with dark drones, virtual storms, chilled tones, and monochromatic harmonies. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, it's another wintry journey on electronic waves — on a program called WINTERTRONIC.

Music is by TRANSPONDER, HOLLAN HOLMES, SOLARIS, NETHERWORLD, BLUETECH, KIRSTY HAWKSHAW, JANNE HANHISUANTO, and ILUITEQ.

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1205 'FROZEN TIME'

The serene spaces of contemplative minimalism have attracted some strange bedfellows over the years, including classical, new music, and experimental composers, serious jazz artists, ambient-electronic sound sculptors, and native musicians from the far north. They share a taste for consonance, repetition, slow tempos, electro-acoustic instrumentation, and expanded ambience. 

In these vast, frigid spaces, time seems to slow and even stop. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, timeless soundscapes inspired by the arctic north, on a program called FROZEN TIME.

Music is by CHRISTEL VERAART, JEFF GREINKE, TIGRAN HAMASYAN, JOHN LUTHER ADAMS, MICHAEL JON FINK, SOMEI SATOH, and OLAFUR ARNALDS.

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PGM 1099R 'POLARIS' : feb.1-8

WINTER BRINGS CRYSTALLINE BELLS and metallic tones reverberating in chilled electronic soundscapes. In the far north, the long night sky fills with the hypnotic lights of the auroras, while infinite stars sparkle in the frigid air. Warm harmonies and fire in the hearth bring a sense of peace in an uncertain world.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space we set a course on the north star, with a wintry journey to the electronic north, on a program called POLARIS.

Music is by GEORGE WALLACE, ERIK WØLLO, BRYAN CARRIGAN, CHRISTEL VERAART, KLAUS SCHULZE & LISA GERRARD, OÖPHOI & PAUL VNUK JR., and JEFF PEARCE. 

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PGM 1204 'MAGIC METALS 2' : jan.25-feb.1

Consider, dear listener, the "resonant percussion" family of instruments—bells, bowls, gongs, and cymbals. When struck, rubbed, stroked or vibrated, they can produce sustained tones and clouds of sound that take on a special resonance in the cold, crisp winter air. 

Simple but powerful, these venerable acoustic instruments attract a singular breed of musician: a connoisseur of pure sounds, an improviser, a conductor of contemplative experience. They've been used in worship and meditation for thousands of years. Today they're the foundation of the therapeutic field of Sound Healing; while in the studio they're being combined with ambient electronics to create spiritually charged virtual environments. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space the contemplative world of resonant percussion, on a program called MAGIC METALS 2. Music is by ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, YUVAL RON, DIATONIS, KEVIN BRAHENY FORTUNE, KARMA MOFFETT, RIVER GUERGUERIAN, HANS CHRISTIAN, and DEUTER.

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PGM 1203 'INFINITE HORIZONS' : jan.18-25

This time on Hearts of Space, we're back to the floating worlds of ambient-electronic music.

It's an open-ended medium—almost unlimited in its ability to invent new sounds and use them to create virtual soundscapes. Despite epic changes in the business of recorded music over the last twenty years, the ambient-electronic genre is healthy and slowly expanding as a studio-based art. Composers on five continents hone their craft in personal studios, create albums, and release them on independent platforms like BANDCAMP.com and the major streaming services. 

They're "unsigned artists" and they like it that way. They collaborate with kindred ambient artists, and even work with independent record labels whose taste they like. Many of them have families and a skilled day job and their music is a serious avocation; others have found a way to survive on their music and related activity. 

Right now, everybody wins on the important thing: there's something at the heart of the ambient experience that feeds both the musicians and the audience, with a rich stream of serious new releases and a growing catalog of classics. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...another ambient electronic journey, on a program called INFINITE HORIZONS. Music is by ILUITEQ, ERIK WØLLO, IAN BODDY & ERIK WØLLO, JUHA-MATTI RAUTIAINEN, and STEVE ROACH.

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PGM 1202 'PIPE ORGAN MEDITATIONS' : jan.11-18

It's been far too long since we devoted a Hearts of Space program to the pipe organ. Yes, the pipe organ. Did you know that there's a public radio program dedicated entirely to the pipe organ called PIPEDREAMS? It's even older than Hearts of Space, and still going strong.

The pipe organ dates back to ancient Greece in the third century BCE. About a thousand years ago, it started making its way into churches. Because of its tonal character and volume, it proved the ideal instrument to lead people in singing. Over those 10 centuries, the organ evolved into an extremely high-tech machine. Its range, size, and importance grew along with the Christian religion—especially in Protestant churches, where the congregation sang together.

By about 1600, the pipe organ was the most complex machine that humans had created — massive assemblies of bellows, valves, wood and metal pipes that could fill the vast reverberant spaces of European cathedrals with powerful sound. Hundreds of years before amplified music, the pipe organ was the first full-spectrum, full volume, multi-voice, super-instrument. The organ console was what we'd now call an "advanced ergonomic user interface." It was—without a doubt—the king of instruments, used to lead sacred services and create sublime moments of elevated religious emotion.

The pipe organ enjoyed a kind of golden age in Baroque Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, with rapid technological development and a growing repertoire of ecclesiastical works. By the early 20th century, French avant-garde composers were pushing the instrument to its limits—from delicate meditations and orchestrated tone poems, to bombastic showpieces exploring dissonance and extreme tonalities. Where Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque organ music had been limited to the church, the new music was also secular and experimental. In France, one devout Catholic composer embraced both the church and the avant-garde: OLIVIER MESSIAEN's music illustrated themes from Christian history and mythology, using an advanced musical language and playing techniques.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we bring together contemplative classics by OLIVIER MESSIAEN with contemporary composer-performers, on a program called PIPE ORGAN MEDITATIONS.

Music is by OLIVIER MESSIAEN, KIT DOWNES, ARVO PÄRT, ZVONIMIR NAGY, and PETER MICHAEL HAMEL.

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PGM 1132R 'POLAR FLIGHT 2' : jan. 4-11

We're flying over the north polar icecap — in winter, a dazzling wonderland of white and deep blue. It's a vast glacial world of snow and ice, fractal patterns shot through with veins of melting water. Ambient electronic music, with its chilled harmonies, slowly changing rhythm patterns and endless reverberant sound images, creates the perfect soundtrack for this spectacular landscape.

In the polar night above the Arctic Circle, the winter sun never rises above the horizon; only the hypnotic ion curtains of the auroras relieve the darkness, while the sounds of moving water and breaking ice punctuate the solitude. It's a contemplative environment of sublime majesty and depth.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a journey to the Arctic north, on a program called POLAR FLIGHT 2. Music is by ASCENDANT, YAGYA, BANCO DE GAIA, SIMON LOMAX, WINGS OF AN ANGEL, and EASYCHORD.

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PGM 1201 'SPACE GUITAR SUPERSTARS' Part 2 : dec.28-jan.4

This week, dear spacefan, we conclude our two-part mini-documentary on the electronic space guitar celebrating our 1200th program—with music by American, English and Norwegian artists who extended the dimensions of the instrument in the 21st century. 

On these centennial programs, we take a retrospective look at the music we feature, often documentary-style, rather than our normal uninterrupted format. Of course, if you listen on our web service or mobile apps, you can turn off the voiceovers with one click or tap and still hear uninterrupted music. 

On this transmission of Hearts of Space: SPACE GUITAR SUPERSTARS — Part 2. Music is by BUCKETHEAD, DANIEL LANOIS, LEO ABRAHAMS, EIVIND AARSET, CLIVE WRIGHT, JON DURANT, DAVID HELPLING, ROBIN GUTHRIE, CARL WEINGARTEN, HAMMOCK, and JEFF PEARCE.

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PGM 1064R 'MAGNIFICAT' : dec.21-28

The great tradition of choral singing has a glorious history extending over thousands of years. Even in these diverse, multicultural, often secular days, the tradition endures because there is something deeply satisfying and essentially human in the sound and the practice of group singing.

Choral groups range from trios to 200 voice chorales; they're often unpaid and done purely for the love of it. The genre has attracted specialist composers in every era, some working within churches and religious institutions, others as solo artists. During the winter holiday season, we enjoy choral classics like The Messiah and traditional hymns and carols in sacred spaces from cathedrals to street corners.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another sacred music journey from our longtime guest producer for classical and sacred music ELLEN HOLMES, on a program called 'MAGNIFICAT.'

From the Western Christian tradition, we have music by MOZART, HANDEL, CHARPENTIER, COUPERIN, GUERRERO, ANDREA GABRIELI and JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH; from the Eastern Orthodox sacred service, music by ANONYMOUS MASTERS, by ARCHBISHOP IONAFAN, NIKOLAI KEDROV SR., DIVNA and the MELODI CHOIR, N.FRUNZA, ANATOLY LIADOV, and OTTO OLSSON.

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MESSIAEN: La Nativité du Seigneur

Yesterday evening I was privileged to hear virtuoso San Francisco organist JONATHAN DIMMOCK play this extraordinary 1935 work by French composer OLIVIER MESSIAEN at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, California. 

To call it “symphonic“ in scale and scope is an understatement. At over two hours in nine sections, it is longer, more varied and more dramatic than all but the most monumental symphonies. 

The astonishing tonal creativity and spiritual depth of Messiaen’s music; 

The extensive voices and vast power of the bilaterally symmetric Conroy Memorial Organ; 

The magnificent immersive acoustics of the cathedral that amplify and reverberate the instrument, creating mystical structures in the air;

All that, and Jonathan Dimmock’s deep insight into the soul of Messiaen’s music and wide-ranging, free, masterful performance— 

It came together in a sublime musical and sonic experience: the finest live concert sound I’ve ever heard.

:: SH 
12.19.2018

www.jonathandimmock.com

https://open.spotify.com/album/5TCwJo7od1h794HRQdaTHD?si=t7-e2-3eSmilwa61jYbQ4A

https://www.ctlcathedral.org/