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PGM 1306 'MYSTIC MESSIAEN' : jan.14-21

The 20th century French composer OLIVIER MESSIAEN was a musical modernist during a revolutionary period in classical music, an unabashed Romantic, and a devoutly religious Catholic who spent most of his long life playing organ in churches and cathedrals.

He reconciled these apparent polarities by following an artistic path that was unique and original. Along with complex, innovative contemporary music that ranged in intensity from serene to volcanic, he created a vast catalogue of religious program music inspired by his deep faith. It's been described as "a glowing vision of hope and transcendence for the 21st century, through faith in music, love, and the divine."

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we focus on Messiaen's religious and contemplative music, on a program called MYSTIC MESSIAEN.

We feature two of his masterpieces for organ — LA NATIVITÉ DU SEIGNEUR and LE BANQUET CÉLESTE, O SACRUM CONVIVIUM for chorus, two movements from L'ASCENSION for strings and brass, and an ethereal movement from FÊTE DES BELLES EAUX, for an ensemble of pioneering French electronic keyboards called Ondes Martenot.

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PGM 1305 'WINTER LIGHT 2' : jan.7-14

Winter...drains the color from the landscape and leaves behind a subtle monochromatic palette of grays, browns, and blues; and after snow...a magical world of white. The winter atmospheres range from bright sun with airy transparent blues, to chilled mist, dense fog, and skies threatened by sullen clouds.

In the far north, time seems to slow. It's a vast, lonely, contemplative environment that's inspired an electronic genre called "isolationist ambient." On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, the immersive sound of winter atmospheres, on a program called WINTER LIGHT 2.

Music is by YAGYA, BANCO DE GAIA, SEETYCA, ERIK WØLLO, ISOSTATIC, PHILLIP WILKERSON & CHRIS RUSSELL, LOSCIL, and IAN BODDY+ERIK WØLLO.

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PGM 1304 'CANTO ELECTRONICO' : dec.31 - jan.7

The best-kept secret in European minimalism must be the late Dutch composer SIMEON TEN HOLT, who died in 2012. After experimenting with complex chromaticism and serialism early in his career, Ten Holt arrived at his own style of "humanized" minimalism: infused with traditional musical values, rhythmically rigorous, wonderfully melodic, and flexible in performance.

His most famous piece, composed in 1976, is called CANTO OSTINATO, which in Italian means "obstinate song," a reference to its continuous, repeating quintuplet rhythm base: 1-2-3-4-5, 1-2-3-4-5, 1-2-3-4-5, 1-2-3-4-5. Its structure is based on 106 "cells" of a few phrases each which allow great latitude for repeats and interpretation by the performers. The piece can take from two hours to more than a day, and there are dozens of versions for 1, 2, 3, and 4 pianos, pianos plus organ, harp, or marimba, pipe organ, strings, and synthesizer.

Canto Ostinato has been a popular phenomenon in the Netherlands for 40 years and hundreds of sold out performances. Despite its appeal, it's hardly ever been performed or broadcast in the U.S. We tried to help fix that a couple of years ago when we featured a mesmerizing live version for two pianos, performed by the Dutch husband/wife duo JEROEN and SANDRA VAN VEEN.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we kick off the new year with a buoyant, energetic version for synthesizer, programmed and performed by SANDRA and JEROEN VAN VEEN. Simeon Ten Holt's CANTO OSTINATO for synthesizer; let's call it CANTO ELECTRONICO, on this transmission...of Hearts of Space.

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PGM 861R 'NIGHT LIGHT' : dec. 24-31

The austere folk music of Norway and the Scandinavian countries has a paradox at its heart: in a land of frigid Arctic winters and stark, glacial landscapes, the music overflows with warmth and beauty. And while the winter days are dark, the nights are illuminated with the intoxicating spectacle of the northern lights.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a Nordic winter's journey called NIGHT LIGHT, featuring Norwegian lullabies sung by VIDIA WESENLUND with music by MICHAEL STEARNS, plus selections by ANNBJORG LIEN, LENA WILLEMARK & ALE MOLLER, OYSTEIN SEVAG, and STREIF.

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PGM 1303 'WINTERTRONIC 2' : dec.17-24

December...brings both powerful storms and clear, cold, silent nights that incline toward the holy as we approach the holiday season. We try to put aside the conflicts and challenges of the present day, and display the finer spirits and better angels of our nature. We celebrate the season with a radiance of light and color, hymns and songs, food and gifts, generosity and kindness.

For ambient musicians, it's a time to blend the warmth and intimacy of traditional acoustic music with the mysterious floating spaces of electronic music. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, calm and bright soundscapes for the season, on a program called WINTERTRONIC 2. 

Music is by KEVIN KELLER, ECHO SEASON, ROBERT RICH, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, MAX CORBACHO, PAUL AVGERINOS, and SENSITIVE CHAOS.

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PGM 896R "HYMNS and PSALMS" : dec. 10-17

In our year-end festivals of sacred music, we touch a human ritual whose origins are lost in time.

For millennia, we've gathered in churches and sanctuaries to sing, worship, listen and renew our spirits. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a year's end celebration of the treble voice, the massed chorus, and the sublime world of sacred sound, on a program called HYMNS and PSALMS.

Music is by LIBERA, STATE OF GRACE, GIORGIA FUMANTI, HAYLEY WESTENRA, LUMINOUS WORLD ORCHESTRA, KEVIN KELLER, ARVO PART, and ALFRED SCHNITTKE.

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PGM 1302 'KINDRED SPIRITS' : dec.3-10

The story of Windham Hill Records is both a story of success, and a cautionary tale. From its emergence in the heart of Silicon Valley in 1976 as a tiny independent label for co-founder WILL ACKERMAN's ironically low-tech solo acoustic guitar music, it became the poster child for the emerging genre that was eventually dubbed New Age by the record industry ten years later.

Described as "instrumental, acoustic, and mellow," with high quality analogue recordings on vinyl and tasteful minimalist graphics, Windham Hill got distribution from one of the major labels, expanded its roster with kindred acoustic artists like pianist GEORGE WINSTON and guitarist MICHAEL HEDGES, and went on to sell millions of records.

So...success, but there's a big difference between music, and the music business. The pressure was intense, and Will Ackerman wasn't happy. He never wanted to be a corporate record executive, so he sold his half of the company in 1992 and retired to a farm in rural Vermont.

That would normally be the end of the story, but Ackerman was still relatively young and wanted to get back to making music. So he built a recording studio on the property, teamed up with ace engineers CORIN NELSEN and TOM EATON, and began to record and produce other acoustic artists. A few years later he started another independent label, but this time — he stayed independent.

And that's where the story takes a creative turn. In over twenty years of working with hundreds of compatible musicians, Ackerman began to collaborate as an acoustic guitarist as well as a producer, which led to participation in instrumental "supergroups" like FLOW (in 2019) with trumpeter JEFF OSTER, guitarist LAWRENCE BLATT, pianist FIONA JOY HAWKINS, and triple-threat artist-engineer-producer TOM EATON; and (in 2021) with JEFF OSTER and TOM EATON in BROTHERS.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we feature music from BROTHERS and congenial acoustic and electro-acoustic artists, on a program called KINDRED SPIRITS. It's about finding your true artistic family. Music is by WILL ACKERMAN, JEFF OSTER & TOM EATON, TOM EATON solo, RUSSELL WALDER, TIM STORY, LAURENCE FURR, and ECHO COLLECTIVE.

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PGM 1211R 'ELECTRON TRAVELER 4' : nov. 26-dec. 3

Flying...and Floating.

As a literal description of the experience, it goes back to the early days of popular electronic music and the early days of Hearts of Space. Over the years we've done programs called Floating Whispers, Floating Worlds, Floating Gardens, Floating Reveries, Floating Waves, Floating Winds, and yes, Flying and Floating 1, 2, and 3. 

Back then I said "flying music is rhythm-powered and moves through space, heading for worlds beyond; floating music is goal-free—ethereal, static, and timeless."

You know, I can't really add anything to that. We still enjoy expanding into unlimited virtual spaces, and yearn for the quiet pleasure of weightless suspension in time.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another journey in our electronic touring series, on a program called ELECTRON TRAVELER 4. Music is by ASCENDANT, KEVIN KELLER, ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT, DWIGHT LOOP, MASSERGY, and ERIK WØLLO.

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PGM 1301 'CONTEMPLATIONS' : nov. 19-26

For centuries, music has been used to lead listeners into deep, quiet meditative states. The goal of this music is healing, self-realization and spiritual communion. The 20th and 21st centuries have seen a steady growth of popular music to calm our hyper-stimulated nervous systems and support inner experience. Whether it's the sublime adagios of early classical music, the simple, consonant tonalities of New Age, the sophisticated orchestrations of contemporary sacred minimalism, or the expansive spatial experiences of ambient — we seek the pleasures and benefits of psychoactive sound.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space from longtime guest producer for classical and sacred music ELLEN HOLMES, a program called CONTEMPLATIONS, featuring music by MAX RICHTER, plus HANS ZIMMER, JAMI SIEBER, DIETRICH BUXTEHUDE, SIEUR de SAINTE-COLOMBE, ANTONIO VIVALDI, JORDI SAVALL & HESPERIAN XXI.

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PGM 1300 'A BRIEF HISTORY OF DARK AMBIENT' : nov. 12-19

And so it has come to pass, dear spacefans, that in the dark days of late autumn in the year 2021, we arrive at the 1300th transmission of the HEARTS of SPACE series. I'm STEPHEN HILL, and befitting the occasion, it's another of our centennial specials called A BRIEF HISTORY OF DARK AMBIENT.

The term "dark ambient" was coined in the early 1990s by ROGER KARMANIK, founder of the record label Cold Meat Industry, to describe the music of RAISON d'ETRE and similar artists. The style is a gene-splicing of the Industrial, Ambient, Drone, and Noise genres, including the experimental side of early 1970s German electronic music — fondly dubbed 'Krautrock' — and the Industrial Music of the late 1970s & early 80s, such as the band THROBBING GRISTLE.

During the 1980s, LUSTMORD, NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS & ZOVIET FRANCE were among the first to create consistently dark ambient music, featuring low drones and distressed chorales, liberally seasoned with industrial noise and electronic special effects. In the early 1990s RAISON D'ETRE augmented the industrial imagery with medieval iconography.

During the late 80s & early 90s, a slower, more ethereal side of Gothic art rock emerged, called "ethereal wave" or "dark wave," including many of the early artists on the Projekt label. And an even more austere sub-genre called "Isolationist Ambient" arrived quietly in the 1990s, including the music of THOMAS KÖNER from Germany and BIOSPHERE from Norway.

It's Program 1300 : A BRIEF HISTORY OF DARK AMBIENT, on this transmission...of Hearts of Space. Music is by RAISON D'ETRE, POPOL VUH, LIGHTWAVE, VOICE OF EYE + LIFE GARDEN, THOMAS KÖNER, BIOSPHERE, BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL, ROBERT RICH + B.LUSTMORD, TROUM, PAUL SCHÜTZE, and RHYTHM & NOISE.

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