hearts of space | news

PGM 832R "KONTINUUM" : dec.28-jan.4

If musical genres had birthdays, electronic music would now be over a hundred years old. The first playable instruments appeared around the 1920s, but things really got going in 1957 with the invention of the first vacuum tube synthesizer. You can still see this electronic fossil at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center at Columbia University in New York City.

Since then, electronic music has been on a roll, merging with the computer to breed new instruments and new sounds in a 50-year period of continuous evolution. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another excursion in the electronic soundscape called KONTINUUM.

The famous "space-time continuum" in physics merges three-dimensional space and time into a single four-dimensional construct. In music, as in science, a continuum is something that retains a common character from beginning to end, and changes by regular degrees. The music on this program, by KLAUS SCHULZE, RICHARD BONE, PSICODREAMICS, IGNEOUS FLAME, and DAVID PARSONS — fits that definition.

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PGM 999 'ANGELICO' : dec.21-28

This week we conclude our suite of winter holiday programs with another deep journey into the sublime world of sacred choral music, from our longtime guest producer for classical and sacred music ELLEN HOLMES.

There's a lightness and purity in these subtle harmonies that's often described as angelic. Whether they've come down to us from 800 years ago or just yesterday, by doing less, they achieve more. They engage us on a deeper, more internal level when we simply open ourselves to the sound and listen with the heart.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, the ethereal, angelic sound of choral voices, on a program called ANGELICO. Music is by MAURICE DURUFLE, CESAR FRANCK, MICHAEL PRAETORIUS, MORTEN LAURIDSEN, IVER KLEIVE, OLA GJEILO, ALEXANDRE GRETCHANINOFF, WHITACRE, and DANIEL LENTZ.

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PGM 998 'WAITING FOR EMMANUEL' : dec.14-21

More than any other, during the winter holiday season, we revisit classic melodies — hymns and songs from the past that are loved and enjoyed annually by millions. One of the most popular is the Christian Advent hymn "O Come, O Come Emmanuel."

The modern version is thought to derive from an 8th or 12th century Latin text, 15th century French processional music, and a 19th century translation. Whatever the origin, it has a stately and hypnotic character that encourages repeated listening, and it carries a message of remembrance and longing — in this case, for the return of the Messiah.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, music for the  winter holiday season on a program called WAITING FOR EMMANUEL, with timely selections by pianists DANA CUNNINGHAM, JILL TRACY, DAVID NEVUE and MONICA ROBELOTTO; plus interpretations by guitarist JOHN McLAUGHLIN, ENYA, the CELTIC ANGELS, PETER BUFFETT and THE NEW WORLD ENSEMBLE, and original compositions by JEFF JOHNSON & PHIL KEAGGY, and harpist TRINE OPSAHL.

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PGM 997 'SACRED SONGS' : dec.7-14

In a world of seemingly endless conflict and strife, when the social fabric is being stretched and tattered, the pure, innocent sound of the boys choir arrives on the cold winter air as an audible balm for the soul. For choral singing is not only a venerable religious tradition — in the sound of massed voices, we experience an inspiring example of human harmony, cooperation, and generosity.

The Mass of the Eastern Orthodox church is a particularly rich source of this nourishment, and though the music for unaccompanied voices has liturgical roots, so universal is the sound that you don't have to understand a word to appreciate it. The Welsh music critic and novelist PAUL GRIFFITHS put it beautifully:

Melodies in these songs are traces dissolving in the waters of eternity,
[an eternity] implied by harmonies that sound like reverberations...
This is harmony seeking silence.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space we dive deep into the choral ocean, on a program called SACRED SONGS. Music is by LIBERA, the CAPPELLA ROMANA, ARVO PART, ERIC WHITACRE, and featuring Ukrainian composer VALENTIN SILVESTROV. 

 [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

A new featurette

Ho ho ho, taxonomy/classification and UI/UX fans! Here's a little end-of-the-year feature upgrade you asked for.

We've added active links to the relevant HOS sub-genre classifications to the [PGM DETAILS] pages on the new GENRE(s) line. Now in addition to seeing which category the program belongs to, you can access other shows in those categories with just two clicks. Sweet!