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PGM 1129 'ELECTRON TRAVELER 2' : nov.25-dec.2

If you make music with conventional acoustic instruments, you know in advance what each of them will sound like; your sonic choices are in the combination of instruments and the details.

On the other hand, if you're an electronic musician, you have to choose or invent every sound you work with, a process we now call "sound design." These days there are pre-designed electronic sounds built into instruments and software, but the variety is much greater, and the choices...are endless.

So the electronic sounds you select or create are as much a part of your artistic identity as the music you make with them. And when it comes to ambient electronic music, you have to add the virtual dimensions of space and atmosphere. Taken together, these elements give electronic music its unique psychological character.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, ambient electronics for the fall/winter transition, on a program called ELECTRON TRAVELER 2. Music is by ENIGMA, SOLOMON GREY, NERVOUS_TESTPILOT, BIOSPHERE, MARTIN KENNEDY, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, RUDY ADRIAN, TOM EATON, and DEEPSPACE.

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PGM 1128 'LAMENTO 3: VALE of TEARS' : nov.18-25

As we descend into the short days of the dark season, we find music that portrays human emotions at their most vulnerable: music of pathos and loss, trauma and remembrance. These are some of our most powerful and affecting feelings, and they call for music that reaches into the depths of our souls.

A lament is a cathartic song or poem expressing grief or mourning. Many of the oldest and most enduring poems in human history have been laments; they're found in the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Hindu Vedas, and ancient Near Eastern religious texts, including the Old Testament.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another special program of choral, vocal and instrumental music for the dark season — from longtime guest producer for classical and sacred music ELLEN HOLMES, called LAMENTO 3: VALE OF TEARS.

Music is by ARCANGELO CORELLI, G.F. HANDEL, GIOVANNI PERGOLESI, ANTONIO VIVALDI, J.S. BACH, WM. BYRD, CRISTOBAL DE MORALES, ESTEVAO LOPES MORAGO, ANTOINE BRUMEL, GIACOMO CARISSIMI, HENRYK GORECKI, and ANTHONY HOLBORNE.

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PGM 868R 'INTO THE STORM' : nov. 11-18

In good times, life moves swiftly, with little time for reflection. Warnings of impending disaster may go unheeded — until it's too late. Confusion and chaos rule the day.

In stormy times, the wise remain calm, even when the world around them is in turmoil. Turbulence may destroy structures that lack a firm foundation, but this is necessary to build stronger ones. In nature and society, excess must be corrected. Destruction is also the path to renewal.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an electro-ambient journey for turbulent times called INTO THE STORM.

Music is by MARCONI UNION, ADHAM SHAIKH & TIM FLOYD, MICHAEL STEARNS, DAN BARRIO, RUBEN GARCIA, IAN BODDY, KIT WATKINS, and PHILIPPE EMMANUEL GUEBLE.

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PGM 1127 'ECM ATMOSPHERES' : nov.4 - 11

German musician and record producer MANFRED EICHER founded the ECM label in 1969. The name stands for Edition of Contemporary Music.

To say ECM has been a big success would badly understate the case. in 46 years and over 1200 albums, ECM has not only influenced the course of contemporary music, it's established and continues to define a standard of musical, sonic and graphic excellence that other labels can only dream of.

ECM began with improvised jazz and expanded into contemporary classical composition with the "ECM New Series" in 1984. Along the way, the label also made important contributions to World Music, experimental, and unique, unclassifiable genres. All by itself, ECM is a cultural force to be reckoned with.

But it's the nature of the ECM sound that accounts for its core position in the Hearts of Space repertoire. From the beginning, it encouraged and lovingly documented a contemporary stream of contemplative music — spacious, atmospheric, quiet, and deep. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, an ECM mini-retrospective, on a program called ECM ATMOSPHERES.

Music is by the ANDREW CYRILLE QUARTET, TIGRAN HAMASYAN / ARVE HENRICKSEN / EIVIND AARSET & JAN BANG, MICHEL BENITA & ETHICS, GLAUCO VENIER, and Georgian composer GIYA KANCHELI.

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