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PGM 1177 'DIVINE LIGHT' : mar.30-apr. 6

The sublime tradition of Russian Orthodox sacred choral music begins with ancient Byzantine chants and comes to full magnificence with the influence of Western classical music. In the great mixed choirs, ethereal and earthly sonorities magically combine with images of radiant light and extended prayers of fervent supplication, transporting the listener to realms beyond worldly cares. 

On this Easter season transmission of HEARTS of SPACE from longtime guest producer for sacred and classical music ELLEN HOLMES — a program called DIVINE LIGHT.

Music is by RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, KALINNIKOV, CHESNOKOV, SVIRIDOV, NIKOLAEV-STROUMSKY, KETCHAKHMAZDE, ARVO PÄRT, OLA GJEILO, KJARTAN SVEINSSON, TERJE RYPDAL, and the monks of CHEVETOGNE ABBEY in Belgium.

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PGM 1176 'ELECTRON TRAVELER 3 : mar. 23-30

What would you do if someone gave you a magical electronic instrument, one that could create any sound you could imagine? You might play it like a conventional acoustic instrument with a distinctive tone; or you might invent entirely new kinds of music, free from the physical limitations of breath, bow, vibrating strings, resonant tubes, stretched skins and skilled fingers...that defined traditional music for centuries.

Something like this actually happened to musicians beginning early in the 20th century. Along with recording technology, electronic music started a revolution we still haven't heard the end of a century later — a world of hundreds of new electronic genres, from so called IDM or Intelligent Dance Music, to an almost endless array of contemplative electronic sounds for solitary experience and "deep listening."

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, we focus on electronic music for virtual travel, on a program called ELECTRON TRAVELER 3.

Music is by PALANCAR, STELLARDRONE, ALIO DIE, CONNECT.OHM, CHRONOTOPE PROJECT, ISHQ, and BOB HOLROYD.

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PGM 1175 'THE ENCHANTED HARP' : march 16-23

It's fitting that we celebrate St. Patrick's Day in March, when we can either be enduring the final insults of winter, or enjoying the gentle rains, green leaves and pink blossoms of spring. Whatever the weather, Celtic music can rise to the occasion. Of all the world's folk musics, the Celtic tradition is one of the most extensive in range and varied in emotional expression. From heroic marches to joyous dances, from melancholy dirges to heart-rending ballads — Celtic music reflects the panorama of human feeling.

The Celtic revival of the 1980s and 90s brought new attention to the genre, and motivated native Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Breton musicians to new heights, while many other nationalities of Celtic descent were inspired to extend the boundaries of the genre, leading to a kind of golden era for Celtic music. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another excursion in the Celtic soundscape, on a program called THE ENCHANTED HARP.

Music is by AINE MINOGUE, ADRIAN VON ZIEGLER, JEFF JOHNSON & BRIAN DUNNING, WILLIAM COULTER & MARY McLAUGHLIN, DAVY SPILLANE, SKYEDANCE, AOIFE NI FHEARAIGH, TRINE OPSAHL, SARAH COPUS, and MÉAV,

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PGM 1007R 'TIME LAPSE' : march 9-16

The perception of time is as elusive as a subatomic particle. As soon as you concentrate on it, it changes.

Something similar happens in the contemporary music genre called Minimalism. Invented in the 1960s by composers looking for an escape from the bitter dissonances and static textures of academic Serialism, artists like LA MONTE YOUNG, TERRY RILEY, STEVE REICH, PHILIP GLASS and JOHN ADAMS created a new approach to composition that changes our sense of time.

Simplicity, silence, repetition, slowly changing phrases, continuous drones, modal tunings and hypnotic patterns created flowing textures and a meditative quality that's influenced Classical and Electronic, Rap and Rock. And the foundations of Minimalism were absorbed by BRIAN ENO in the 1970s and applied to the new language of electronics to create Ambient music.

Today the characteristics of minimalism are so embedded in contemporary music that we hardly notice them. And since the turn of the century, there's been a move to "humanize" the strict forms of Minimalism by adding back the melodic and harmonic sensitivity of Classical music.

No one has had more success at this than Italian composer and pianist LUDOVICO EINAUDI. As I said about him in 2008: "Like fine Italian food, fashion and design, Einaudi's music has a humanized opulence and sensual appeal. The elements are simple and often repetitive, but the effect is subtle, contemplative, satisfying, even profound."

On this transmission of Hearts of Space...the timeless sound of humanized Minimalism, on a program called TIME LAPSE.

Music is by LUDOVICO EINAUDI, JIM FOX, HAROLD BUDD, JERI-MAE G. ASTOLFI, and BRUNO SANFILIPPO.

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PGM 1174 'GALACTIC TRAVELER 2' : mar. 2-9

In the beginning...was the void.  Endless, empty, dark, silent.

Then — depending on your preference to believe — either God created the heavens and all within it, OR....there was a very Big Bang, which began the evolution of everything we now call The Universe.

Some time later...electronic and ambient musicians were moved to create sonic images of our still boundless, but no longer empty cosmos, with what we like to call spacemusic. It's a vehicle for virtual travel to the stars and beyond — at least until SpaceX can take your body there.

On this transmission of Hearts of Space, another cosmic-electronic journey, on a program called GALACTIC TRAVELER 2.

Music is by ASCENDENT, NUMINA, CARBON BASED LIFEFORMS, JONN SERRIE, JOHN LYELL, JUTA TAKAHASHI, and IAN BODDY & ERIK WØLLO. 

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