Roger Winfield - Windsongs: The Sound of Aeolian Harps
* originally posted on October 21, 2006
From the liner notes:
"Windsongs" is a unique album.
Using an orchestra of eight Aeolian Harps - instruments played entirely
by the wind - Roger Winfield has captured the essence of the Four Winds.
Some years ago Roger became
interested in the possibilities offered by the wind in activating
musical strings and creating its own 'music of nature.' This was while
he was living in a wild spot on the magical Preselli Hills of West
Wales. The initial fascination was sparked off by hearing the breezes
playing across a guitar that had been accidentally left outside.This led
to the creation of several weird and wonderful contraptions that made
potentially unique musical sounds yet lacked satisfactory volume. These
subtle sounds may have been sufficiently loud for the ears of the
ancients, but in our modern noise-laden times this music of the air
could be easily drowned out by the intrusive sounds of man. He decided
to overcome this problem by experimenting with microphones and pick-ups
and eventually settled for the latter. Magnetic pick-ups are used to
amplify acoustic guitars and are small electronic gadgets fixed to the
body of the guitar close to the strings.
Several years later the idea of an
Aeolian Harp orchestra began to develop and with the aid of experienced
instrument makers Roger created the sculptural ensemble that are
featured on this album.
Made from wood, perspex, fiberglass
and metal, the instruments were designed to be aesthetically pleasing
as well as technically functional. Each instrument was designed to take a
particular gauge of metal string; the largest instruments strung with
bass strings, the smallest with thinner strings so creating a soprano
effect. These were then fitted with the magnetic pick-ups to make them
audible.
Tracklisting:
1. North Wind {9:01}
2. South Wind {9:06}
3. East Wind {8:13}
4. West Wind {8:21}
5. Windsong 1 {5:13}
6. Windsong 2 {7:02}
7. Windsong 3 {3:41}
8. Windsong 4 {6:58}