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the hammersmith - canticum aeternam

from music for pcs: komplete samples - an eternal album by dave stafford

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about

canticum aeternam


track: 25

instrument used: the hammersmith (grand piano)
(sonicouture)

recorded: 20150426

duration: 12:55

type: ambient piano



for my first recording with the hammersmith, I chose something very, very simple - a very simple sound, using one microphone, and I got a tone so lovely, so quiet and peaceful, that I just started doing an improv that revolved around a minor, f major and occasionally, g major - and very, very occasionally, e minor or even a major...

I sat at the keyboard, playing variations of this emerging piece, until quite late, not realising until later that I had actually made 22 takes ! a large batch of solo piano recordings to sort through.

I initially had planned to do what I always do - pick the best ones, and publish them, one by one. then - maybe look at some of the slightly less good ones, and see if a little editing could bring them up to the level of quality I want...

but as I sat listening, and sorting through them, it became very difficult indeed to go down that familiar path - because there were a LOT of good takes, at least seven, really, ten, probably, 12 or more. so what to do?

I did something completely different then, from what I would "normally do" - I still "picked" the best takes, and those were, takes 1, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, and 21, out of the 22 candidates (and there are still quite a few that might still make viable takes or at least, out takes) - I took those seven best tracks, and I simply ran them all together into a medley, regardless of how they started or ended - which means, that you will actually hear seven "endings" within the piece, but it will carry on unperturbed - and some of those endings are quite obvious, where I hit a single low "a" note in the lowest register on the keyboard, and then let it sustain with the use of the sustain pedal (which works extraordinarily well on the hammersmith, I might add!).

Some of those single note endings, reverberated for as long as 27 seconds - and then, the next take would start up - so, you have to be prepared for these odd, large spaces, where a single note is fading and fading and fading and then suddenly, another part of the song begins, carrying on the tradition, of the everlasting song - the canticum aeternam.

Once you get used to the fact that the song has "endings" in the middle of it, and instead of it ending, you realise, that it will continue, and continue, for nearly 13 lovely minutes - then, it all starts to make sense. and then when the real ending arrives - it's quite a surprise, to not have the piano start back up again... :-)

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credits

from music for pcs: komplete samples - an eternal album, released March 17, 2014
dave stafford: komplete - kontakt - soniccouture - the hammersmith (grand piano)

I used the absolutely simplest most basic set up possible, just an "INIT" setting with a single microphone - and the sound of this piano - is just so immaculate, I hate to say it, but now that I have "the hammersmith" I am just not sure how often I will be using my...other digital pianos.

have a look at either the native instruments or the sonicouture web site, at the hammersmith and what it can do - I can't wait to go a bit deeper with this monster, and pull out some of the incredible things it can do...but for just a super basic tone - it sounds great - I love it!

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dave stafford Stirling, UK

ambient loop guitarist dave stafford performed on stage with robert fripp and the orchestra of crafty guitarists in early 2009, and again with robert fripp and the symphony of crafty guitarists in 2015, and has worked with ambient music and looping for over twenty years. stafford has a rich back catalogue of ambient and loop music, +rock, prog or acoustic crafty guitar music: www.pureambient.com ... more

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