KAIROS/KRONOS
CROSSROADS OF SYNCHRONICITY
"As I have moved through this life, total changes in my direction have been inspired by meetings with particular people and places. Stunning and sometimes shocking experiences formed intersections between this reality and others, yielding new thresholds of awareness and a deeper level of meaning to my existence. This collection of music is my artistic translation of that which has come forth from those synchronous meetings of kairos, cyclic time, and kronos, mundane or linear time." Ludi Hinrichs 2007
Ludi Hinrichs bio 6/1/07
Invention, and an "out of the box" approach to life have been the norm for Ludi Hinrichs since childhood. "We had twenty one cats, my dad drove nothing but antique vehicles and would frequently pump out Beethoven and Bach at high decibel levels from our house to the Italians (and my great aunt) across the street from our narrow three story brick house in South St. Louis. Well, they didn't seem to mind- at least I didn't hear any return volleys of Verdi or Puccini."
Before conservatory training and university studies, the sounds and energy of jazz took root, especially the inventions of Monk and Miles, then later on the intriguing sounds of Harry Partch , Terry Riley,Stockhausen and other music- benders." My musical approach has always been to take in as many views of the landscape as possible and then to blend and contribute as needed". A full musical life of performing teaching and writing is complimented by time with his family here in Nevada County, and at home on the San Juan Ridge. Hinrichs has just released a fourth CD, KAIROS /KRONOS - featuring live performances of his works on piano, didjeridu,large gong, trombone, tablas, and voice.
note: all compositions were performed and recorded live in concert with the exception of track 10 which was a studio project.
1. KAHTUUM - solo voice
Corporeal music, literally "of the body". Many cultures on this planet know that all music originates with the voice. An introduction to the resonance you"ll hear on this album.
2. SOLAR TRAVELLER - stringy bark eucalyptus didjeridu/voice
When Steve van Ronk visited us in 1991 he introduced me to the playing of the "didj" and related some of the stories of the Pintupi people's culture from Australia. This instrument has a very clear voice, and seems like a very distant ancestor of the trombone which was my first choice of expression way back in 1962.
3. TWELVE TONE POEM - nine-foot Grotrian concert grand piano
Part II of the Kairos and Kronos suite performed for the Sound and Vision Festival, March of 2007, at Don Besemer's finely-tuned concert hall here in Nevada City. This piece was enhanced by the deep silvery tones of the Grotrian and a truly appreciative audience.
4. ISLE OF IONA - thirty-six inch diameter earth/sun Paiste gong
This selection is evocative of Iona: the isolated, energetic, small island in the Hebrides, off the western Scottish coast and was inspired by the sounds of the hollow rocks, waves, and utter stillness which attracted the Irish mystic, St. Columba, to this area in the ninth century.
5. THE BALI AGA - Balinese bamboo grangtang - similar to a western xylophone
This sweet-toned instrument comes from a family of weavers and craftsmen living in the village of Tengenan, of the Bali Aga people: the old Balinese animistic culture, predating Hindu influence.
6. TANAH LOT - nine-foot Grotrian concert grand piano/voice
This piece, also from The Sound and Vision Festival, derives its name from the ocean-side temple in Bali where my wife and I first experienced a Gamelan orchestra. Imagine a clear day, bright yellow banners, hundreds of beautifully-attired villagers carrying offerings of fruit and flowers, sweet pungent incense and the shimmering exhilarating, intricate sounds of gongs, drums and metalophones. It brought us to tears!
7. KRONOS - earth/sun gong
This gong is so incredibly rich in sounds, from cymbal-like tings and pings, through bowed wailings almost electronic in feel, medium-pitched bells, on down to the lowest resonance, the second "B" note from the bottom of a piano. Here it is, the sound representing Kronos: mundane, linear time; but you can never really convince a gong to lose its timeless, entrancing quality!
8. DIDJERIBONE - trombone/voice
Trombone playing the sounds of its very distant grandfather, the didjeridu; with some blues in there too. The blues scale is an universal phenomena, occurring in many world musics.
9. KISS THE EARTH - six-foot Steinway grand piano
This is the first movement of a larger suite, Piece of Peace which was written and performed for the Wet Ink concert, presented by the Nevada County Composer's Cooperative in June, 2001, in Grass Valley, California.
10. SUMI CEDAR SPIRIT - cedar didjeridu and tablas
This 'didj' is made from a log from the forest where we live in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. It has a hearty, gruff sound, strong and capable like a stout woodsman.
11. KAIROS - earth/sun gong
Kairos, or cyclic time, is perfectly represented by the sounds of a gong of this size. The "smaller" sounds flow out between the profound low bass notes marking the return to the beginning of the cycle
12. THE WARPED BLUEPRINT: GENETIC MANIPULATION - seven-foot Estonia
grand piano/voice
This is a story/song of the the crazy plunge some elements of our society have taken in recent years with drastic consequences for those who invest in such a strategy.Nature sings through all of it, watching and holding her structure. A story of steadfast vision, unhampered by temporary delusions.
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