Transformed wind chimes: Nature-Symphony 12

Nature-Symphony 12 (Around the rim of the quivering volcano) — This is a really tough, challenging work — still more intense than Nature-Symphony 11 —, which would be riveting for those who are able to open to it, but undoubtedly repellent to the vast majority, who lack the requisite awareness and mental flexibility to cope with its ever-shifting harmonic clusters, obsessive tones and almost squealing wailing figures for much of the time in Layer 1.

The original field recording for the top layer isn't online to listen to (it was too hectic in a strong wind), but the bottom layer is a transformation of the later part of (https://freesound.org/people/Philip_Goddard/sounds/699999/ ).

Chimes used:

Layer 1
1. Music of the Spheres Gypsy Chimes, Soprano only (tuned to an Eastern European Gypsy scale)

2. Woodstock Chimes of Olympos (tuned to a melancholy-sounding Ancient Greek scale)

Layer 2
1. Music of the Spheres Gypsy Chimes, Mezzo and Soprano (both tuned to different modes on an Eastern European Gypsy scale)

2. Bamboo chimes, large and small set (rather indeterminate tuning, with a touch of whole-tone scale — bought cheaply at local store)

I made the original field recording for the top layer on 15 April 2013, slightly downhill from the Hunter's Path high above Fingle Bridge, and for the bottom layer on 5 March 2013 beside the the Hunter's Path, high up on north side of the Teign Gorge, Drewsteignton, Devon, UK. The Geotag is for the top-layer recording.

Advisory

This work is meant to sound not very close-up, and fades in only gradually from total silence, so I strongly recommend NOT turning the volume control higher than a sensible normal listening level, even at the beginning. The very nature of the top layer sound can be wearying and indeed somewhat harmful if you listen to this (especially repeatedly) at more than the intended level.

Another recording taking place in same session and at same spot as the original one for top layer of this work

Techie stuff:

The recorder for both original recordings was Sony PCM-M10, with Røde DeadKitten furry windshield (original, more effective version). It was set up on a Velbon Mini tripod. Although I subsequently fairly quickly learned to avoid having recorders so close to the ground (distorts the frequency spectrum and tends to overemphasize lower parts of the frequency range), actually in this situation it was necessary to have the recorder really low down, where the wind was much lighter.

Post-recording processing was to apply EQ in Audacity to correct for the muffling effect of the windshield — and then more recently stereo widening / sharpening-up using the VST plugin A1 Stereo Control (160% widening).

To create this Nature-Symphony from them, I took the c. 45' unused remainder of layer 2 from Nature-Symphony 11, and used it 'as is' as layer 2 here; it determined the length of the piece, and indeed its final very few minutes serve as a very effective uneasy epilogue. For the top layer I used part of the aforementioned 15 April 2013 recording, and used the 'change speed and pitch' effect in Audacity to halve its speed (so, an octave pitch reduction). Then I used the OrilRiver VST plugin to apply a moderately back-of-cathedral acoustic. I allowed both layers to start at the same time. However, because Layer 2 starts much more quietly than Layer 1, I applied to the latter a long (over 4') fade-in. This then allowed some very quiet utterances from Layer 2 to be heard during that time, increasing the uneasy feeling of the proceedings.

I emphasize again, that I did not set out to achieve any specific sound, but simply put together elements that I considered would sound 'interesting' in ways that would be meaningful to me. It continues to amaze me how such an apparently ad-hoc seemingly simple-minded approach so readily and simply gives such effective results.

Please remember to give this recording a rating — Thank you!