Transformed wind chimes: Nature-Symphony 57

Nature-Symphony 57 (Awaiting, awaiting… — "Watchman, what of the night?") — As the layers of this work came together I got the impression of one of those sleepless nights when one is awaiting some important outcome or event, and torments oneself by allowing one's mind to run riot with a succession of, to put it genteelly, not very helpful 'what if' scenarios relating to that. All largely pointless of course, because things are simply as they are, and whatever will happen will simply happen, regardless of what anyone believes or wants to happen.

So, the way to experience this work most enjoyably and constructively is the fun way. That is, to amusedly observe its whole mass of often rather eerie-sounding dramas and probably storms in teacups, and enjoy this whole Mother-Nature generated matrix of imaginary 'what-ifs' playing out their imaginary performances and all imagining they're in deadly earnest! In any case there are piles of exquisitely exotic harmonic transitions and unlikely juxtapositions of sonorities to enjoy on their own terms…

This work uses only one recording, of three metal chimes. A beautiful variety and complexity of sound is created through sensitive deployment of that recording in four layers.

Chimes used (same for all four layers):

1. Music of the Spheres Gypsy Chimes, Soprano (Eastern European Gypsy scale, higher)

2. Music of the Spheres Gypsy Chimes, Mezzo (Ditto, lower)

3. Woodstock Chimes of Mars (very high-pitched, and quite penetrating for such a small chime, tuned to a scale I haven't identified)

I made the original recording (which isn't online) on 10 December 2013, on steep rough ground just below Hunting Gate, highest point of the Hunter's Path, high up on north side of the Teign Gorge, Drewsteignton, Devon, UK.

Advisory
To get the best out of this, with its mass of detail, listen with high-grade headphones.

An earlier recording (the second one) taking place in the same session. The recorder (light grey furry windshield, left) is perched on a small branch rather than on a tripod. We're looking down a quite steep slope from just by Hunting Gate.

Zoomed-in view from same position. The chimes with black tubes are the Gypsy ones — the Mezzo being the largest and loudest and so placed furthest from the recorder; the Woodstock chimes are Polaris (left) and Mars (centre). This recording contains only the Mars chime in addition to the two Gypsy chimes.

Techie stuff:

Recorder for the chime was a Sony PCM-M10, with Røde DeadKitten furry windshield, and it was placed on on a tree branch by means of a GorillaPod.

Post-recording processing was to apply EQ in Audacity to correct for the muffling effect of the windshield, and more recent processing with A1 Stereo Control to greatly improve the atrocious stereo imaging of the PCM-M10.

Layer 1: Half-speed, giving pitch reduction of an octave below original. Acoustic: back-of-cathedral

Layer 2: Half-speed, with further pitch reduction to an octave plus a tritone below original. Acoustic: moderate back-of-cathedral

Layer 3: Speed to give pitch reduction of an octave plus a tritone, and further pitch-reduced to give total of two octaves below original. Acoustic: middling foreground in cathedral

Layer 4: Speed to give pitch reduction of an octave plus a tritone, and further pitch-reduced to give total of three octaves below original. Acoustic: ditto.

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