mario bertoncini: arpe eolie

Arpe Eolie is the first ever vinyl release of the works by Italian maestro Mario Bertoncini, relentless experimental composer, philosopher, artist and builder of sounds. The LP presents a selection of his compositions for Aeolian constructions: in the early '70s he started to produce sound aggregates, true "sound sculptures" based on the Aeolian sound principle. Amongst his more spectacular installations were "Vele", a massive Aeolian harp (more than seven meters high); "Venti" (winds), for 20 Aeolian sound generators and 40 performers; and "Chanson Pour Instrument À Vent", an assemblage for Aeolian harps, Aeolian gongs, and one performer. By their very nature these sound objects ("sound sculptures" that liberate the concept of sound form from time development) convey a sense of natural sounds beyond the grasp of composition and musician. Bertoncini's self-built harps and gongs are excited by blows of compressed air, or by the composer's own breath, resulting in a musical blueprint that takes minimalist drone to a massive scale: the music unleashes itself. There's no sense of a composer's hand present. If at superficial levels they may sound like electronic music (long drones and swooshes of otherworldly sounds), at a close listening they reveal the intensity of a pure sound of air, far removed from both any artificial or measurable principle as well as from any casual or chance method of composition. Deluxe silver cover with silver foil design. Custom inner sleeve and four-page booklet in English and Italian. Edition of 400.