BERTOIA, HARRY - Clear Sounds / Perfetta (Sealed) (CD)

After nearly 40 years of silence, Harry Bertoia's Sonambient label has been resurrected in order to release the best of Bertoia's unheard recordings from his recently preserved archive of 1/4" tapes. Both Clear Sounds and Perfetta were cut straight from the original reels making this a true analog pressing (AAA). Showing another approach to performance, these two pieces were selected for their minimal, meditative and lush harmonic qualities; less dynamic and with fewer contrasts than previous Bertoia releases. Slow washes of shimmering metallic sculpture rustle thickly like tall grass in the summer sun while gorgeous harmonics hover overhead, making audible measurements of the length and purity of Bertoia's metal rod sculptures while long gongs decay in the distance. Bertoia was a careful editor of his own work and only chosen recordings remained, each with a date and observations written on a note included with each tape. Through these pieces of paper a greater logic can be uncovered, a careful approach to composition, ideas, feelings and forms. The story of the Sonambient barn collection will slowly be told through the release of recordings from the archive as well as installations, lectures, a book and performances built from Bertoia's own recordings.