John Luther Adams – The Wind In High Places

The Wind in High Places: "I’ve long been enamored with the ethereal tones of Aeolian harps—instruments that draw their music directly from the wind. The Wind in High Places treats the string quartet as a large, sixteen-stringed harp. All the sounds in the piece are produced as natural harmonics or on open strings. Over the course of almost twenty minutes, the fingers of the musicians never touch the fingerboards of the instruments. If I could’ve found a way to make this music without them touching the instruments at all, I would have." (John Luther Adams)

Four Canticles of the Sky: "In the Arctic sky, the low angle of the sun and heavy ice crystals in the air often produce vivid halos, arcs, and sundogs. Sometimes these phenomena create the illusion of multiple suns. 'Sky with Four Suns' is a musical evocation of such an apparition, from sunrise to sunset. Similar visions also occur at night, which is the image behind 'Sky with Four Moons.' 'Sky with Nameless Colors' and 'Sky with Endless Stars' were inspired by the skies of the Sonoran Desert." (John Luther Adams)

Dream of the Canyon Wren: "For forty years the song of the hermit thrush has been for me the quintessential voice of my home in the boreal forest of Alaska. In recent years I’ve found a new home in the desert, where the song of the canyon wren evokes for me similar feelings of deep tranquility and longing." (John Luther Adams)

Recorded:
[1 to 3], [8]: 29 July 2014, at Oktaven Studio, NY.
[4 to 7]: May 2013, Evanston, IL.
Edited & Mixed: August 2014, at Architecture, Los Angeles

Presented in a six-panel digifile including texts in English by JLA.