Schadowrider Records
Schadowrider Records was established to facilitate the creation of a diverse range of unique, quality music. In our effort to bring to you a selection of the music we are helping to produce, the Schadowrider Records page will be continuously updated with a selection of new and upcoming releases. Schadowrider Records first two releases are by the Ensemble Resonance, featuring the music of G. I. Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann.
Please feel free to browse through our selections below, and visit our Artists & Releases page for a full listing of all our offerings. Enjoy!
New Releases from Schadowrider Records
- Artist:
Ensemble Resonance
- Album:
II (Sessions 2003-2004)
- CD: $19.99. The internationally renowned Ensemble Resonance is continuing their exploration and arrangement of the music of Gurdjieff/de Hartmann for instruments, through the production and release of their 2nd CD, "II (Sessions 2003-2004)."
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The internationally renowned Ensemble Resonance is continuing their exploration and arrangement of the music of Gurdjieff/de Hartmann for instruments, with concerts in the US, Canada and France, and through the production and release of their 2nd CD, "Ensemble Resonance II (Sessions 2003-2004)." Schadowrider Records released the Ensemble's first CD, "Resonance", in 2002.
The material for the CD was recorded during work sessions and concerts at the Rochester Folk Art Guild during the summer of 2003 and spring of 2004. The CD is available on line here at the Schadowrider website.
From the liner notes:
We offer this, our second recording, in response to the encouragement received from those who were touched by our earlier recording and concerts.
These compositions are a unique collaboration between George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, a teacher who devoted his life to the possibility of an inner evolution for humankind, and the renowned Russian composer, Thomas de Hartmann.
The question raised at the very beginning of our work together still persists: "Why play this music, originally written for piano, on other instruments?" As we probed more deeply, guidance emerged. We experienced the genuine value of playing more simply, as well as a quality of listening that could take us beyond the allure of diverse instrumental colors. Mysteriously a movement began, from "six musicians playing more or less well together," towards "being an ensemble."
There is excitement in discovering pieces that are helped by the innate character of our different instruments, yet, at the same time, we find that it is actually ourselves who are being helped. Increasingly, there are moments when a new vibration is heard and felt, and something of the inner truth encoded in this music is revealed.
We dedicate this recording to the memory of Madame Pauline de Dampierre, and to the members of the Rochester Folk Art Guild and the Gurdjieff Foundation of Paris, who have given their support in so many ways.
- Ensemble Resonance
As with the Ensemble's first CD release, "Resonance", the pieces selected for inclusion on this CD were based on a search for quality of attention. They were recorded during work sessions and concerts at the Rochester Folk Art Guild during Summer 2003 and Spring 2004.
- Schadowrider Records
(From the CD liner notes)
Until recently, the music of Mr. Gurdjieff has been heard mostly on the piano, and under certain definite conditions we have sensed its power of transformation.
Today in Gurdjieff groups around the world, we see more and more the value and the need of working together. The question then arises: can working on and listening to this music in various instrumental settings help us open to another influence?
The music offered here is a collaboration of six musicians from two long established Gurdjieff groups: the Rochester Folk Art Guild of Middlesex, NY, and the Gurdjieff Foundation of Paris, France. Having independently explored the same repertoire for many years, they met at the International Music Conference in San Francisco during the summer of 2000. From this exchange the project of making a recording emerged, with preparation in both Paris and Middlesex.
Since it was felt that the living atmosphere of a concert (including improvisations by birds!) would encourage a deeper listening, these pieces are drawn from two concerts given at the Rochester Folk Art Guild in July 2001. Their selection emphasizes a search for quality of attention rather than technical perfection. Many different instrumental combinations, balances, and tempos await exploration.
This recording is dedicated to Mrs. Louise March (1900 - 1987), inspired listener, guide, and teacher, and to the members of the Rochester Folk Art Guild and the Gurdjieff Foundation of Paris, who gave their support in so many ways.
Upcoming Releases from Schadowrider Records
From the liner notes:
* * * * * * *
Where can listening lead us when we are free of the written page?
What quality of listening is needed to improvise freely with others?
What do we need to keep and what do we need to let go as we abandon ourselves to the unknown?
Our project began with a wish to find ways to practice more sensitive listening and explore the essentials of music-making: tone, pitch, rhythm, tempo, etc. in our ensemble. A grant from the New York State Music Fund
made possible a concert series, which we called “Legacies,” plus several recording sessions. In the pieces that emerged, little or nothing was decided ahead—at most a pitch center, mode, or combination of instruments.
There is not a single phrase here that we previously played, nor one which we subsequently repeated. In a way, it was like meeting each other for a conversation, with no pre-decided topic, and talking and listening at
the same time. We found that in many cases it took awhile for the improvisation to unfold, but more often than not, some small miracle would appear and surprise us all.
Listen carefully!
—Matthew, Michael & Paul
