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thomas de hartmann - the music of gurdjieff / de hartmann - light in the attic - vinyl

New Copy

Genre: Classical

1. Holy Affirming, Holy Denying, Holy Reconciling
2. The Resurrection of Christ
3. Prayer and Despair
4. Sayyid Chant and Dance, No. 10
5. Hymn (January 2, 1927)
6. Reading from a Sacred Book
7. Sayyid Chant, No. 15
8. Hymn for Easter Thursday
9. Hymn to Our Endless Creator

The music of Gurdjieff / de Hartmann is the result of an extraordinary collaboration between the Greek-Armenian spiritual teacher, G. I. Gurdjieff and Russian composer, Thomas de Hartmann. Gurdjieff traveled for twenty years in the Middle East and Central Asia to discover and develop the teaching which now bears his name. Meditative and mindful, Gurdjieff�s music stems from Eastern melodies and music he heard in remote monasteries.

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From 1923 to 1929, Thomas de Hartmann worked closely with Gurdjieff at his Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man outside Paris, translating into European notation the music Gurdjieff composed from his travels. The original tapes containing these tracks were recorded in the 1950s under informal circumstances with rudimentary equipment, never intended to be heard by the public. As for the instrumentation, the performance is stripped down to nothing more than a single piano (played by de Hartmann) but lacks absolutely nothing; rather de Hartmann uses the negative space between notes to revel in resonance, in turn capturing remarkable depth and meaning.

Following the appearance of a track on LITA�s I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age In America 1950-1990, this material, out of print on vinyl for over three decades, could be considered the seeds that would eventually grow to become the roots of what we now think of as new age music. Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, who recorded the album G. I. Gurdjieff: Sacred Hymns for the ECM label in 1980, is among the artists to interpret this music since, but the tracks presented in this five LP box-set are the only recordings available of de Hartmann himself playing the music he and Gurdjieff composed. Also included are seven additional recordings, never before available on vinyl, including a talk by de Hartmann about Gurdjieff�s view of the music.

full tracklist:
1. Holy Affirming, Holy Denying, Holy Reconciling
2. The Resurrection of Christ
3. Prayer and Despair
4. Sayyid Chant and Dance, No. 10
5. Hymn (January 2, 1927)
6. Reading from a Sacred Book
7. Sayyid Chant, No. 15
8. Hymn for Easter Thursday
9. Hymn to Our Endless Creator
10. Prayer, No. 2
11. Hymn from a Great Temple, No. 10 Essene Hymn
12. Hymn from a Great Temple, No. 1
13. �Rejoice, Beelzebub!�
14. Bayaty
15. Kurd Melody from Isfahan
16. Meditation
17. �The Struggle of the Magicians� (Fragment No. 4)
18. Chant form a Holy Book
19. �The Struggle of the Magicians� (Fragment No. 5)
20. Katzapsky Song
21. Kurd Melody
22. �The Struggle of the Magicians� (Fragment No. 3)
23. The Bokharian Dervish, Hadji�Asvatz �Troov
24. Kurd Shepherd�s Dance
25. Sayyid Chant and Dance, No. 42
26. Kurd Shepherd Melody
27. Caucasian Dance
28. Sayyid Chant and Dance, No. 1
29. Persian Song
30. Hymn for Christmas Day, No. 2
31. Sayyid Chant and Dance, No. 23
32. Sayyid Chant and Dance, No. 9
33. Song of the Fisherwomen
34. Hindu Melody
35. Sayyid Chant and Dance, No. 29
36. Hymn (February 14, 1926)
37. Hymn for Christmas Day, No. 1
38. Vespers Hymn
39. Sayyid Chant and Dance, No. 30
40. Sayyid Dance, No. 22 For Mr. Gurdjieff�s Wife
41. Kurd Melody for Two Flutes
42. Assyrian Women Mourners
43. Easter Hymn and Procession in the Holy Night
44. Hymn for Easter Wednesday
45. Prayer and Procession
46. Song of the A�sors
47. Song of the Molokans
48. Night Procession
49. Remarks by Thomas de Hartmann
50. Holy Affirming, Holy Denying, Holy Reconciling
51. Orthodox Hymn for a Midnight Service
52. Tibi Cantamus, No. 2
53. Alleluia
54. Laudamus�
55. Easter Hymn
56. Remembrance