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Siebenschlaf

Seven Sleepers --1. based on the legend of seven brothers in Ephesos that after having fled into a cave during the persecutions of Christians under Decius (251 AD) were sealed in, but awoke in 446 as witnesses to the resurrection of the dead; 2) German for 'dormouse', the largest indigeneous hibernating mouse, hibernates in tree holes and in nests on the ground for up to seven months at a time, light sensitive, emits cries, whistles and squeaks.

The piece combines electronically processed saxophones sounds, which are based on seven multiphonics, with different types of noise: noise as by-product of producing a tone on the instrument (this is an important component with some multiphonics); coloured noise through different fingerings; noise produced through high microphone recording levels; artificial noise (radio and noise generator). The muted lullaby-like sound quality of noise is combined with extremely low tones and sounds.
What interested me above all was a physical, concrete listening experience. Low bass sounds can feel agreeable to the listener, but they can also have menacing associations. What normally is not desirable -- noise, bass sounds that are ''too low'', an audible vibration of speaker cones, extraneous noise from producing sound on a wind instrument -- is incorporated. In a live performance the amplification of the saxophone with several microphones situates the listener even closer to the physical source of the sound.


> listen to Siebenschlaf (extract) 2:31