Bernhard Günter - Univers Temporel Espoir (Trente Oiseaux, 1999)

1 Un Lieu Pareil À Point Effacé, 1ere Partie 15:00
2 Un Lieu Pareil À Point Effacé, 2eme Partie 15:17
3 The Ant Moves / The Black And Yellow Carcass / A Little Closer 28:14
4 Vertige Hasard 12:01

by request

This album collects two pieces which had previously appeared on anthologies, as well as two new pieces. "Lieu Pareil, Pt. 1" was originally published on a CD distributed with the magazine Halana, and "The Ant Moves..." was released in an earlier version on the Ash International anthology. The last piece is the newest, and is one of Günter's few pieces with anything recognizable as a beat, although at the intended low volume the sound is more like a heartbeat than anything one might hear in a dance hall. There are in fact several layers of beats at different speeds, superimposed, fading in and out at different times. With a sudden loud woodblock event signaling the last section of the piece, the sounds alternate between the woodblocks and quiet static, reminiscent of the Japanese temple blocks in Stockhausen's "Telemusik." The other pieces deal with more naturalistic sounds -- wind, water, and thunder. One of the fascinations in Günter's music is his ability to recall natural phenomena without necessarily using natural sounds (although almost every sound he uses is sampled). "Lieu Pareil 2" and "The Ant Moves..." both share sectional division sounds with the last piece, but the overall sound world is quiet, non-developmental, persistent and rewarding for listeners who clear their mind and focus on the small sounds that Günter exposes.
All Music Guide

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Bernhard Günter - Slow Gestures / Cérémonie Désir (For Heike) (Trente Oiseaux, 1999)

1 Untitled (23:15)

It is very difficult for me to speak of this work, since it is getting very close to my goal of creating a kind of language free space. I thus prefer to let it go without further comment other than that I dedicate it to my companion Heike - each gesture is both speaking of her, and speaking to her, without words.
Bernhard Günter

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Bernhard Günter - Un Peu de Neige Salie (Trente Oiseaux, 1993 (2003 remastered reissue))

1 Untitled I/92 (8:59)
2 Whiteout (27:00)
3 Untitled IV/92 (16:00)
4 Untitled I/93 (20:12)

...Un peu de neige salie est à cet égard absolument remarquable. Véritable haïku sonore, ce grand disque est d’abord une profonde respiration. Pas une respiration comme les miment les mauvais disques « new age ». Mais de ces respirations que seules les maisons, en hiver, savent imposer à leurs habitants. Une respiration comme un chat qui rode, un chat qui se ferait les griffes sur une moquette usagée, un chat qui guette, affolé par des sons inaudibles à son maître. Une respiration qui se prolonge infiniment dans le silence suspendu. Un peu de neige salie est l’héritage d’un homme qui a renoncé à l’histoire, et plus encore, au temps qui passe. Mais pas seulement. Cette musique est le don d’un homme qui a renoncé à tout. L’auteur lui-même a longtemps expliqué que sa musique se définissait par tout ce qu’il en avait exclu. Réductionniste dirent même certains critiques tellement contents de trouver un nouveau mot en « isme ». Mais ce qui importe c’est que ce faisant Bernard Günter élevait son art au besoin de transcendance qui était le nôtre. Les grands vides peints sous nos yeux étaient tout ce qui nous avait manqué jusqu’alors. Les plus blasés (Dieu qu’il y en a !) y verraient quelque chose de proche, dans la forme, des tapisseries sonores d’Eno et de sa musique discrète. Mais la posture n’est pas la même. Moins conceptuelle, plus poétique, Un peu de neige salie ne vise pas à superposer une nouvelle strate sonore sur l’océan de sons qu’est devenu le monde. Elle est tout autre chose. Elle est une invitation. Une promesse (elle aussi convaincante) d’un accord possible entre soi et le bruit du monde.
laptitemaison

This release is a special re-edition of my first CD on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of it's first release in 1983. It is not identical to the original version of Un Peu de Neige Salie, but entirely re-mastered using newly acquired digital tools, resulting in more clarity, a better spatial image, and elimination of background and quantizing noises i had no means to get rid of before. The new mastering sheds a quite different on these works i still consider valid artistic statement after ten years have passed. The tracks Untitled II/92 and Untitled III/92 have been replaced by a soundtrack i created for the video project Whiteout of Tokyo based artist Takahiro Tanaka that combines the two original tracks into one larger work, reinforcing the unity of Un Peu de Neige as a whole. I have kept Takahiro's title Whiteout and dedicated the piece to him. The re-edition is completed by extensive liner notes and a collection of photos that i find to somehow relate to Un Peu de Neige Salie (though maybe more by their 'feel' than by their content).
Trente Oiseaux

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