Using an imaginative set of piano preparations, Auckland, New Zealand pianist Hermione Johnson draws unusual timbral and tonal qualities from the prepared piano, deftly improvising with dexterous technical skills to create unusual rhythmic and timbral environments, each a marvelous, miniature universe of unexpected voicings, evoking gongs, guitars, kotos, &c.
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2020 Country: USA Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold Tracks 1-5 recorded at the Auckland Unitarian Church, in Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand, on June 10th, 2019.
Track 6 recorded at the Audio Foundation, Auckland Central, New Zealand, on September 18th, 2019.
"Auckland-based Hermione Johnson's Tremble evokes the sound of a large Indonesian gamelan orchestra via the insertion of small chopstick-shaped rods at diverse angles, establishing different timbral zones, contraposed in imbricated, polyphonic textures. On "See My Permanent Face" she sets chime and gong tones against a cyclic pattern suggestive of a carillon of bells, later adding a fast moving harp sound and low muted strings. Many pieces employ like sounds, though their various layers and juxtapositions are unique to each setting. On "Chuck" it sounds as if she's actually plucking the strings, miming a qin or koto; on "Waving from the Shore" she could be strumming a steel resonator guitar with an egg whisk; on the epic-length title track she blends all these elements over the course of a sweeping yet cohesive narrative."-Tom Greenland, NYCJR