Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Even Better Than Gravikords, Whirlies, & Pyrophones, March 25, 2006
Orbitones, Spoonharps, & Bellowphones is the second in a series of two book/CD collections written and produced by Bart Hopkin, arguably the most important person currently working in the field of acoustic experimental instruments. Both books feature short chapters based on the work of a single individual or ensemble; in the first book Hopkin reasonably includes several fairly well-known inventor/musicians, and in this book that pride of place is taken by John Cage, Lou Harrison, Stomp, and Tom Waits.
But for me, the real fascination of these collections are the chapters on people I've never heard of before. Orbitones, et al, is chock full of absolutely amazing and bizarre inventions. Among my favorites are Bradford Reed and his Pencilina, a sort of hybrid electric bass/electric guitar/zither-koto with attached bells, played by striking the strings and body with timbale sticks (originally pencils); Ellen Fullman and her Long String Instrument, a series of musical strings 100 or more feet long that are activated by rubbing transversely with rosined fingers; and Leonard Solomon and his hilarious "Majestic Bellowphone", a one man band instrument consisting of 13 homemade organ pipes of various materials (including cardboard!) with keyholes and activated by rubber balls, with various percussion instruments attached. I'm also amused and fascinated by the work of Les Phones, who have invented a series of long flutes that double as stilts (!) and that are performed by dancing on them in choreography.
Orbitones differs from Gravikords in that more of the selections included on the CD are musically successful for those with relatively traditional musical tastes. The European ensemble Arthea plays a composition reminiscent of the jazz-fusion group Passport; and the Brazilian performers Uakti play a piece that approaches a tuneful New Age style.
But my absolute favorite, in sound, music, concept and appearance, are the Great Island Mouthbow and the Eagle Feather Flute created and performed by Australian Colin Offord. Clearly influenced by the sound of the digeridoo, Offord's mouthbow is an amazing creation--a five stringed instrument with a diaphragm and connecting tube that leads to Offord's mouth, allowing him to change the resultant harmonics by changing the shape of his mouth cavity. Attached to the Mouthbow and complementing its long sustained sounds are a bell, a small cymbal, a fork (!) whose tines are plucked like those of a thumb piano and various similar things. The Eagle Feather Flute is just as its name indicates, a flute made out of a hollowed out eagle's feather.
There's more; the work of several other inventor/musicians, photos of everything, a resource guide and of course the CD which contains not just the sounds of the instruments, but the instruments used in actual compositions or extracts. Since you can only get this second-hand now, be absolutely sure that the version you get contains the CD.
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