Schadowrider Records

The internationally renowned Ensemble Resonance is continuing their exploration and arrangement of the music of Gurdjieff/de Hartmann for instruments, with concerts in the US, Canada and France, and through the production and release of their 2nd CD, "Ensemble Resonance II (Sessions 2003-2004)." Schadowrider Records released the Ensemble's first CD, "Resonance", in 2002.

The material for the CD was recorded during work sessions and concerts at the Rochester Folk Art Guild during the summer of 2003 and spring of 2004. The CD is available on line here at the Schadowrider website.

From the liner notes:

We offer this, our second recording, in response to the encouragement received from those who were touched by our earlier recording and concerts.

These compositions are a unique collaboration between George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, a teacher who devoted his life to the possibility of an inner evolution for humankind, and the renowned Russian composer, Thomas de Hartmann.

The question raised at the very beginning of our work together still persists: "Why play this music, originally written for piano, on other instruments?" As we probed more deeply, guidance emerged. We experienced the genuine value of playing more simply, as well as a quality of listening that could take us beyond the allure of diverse instrumental colors. Mysteriously a movement began, from "six musicians playing more or less well together," towards "being an ensemble."

There is excitement in discovering pieces that are helped by the innate character of our different instruments, yet, at the same time, we find that it is actually ourselves who are being helped. Increasingly, there are moments when a new vibration is heard and felt, and something of the inner truth encoded in this music is revealed.

We dedicate this recording to the memory of Madame Pauline de Dampierre, and to the members of the Rochester Folk Art Guild and the Gurdjieff Foundation of Paris, who have given their support in so many ways.

- Ensemble Resonance

As with the Ensemble's first CD release, "Resonance", the pieces selected for inclusion on this CD were based on a search for quality of attention. They were recorded during work sessions and concerts at the Rochester Folk Art Guild during Summer 2003 and Spring 2004.

- Schadowrider Records