The Fessmans play SoundStones for World Peace at Musica Sacra International 2006 in Marktoberdorf, Germany.
Each stone weighing from 20-200kg. represents a unique 'sound-sculpture' and is played in a tangible unfolding process in a fashion similar to rubbing a crystal wine glass. The resulting sound is a completely new and unique experience for human ears and perception.
As we are just in the initial steps of this futuristic and yet deeply ancient sound adventure, we are ready only to communicate on an individual bases about background, process, ethics and purchase.
The oldest stories of mankind are painted and written on stones-be it the prehistoric rock-art of aboriginal people in Australia, Africa and the Americas or the numerous engravings on ancient tablets of Egypt and Mesopotamia.
In some cultures stones were used in musical ceremonies, as with some archaic tribes in Mail and Togo, in Paleolithic Vietnam, in the ancient Confucian court music of China and Korea, in early Amharic liturgy of Ethiopia and in the Celtic lore of the British isles.
One of the earliest texts on music carved in stone had been uncovered in Tamil Nadu, South India and it is here that we still can find huge stone pillars in rare temples resounding in worship and festivals the wonder of creation.
Many legends speak of "singing stones:, as a symbol of the power of transformation, how through knocking and playing stones the petrified form and rigidity of-apparently dead-matter can release again its inherent flow of life energy, opening 'hardened hearts', revealing the indwelling soul.
The resonance and unique sound of the music of the stones immediately touches the surprised listener, evokes an atmosphere of another time and space and invites on a into the 'heart of matter', expressing the vibrational nature of the manifested world.
Svaram feels fortunate to be able to present after a long sound journey and two years of experimentation the present design. The specially selected and crafted black granite from Rajasthan is tuned-in a labor intense process into diverse scales and sets, utilizing ongoing research of the effects of sound on the psychophysical nature of our being.
The simple play with carefully crafted mallets-following the path of deep and dedicated listening- creates a rare quality of effective sound and a rich spectrum of overtones. Deep resonance can be experienced and the being opens to its original sound source.
