Michael Robinson

The Forest

Cover art is hand silkscreened paper from Japan

 

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1. The Waterfall (1992) 10.20 (three movements)

meruvina: flute, clarinet, wind bells, shamisen, strings, xylophone, marimba, percussion

autograph score

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2. Annunciation (1989) 5.08

meruvina: electric piano

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3. Fresh Leaves (1994) 3.04

meruvina: shamisen, trumpet, clarinet, violin, cello, clavichord

 

 

4. Dawn and Day (1990) 4.45

meruvina: clarinet, celesta, strings

 

5. Found Objects (1994) 4.58

meruvina: recorder, french horn, oboe, electric bass, trumpet, synthesizer, percussion

autograph score

 

6. The Forest (1994) 13.06 (four movements)

meruvina: acoustic bass, strings, synthesizers, violin, flute, clarinet, clavichord, electric piano, vibraphone, timpani, percussion

 

7. Green Palms (1990) 10.05

meruvina: synthesizers

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8. Purple Clouds (1989) 4.12

meruvina: organ, sho, electric bass, percussion

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Composed, Programmed, Mixed, Designed and Produced by Michael Robinson

Recorded and Mastered by Catharine Wood at Planetwood Studios

The opening music of The Waterfall was inspired by bird songs heard while walking in Beverly Hills. The second movement suggests the serenity of mist rising from a Hawaiian jungle pool underneath a waterfall. The concluding music sparkles like a school of tropical fish playing beneath the water of the pool.

Annunciation was inspired by Michelangelo's painting of the same name viewed while visiting the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy.

Fresh Leaves features exotically tuned instruments of wood and brass, along with plucked, bowed and struck string instruments.

Dawn and Day was inspired by hearing of my younger sister's first child being born.

Found Objects is made with a wide range of instrumental sounds spread over two contrasting movements.

The Forest is the last of ten multi-movement pieces I composed for the second Meruvina incarnation. Like the preceding works, it features a variety of instrumental timbres, textures, speeds, intensities and moods, brought together into an individual shape.

Green Palms is a meditation composed while living in Kapalua, Maui. It was inspired by the palm trees growing around a nearby pool.

Purple Clouds, the very first composition for the second Meruvina incarnation, was also composed in Kapalua. It employs the wild sound of the sho, along with evocative percussion, and the surprising entrance of a large church organ.

The music on this recording was composed between 1989 and 1994.

- Michael Robinson, December 1999, Lahaina