CD "Tenderness of Stones"
“Tenderness of Stones” is a phrase that occurs in an eight-line poem in German - “Wasser und Licht” by Michael Speier. That poem is never actually heard here in its original form, but only in four different translations by four different writers: three in English, including one by Lauren Newton herself, and one in Japanese, by Koho Mori. With the source removed, we are left with only translation. Now Robert Frost said that “poetry is what lost in translation”, while for Jeseph Brodsky, “poetry is what is gained in translation”. Language thus becomes fluid and unstable in these terms, an uncertainly reflected in both the part-sung, part vocal, intermittent delivery of Newton herself and the fragmentary sounds that accompany her. The basic solo saxophones of Gies are sometimes prepared or treated, while added electronics and sampling in four tracks, as well as found radio sounds - ethereal hiss rather than vocal or musical - add further elements of sonic contrast.
Now this may all sound very rarefied and remote. But the image of tender stones - perhaps washed clean by water or eroded into rounded shapes by wind or tide - is an evocative one suggestive of an empty beach or harsh moorland. In such places, stones and pebbles can provide shelter, perhaps comfort, or be used to guide the way or mark a side. Stones are in themselves inanimate, yet can gain human attributes through interaction with both the elements and the human eye. That linkage of distinct entities is reflected in the partnership between these two musicians, whose sensitive response to each other throughout this set becomes strangely, and unexpectedly, moving.
by Simon Adams
TERMINE
