Starry Sky. No beauty of even the most exotic corners of our planet can compare with the grace and perfection of the Star Country, which every clear night lights up the lights over the head of every person living on Earth. The ancient Roman thinker Seneca argued that if stars were visible from only one place on Earth, then people would strive to get there in an endless stream. But the stars shine for everyone equally and we turn our gaze to the sky less and less. The stars have faded in the lights of the sprawling metropolitan areas. And only very few priests of Urania, astronomers, occasionally rise to a tower lost in the mountains and point a telescope into the sky. They don't admire — they explore.
Once I was one of them. I spent more than one hundred nights at my telescope before I realized that it was the beauty of the Star Country, its slightly sad song of Hope, that attracted me. I found the reflection of Heaven in music. For me it turned out to be more accurate than cumbersome formulas and equations, and I decided to describe the Universe in musical notes. This is how the cycle «Music of Celestial Spheres» was born, in which you will find musical portraits of many space inhabitants. But already working on the third album, I realized that I could not place the Starry Sky in it. After all, there are so many stars, all other celestial bodies and phenomena will be lost in it and the cycle will not justify its name.
It was then that the idea of the «Starry Sky» cycle appeared, where an entire album will be given to each constellation, the brightest stars of the constellation will be reflected in it, as well as nebulas, galaxies, and clusters of stars — which are known to many.
There are 88 constellations in the sky, but this does not mean that I can write about each one. There are stars I have never seen and it is not right to write about them. And the constellations ascending in our latitudes cannot be considered the same. There are very big ones, such as Ursa Major or Hydra, there are very small and poor in stars — Equuleus (Little Horse), and I can hardly devote a disc to him, even though this is sad. I suppose to bypass the zodiac constellations for the time being — a lot of music is already devoted to them. But even after such strong restrictions, the task I undertake remains truly titanic, and I would be sincerely happy if there was enough life to complete it. However, if not, then someone will definitely continue this mission...
I still do not sleep at night, trying to hear the music of the Starry Sky. Subsequently, the music falls on a magnetic tape and this tape is in your hands — listen to it too.
Yours Andrey Klimkovsky
About the constellation:
The Andromeda constellation is one of the most popular in the sky, primarily because it owes its name to the ancient Greek myth of Perseus, who saved the beautiful Andromeda, an Ethiopian princess, from a terrible sea monster. Every person is familiar with this legend since childhood. Secondly, in this constellation there is the nearest neighboring galaxy, which still excites the minds of scientists and the imagination of science fiction writers.
The Andromeda constellation is perfectly visible in our latitudes throughout the year, except maybe only in spring. In summer and autumn, the most favorable time for observing this constellation is when it rises high above the horizon and shines all night. The constellation figure is formed by three stars: α — Alferatz, β — Mirach and γ — Alamak. These strange names were given to the stars by the Arabs many centuries ago, but astronomers still use them along with the official numeric labels. Not far from β Andromeda is the famous galaxy — «Andromeda Nebula». Excellent vision is not required to notice it. You just need to know where it is located. Perhaps now someone is looking at us from there, but they see our Galaxy as it was more than two million years ago. A ray of light goes between space cities for a very long time.
credits
released February 2, 1999
Music, arrangement and performance by Andrey Klimkovsky, except track 1: Prelude in H minor — music by Johann Sebastian Bach
Andrey Klimkovsky is one of leading russian composers working in the electronic musical space. Images creating by him -
"Music of Celestial Spheres", "Starry Sky", "ALEALA" и "DreamOcean" - stayed the classics of the genre, received popularity as in Russia, and abroad....more
supported by 4 fans who also own “Andromeda | Starry Sky - volume 1”
An absolutely world-class album in the realm of sequenced/synth space music. Think Berlin School, but more… layered, syncopated, and organic, maybe.
There are layers of polyrhythms built up between sequenced synths, hand percussion, and what sounds like maybe mandolin, and they all amount to an absolutely beautiful, almost mystical atmosphere throughout. Recalling TD and JMJ on occasion, this album stands on the shoulders of giants without merely imitating them. Smekermann
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