This month’s piece is titled “Straits.”
“Straits” is the seventh song of Extraordinary Voyages, my album based on Jules Verne’s collection of novels of the same name.
When Verne died in 1905 he had six completed novels waiting to be published. One of these was Magellania. Unfortunately, after Verne’s death, Verne’s publisher convinced Jules’ son, Michel, to completely rewrite the novel. This rewrite was published in 1909 and introduced many detrimental changes to Jules’ original work. It then spent the next 68 years in relative obscurity, but fortunately, an original manuscript of Magellania was discovered in 1977 and published in 1985. It is now considered one of Jules’ greater novels1.
Set in the 1880s, Magellania is the story of a mysterious man named Kaw-djer who lives in Magellania, the region of South America that includes Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn. We follow him as he leads his life in this land that no country has claimed at the time. After a ship wrecks in the region, Kaw-djer helps establish and lead a colony for the survivors.
“Straits” is the first song on the album that I’ve recorded my guitar for, which can be heard as part of the ambient pad sounds throughout the song. Other synths and celli provide a base for the piano. The piano plays a melody that includes the original melody as well as a slightly altered inverted version that is played one measure later.
Sharing
A Song
“While We Sleep” by Innesti
A Book
Magellania by Jules Verne
A Quote
“At about the age of six or seven, I realized that of all the invisible powers the one I was destined to be most strongly affected and dominated by was music.” - Herman Hesse
Thank you for reading and supporting this newsletter. The best way to show your support is by liking and sharing, which you can do by clicking the share button below, word of mouth, or sending a message to a loved one by guanaco. If you would like to read and listen to more here is a link to track six of Extraordinary Voyages, “Tide.”
Tide
This month’s piece is titled “Tide.” “Tide” is the sixth piece in Extraordinary Voyages, my ambient album based on Jules Verne’s series of novels of the same name. The story of The Kip Brothers by Verne is one of shipwrecks, mutinies, and murder. We follow the two main characters as they are rescued from a desert island by a ship whose sailors have somew…
Verne, Jules. Magellania. Welcome Rain Publishers, 2002.
Quite lovely! How do you get your guitar to create the ambient tones?