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Jacqueline Nova — Creaci​ó​n de la Tierra: Ecos Palpitantes de Jacqueline Nova (1964​-​1974)
(Buh Records BR172, 1974/2022, LP / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2023-05-06

Creaci​ó​n de la Tierra: Ecos Palpitantes de Jacqueline Nova (1964​-​1974) Cover art

Jacqueline Nova was a Colombian composer who lived from 1935 to 1975, working primarily in the field of electroacoustic and avant-garde music over the period from 1964-74; prior to the publication of this two-LP set, she only had a single published piece, “Creación de la Tierra,” as part of a shared LP (Tres Composiciones Electroacusticas) with like-minded composers Eduardo Bértola and Joaquín Orellana. “Creación de la Tierra” is, of course, included here (it’s a nineteen minute piece that occupies all of the first side of this double-LP set) along with six other pieces that she composed and realized during that ten-year period of activity just before her tragic death due to bone cancer. This set was produced under the curatorship and research of Colombian composer Ana María Romano, who recovered Nova’s most important works, and created the liner notes for the set as well as the cover artwork. The full album title translates to Creation of the Earth - Throbbing Echoes of Jacqueline Nova: Electroacoustic and Instrumental Music (1964-1974). “Creación de la Tierra” dates from 1972, a long piece of numerous sections, a mix of bowed percussive noise, found sounds, electronically treated voices and more — quite often the sources of the sounds are a complete mystery, and the voices electronically processed beyond intelligibility, though therein lies its charm and curiosity, voice fragments layered over one another as each section proceeds to the next. No cadence, no melody per se, just an interesting blanket of sounds that open the listener’s consciousness. “Omaggio a Catullus” is a very different piece, set against a Latin text of the poet Catullus, though numerous voices mix it up in a way that makes it hardly understandable, along with throbbing bass electronics and percussives. The second side is rounded out with “Oposición - Fusión” from 1968, beginning with heavy crashing percussives wired through electronic processing, followed by a deep canyon of mysterious sound effects. The fourteen-minute “Transiciones” dates from the mid-60s, a piece that highlights wild outbursts of piano almost like a free improvisation, built on emotion; that said, it’s probably the most conventional piece on the entire album. Side three closes with the brief “Resonancias 1” from1968-69, a piece for bowed percussion and piano. The twelve-minute “Asimetrías” from1967 opens side four, where we hear elements of percussion and wood flutes in a most explorative procession. Closing side four is a montage of film music from 1974: “Montaje electroacústico a partir de materiales de la música original de la película Camilo el cura guerrillero” (the film: Camilo the Guerrilla Priest). This is a wonderful blend of orchestral sounds, electronics, and sampled and processed sounds. The bad news is that the vinyl edition was a limited edition of 300 LPs, and sold out within weeks of its December 2022 release. The good news is that the music is still very much available as a download at the link below.

Filed under: Archives, 2022 releases, 1974 recordings

Related artist(s): Jacqueline Nova Sondag

More info
http://buhrecords.bandcamp.com/album/creaci-n-de-la-tierra-ecos-palpitantes-de-jacqueline-nova-1964-1974

 

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