"The Tears of our Widows".. A "played live" rendition of a track I had published some 3 years ago, which was totally step recorded..
Digitally synthesized harpsichord sound has been replaced by some digitally synthesized Unacorda-like sound.. 

Played live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard,
Pianoteq 6.5, preset "K2 Unacorda 2",
Nebula reverb..
Fingers, heart and nerves.. Plus foot on the sustain pedal..
No metronome..

ThP - Les Larmes De Nos Veuves - 21-03-14 - K2 Unacorda 2

Just bought a second hand Touché SE by Expressive E..
youtu.be/cx_jWOtJJMc

This is an multitrack recording I made, using this not-perfect-but-still-powerful controller..
and is to be considered as a part 2 to Artemisia - L'Esquisse.. 
https://soundcloud.com/opus-quatre/thp-artemisia-lesquisse-touche-cello-21-03-27
That's what you can imagine as the moment when, the sketches being made, Artemisia is patiently building her painting, knowing where it will lead her to..

Played live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard plus Expressive E Touché controller,

Expressive E Cello, instrument B, expression duophonic mode, 
Expressive E Cello, instrument D, expression duophonic mode,
Expressive E Viola, instrument B, expression duophonic mode,
Nebula reverb..

Fingers, hearts and nerves..
Metronome..

Picture by Artemisia Gentileschi, "Self portrait as an allegory of painting", 1638.. 

ThP - Artemisia - La Patience - Touché Cello-Viola 21-04-03

Just bought a second hand Touché SE by Expressive E..
youtu.be/cx_jWOtJJMc

This is an impro I made, using this not-perfect-but-still-powerful controller..
and is to be considered as a part 1 to Artemisia - La Patience.. 
https://soundcloud.com/opus-quatre/thp-artemisia-la-patience-touche-cello-viola-21-04-03
That's what you can imagine as the moment when Artemisia prepares her pencils and makes the sketches of what will become her work.. Maybe, sometimes, in an excited and febrile way..

Played live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard plus Expressive E Touché controller,
Expressive E Cello, instrument A, natural monophonic mode,
Nebula reverb..

Fingers, hearts and nerves..
Obviously no metronome..

Picture by Artemisia Gentileschi, "Self portrait as an allegory of painting", 1638.. Digitally modified..

ThP - Artemisia - L'Esquisse - Touché Cello - 21 - 03 - 27

The Perfume of the Clouds..

Exploring oriental/arabian harmonies, or at least what I feel and understand about them..
The main theme was composed 1year ago, or so, but waiting for harmonies.. Though different options were tested, I finally felt good with this chords grid.. 

Played live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard,
Pianoteq 6.5, preset "Ant. Petrof Intime Blooming Wide",
Nebula reverb..
Fingers, heart and nerves, plus foot on the sustain pedal..
No metronome..

Artwork by Granelli, advertisement for Nebula, published in "La Gazette du Bon Ton", ca 1915.. Digitally modified..

ThP - Le Parfum des Nuages - رائحة الغيوم - Ant. Petrof 21-05-02

Played live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard,
Pianoteq 6.7, preset "Ant. Petrof Chiaroscuro",
Nebula reverb..

Fingers, heart and nerves.. Plus foot on the sustain pedal..
No metronome, fluctuating tempo..

Image : remains of a dismantled organ or harmonum, out of a salvaged chapel in Yvetot, 76, France.. Digitally modified..

ThP - Autopsie D'un Cheval Fou - 21-05-26 - Ant Petrof piano

Exploring Murat Simsek's MRT Breath controller.. And trying to make a good saxophone emulation on Dexed..

Played live on Arturia Keylab 49 master keyboard plus MRT Breath Controller, 
Dexed VST, preset "Coleman BC".... Coleman, for Coleman Hawkins..
JS Delay, Nebula reverb..
Fingers, heart and nerves.. Plus mouth on the breath controller..
Obviously no metronome..

ThP - Breath Controller Improvisation - 20-01-01 - Dexed Coleman BC..

Couleurs Passées (Mais l'Emotion Reste)..
Faded Colors (But Feelings Remain)..
An ode to Eddy Louiss..

Another attempt to approach the Pianet T sound..

Played live on Oberheim Viscount MC2000 master keyboard,
Dexed, preset "Spiced Tea",
Nebula reverb..
Fingers, heart and nerves.. Plus foot, sometimes, on the sustain pedal..
No metronome, light as a feather, free as a bird..

Image : Eddy Louiss portrait, by Véronique Feeny, Duclair (76), France.. Digitally modified..

ThP - Couleurs Passées - 20-01-06 Dexed Spiced Tea

Hello happy afficionados of Yamaha DX7..

It's been several months since Holger started to work on microDexed, a physical, hardware, version of Dexed.. In other terms, a MIDI expander running Dexed as sound engine..
Using a Teensy board, a sound card and a PCb of his own, he is developping a small size MIDI/USB Expander playing Yamaha DX7 presets, or sounds..

Can also be used as a USB <=> MIDI converter, and USB+MIDI merge..

Capable of storing up to 3200 presets, his module is getting better and better each week, incorporating an onboard (small) multieffects (Freeverb) with reverb, delay and chorus..

https://codeberg.org/dcoredump/MicroDexed
https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/microdexed-dx7-to-go/1989

This is my first recording using microDexed..
Not in the best conditions : an air recording, a Samsung phone has been used to catch the sound of the loudspeakers while playing microDexed with my Studiologic SL88 master keyboard..

And not the best performance as well.. But an honest one.. 
No other processing, no post-editing, what you hear is the sound of microDexed (DX7 + freeverb), enlightened by the physical sound of the keys when I press them, and a few extra ambient noises..

ThP - Yesterdays (J. Kern Cover) -  MicroDexed 20-03-22

What does MicroDexed and MRT Breath Controller have in common ?
Both are not developped by big companies, but by individual people, deeply involved in music making, and working hardly to build and improve their machines..

MicroDexed is developped by Holger, Germany, and is a DX7 based MIDI expander, sharing the same sound engine as Dexed..
codeberg.org/dcoredump/MicroDexed
discourse.zynthian.org/t/microdexed-dx7-to-go/1989

MRT Breath Controller is developped by Murat, Turkey, and is one very ineresting and versatile MIDI device..
www.facebook.com/mrtelectronics/

What is good is that they work pretty well together..

Played/improvised on MicroDexed, controlled by Studiologic SL88 master keyboard, and MRT Breath Controller..
Air rcording, using a Samsung cellphone.. Extra noises obviously..

ThP - Breath Controller Impro - Microdexed - 20-03-23

Danse au Bord du Lac : Dance by the Lake..

And here is a MicroDexed bitimbralous track.. Bamboos are instance 2, driven by Arturia Keystep Sequencer, and Noisy Bells are instance 1, played by MC2000 master keyboard..

Effects are produced by onboard Freeverb..
Recorded in one take.. 

No post processing, except for panning the 2 instances (I did not succeed, before recording.. Reaper will always be a stranger, to me).. 

MicroDexed is a teensy based MIDI machine running Dexed, an emulation of the famous and wonderful Yamaha DX7, ported to Linux by Holger :
github.com/dcoredump/MicroDexed
discourse.zynthian.org/t/microdexed-dx7-to-go/
..

ThP - Danse Au Bord Du Lac - MicroDexed - 20-05-16

Couleurs Passées, mais l'Émotion Reste
(Ode à Eddy Louiss)..
Faded Colors, but Feelings Remain
(Ode to Eddy Louiss)..

Trying to approach one of Eddy Louiss's beautiful sounds, so full of expression..
To achieve this, he was using his Hammond B3 organ, passed through a Vocoder.. I suppose he was also passing it through some Chorus or Ensemble device..
My rendering uses microDexed, passed throus its onboard Chorus, Delay and Reverb, and uses keyboard velocity to modulate the sound..
Played live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard, driving MicroDexed, a Teensy based expander running Dexed, emulation of the famous Yamaha DX7..
Preset "Celestin5".. Built in effects..
Fingers, heart and nerves.. But no foot on the sustain pedal..

microDexed is a creation of Holger :
https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/microdexed-dx7-to-go/1989
https://codeberg.org/dcoredump/MicroDexed

Image is a painting by Véronique Feeny, Duclair (France,76), digitally modified..

ThP - Couleurs Passées - MicroDexed - Celestin5 + Chorus 20-06-10

The initial intention was only to note down, by recording it, a gimmick I was just playing..
Plugged the cables and started Reaper, adjusted the level, and made a line recording.
This being done, I started improvising on it, and as the track happened to be rather satisfying, if we close our eyes (and ears) on some badly negociated legatos (legati ?), I decided to upload it here..

On the upper octave, the saxophone samples (Weresax, by Karyofer, imported into Waldrof Blofeld) appear to sound like a flute, and as the transition is smooth, and sounds natural, that doesn't upset me much..

Played live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard, driving Waldorf Blofeld..
Added Nebula reverb (VST)..
Fingers, heart and nerves..
No post editing.. (on a few notes, I wish I could..)

ThP - Karyofer Weresax Improvisation - Waldorf Blofeld 20-08-25

Couleurs Passées (Mais l'Émotion Reste)..
Faded Colors (But Feeling Remains)..

An ode to Eddy Louiss..

Performed live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard,
Pianoteq 6.5, preset "Ant. Petrof Intime",
Nebula reverb..
Fingers, heart and nerves, plus foot on the sustain pedal..

Painting : Eddy Louiss portrait by Veronique Feeny (France, Duclair, 76).. digitally modified..

ThP - Couleurs Passées - 20-10-10 - Ant Petrof Intime

Not a new track.. This one was already published, but incidentally deleted..

Played live on Studiologic SL88, using Dexed, preset "Hammers 2"..
Nebula reverb..
Fingers, heart and nerves, plus foot on the sustain pedal..
Metronome..

Artwork : Silk on linnen embroidery, by Margaret Macdonald Macintosh, ca 1900, digitally modified..

Lament - Take 3 And A Half (J.J. Johnson Cover) - 18-06-03 - Dexed

Just bought a "Wave" ring, by Genki Instruments..
A Bluetooth controller, you put on your finger, and you can add expression on your notes or track..
https://genkiinstruments.com/
In this case, I used it to achieve one of my long last dreams : adding a natural, hand made vibrato by just oscillating my finger on the key, just like a cellist or a violin player can do, on his string..
But Genki Wave can be used in many other dimensions, like raising the cut off of a filter, or controlling volume, pan.. whatever can be controlled by a CC number can be controlled by Genki Wave..
It seemed obvious to me that my first try would be on using it with Expressive E's excellent Arché collection of VSTs..
https://www.expressivee.com/21-arche-collection

Played live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard and Genki Wave ring,
Expressive E Arché Cello, Preset D..
Nebula reverb..
Fingers, heart and nerves.. and no foot on the sustain pedal..

Artwork : a photo of Tilly Cernitori, digitally modified..

ThP - Valse Baroque - Expressive E Arché Cello + Genki Wave Test

Couleurs Passées (Mais l'Émotion Reste).. Une ode à Eddy Louiss..

Faded Colors (But Feelings Remain).. An ode to Eddy Louiss..

Performed live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard,
Pianoteq 6.5, preset "Ant. Petrof Intime",
Nebula reverb..
Fingers, heart and nerves, plus foot on the sustain pedal..

Painting : Eddy Louiss portrait by Veronique Feeny (France, Duclair, 76).. digitally modified..

ThP - Couleurs Passées - 20-11-12 - Ant Petrof Intime

The window is open, and you have a rest..
There's life on the other side of the wall, you can hear people speaking though you can't even catch a syllable.. 
And you don't need to.. What they talk about is not of your concern, just like the birds singing in the tree nearby, the humming of a bee close to the hedge or, in the distance, the monotone engine of a tractor..
You're so happy to feel this life all around you, and to feel yourself being part of it all..
And in the same time, you feel free, considering that all this doesn't involve you in any way, other than adding you own existence to the world's breathing..

Played live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard,
Pianoteq 6.5, preset "Ant. Petrof Intime Blooming Wide"..
Fingers, heart and nerves.. Plus foot on the sustain pedal..
No metronome..



ThP - La Fenêtre Ouverte - 20-12-10 - Ant. Petrof Intime Blooming WIde

Couleurs Passées (Mais l'Emotion Reste).. Ode à Eddy Louiss..
Faded Colors (But Feelings Remain).. An ode to Eddy Louiss..

Modelonia is a physical Modelling VST pluging by NUSofting..
Capable of very natural souding, and somehow dirty, sounds, where every note has a slightly different timbre, and not a transposed copy of the neighbour note, thus making the final instrument more believable..
Uneasy to program, because nothing really intuitive, but the final result is very often convincing and is worth the time passed on it..

Played live on Oberheim MC 2000 master keyboard,
driving Modelonia VST, presertt "Traversière",
Nebula reverb..
Fingers, heart and nerves, but no foot on the sustain pedal..
No metronome..

Artwork is a portrait of Eddy Louiss, a digitally modified painting by Véronique Feeny, Duclair (France, 76)..

ThP - Couleurs Passées- 20-12-25 - Modelonia Traversière

The Empty Letter..The one you didn't dare writing, and you sent it anyway..
Or the one you received, with no message inside, as if it was too hard, too heavy, to be written..
This song is about the weight of a  secret..

Played live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard,
Pianoteq 6.7, preset "Ant. Petrof Intime Blooming Wide",
Nebula reverb..

Fingers, heart and nerves.. Plus foot on the sustain pedal..
No metronome..

ThP - La Lettre Vide - 20-10-28 - Ant Petrof Intime

If you've never heard this Elegie (1870), by Jules Massenet, I would suggest you watch and listen to the very sensitive gem of emotion, as Alice Sara Ott, Camille Thomas and Fatma Said performed it : https://youtu.be/E854HKGV9bA

My own rendering only focuses on the initial them, and improvises on it.. after some re-harmonizing..

Played live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard,
Pianoteq 6.7, preset "Ant. Petrof Intime Blooming Wide",
Nebula reverb..

Fingers, heart and nerves.. Plus foot on the sustain pedal..
No metronome, fluctuating tempi..

Artwork : taken from "Requiem Pour Pianos", Romain Thiery, digitally modified..

ThP - Improvisation On Elegie, by Jules Massenet - 21-01-16 Ant. Petrof piano

The Back of the Canvas..
The question asked with this song is : Whatever the emotions visible on the front of the canvas, the artist's work and his intentions, will they cross the fabric, and be, even if faintly, perceptible at the rear of the canvas ? Will they remain on the wall after the painting has been moved ? 

Played live on Oberheim MC2000 master keyboard,
Pianoteq 6.7, preset "Ant. Petrof Intime Blooming Wide",
Nebula reverb..

Fingers, heart and nerves.. Plus foot on the sustain pedal..
No metronome, fluctuating tempi..

Artwork : The rear side of the canvas of "La Liseuse", by Jean-Jacques Henner, late XIXth century.., digitally modified..

ThP - L'Envers De La Toile - 21-02-05 - Ant Petrof Blooming Wide

I could scream my secrets to the world.. 
The wind would soon tear them, scattered syllables.. The sea, in her roarings, would drown the phonemes, each wave an intonation.. 
You would wonder where this noise comes from, which evokes a voice, in an ever foreign language..
August 2011
--------------------------------------------------------------
Je pourrais crier mes secrets, au monde.. 
Le vent aurait tôt fait de les déchirer, syllabes dispersées.. La mer, dans ses grondements, en noierait les phonèmes, chaque vague une intonation.. 
Tu te demanderais d'où vient ce bruit, qui évoque une voix, dans une langue toujours étrangère..
Août 2011



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