archive recordings of all "Jew’s harp Mosaics"
are published now by Antropodium on cd

Jew's harp Mosaics

Experimental recording-sessions on
Jew's harps, played and composed by
Phons Bakx in 1986 and 1987

continue ►

Jew's harp Mosaics

Before the Jew's harp book ’De Gedachtenverdrijver’ was
written and published...., before
the Middelburg Mondharp Ensemble,
the Casu Marzu Ensemble,
the Phons Bakx Ensemble,
Gamelan Gengénggonggan,
Orang Génggong or
the Kwintes Ensemble were founded.....,
before in Holland the ball was set rolling with playing on Jew's harps...,

Phons Bakx laid the foundation of his experiments on Jew's harp in 1986 and in 1987 as the sequence that he called the Jew's harp Mosaics.
As well on his first CD as on his second CD several of
the Jew's harp Mosaics had been released.

text about the CD - - - - - - - - price and how to order the CD

- 1 -

The Jew's harp Mosaics reflect the very beginning of Phons Bakx as Jew’s harp player. This sequence of music recordings were realized by the use of a multi-recordingsystem which made possible that Phons Bakx dubbed his playing four or five times. In the period of 1986 and 1987 about thirty-five Jew’s harp Mosaics came into existence, of which a quarter part of it could be selected as the best. In spite of its stereophony (listen through your headphones!) the technical quality of the analogous recordings belongs to the past. Then, on the other hand, with his Jew's harp Mosaics he convinced many a person, that Jew’s harps were not longer trifling knick-knacks, but musical instruments that could produce minute sounds of elegance. He also did show that trumping on a Jew’s harp was not so homely as most people always think about it.

The Jew's harp Mosaics weren't released until Bakx' first CD "A Song for the Jew's harp". On 6th November 1986 it was the Dutch broadcast company VPRO's who broadcasted 5 pieces of him on the Jew's harp - among that was the 0-number of the Jew's harp Mosaics. Seven recording-layers gave structure to this piece of music. In the same broadcast some other oddities on Jew's harp passed by. In stead of metal Jew's harps Bakx plays also on bamboo-cut shivers, Jew's harp precursors, which he has cut himself by the use of the old ethnographical lectures. These shivers once were fashionable among people of the Pacific (Îles Marquises). Its sound evokes the spheres of a grass-like micro-cosmos of chirping insects. The Jew's harp Mosaics all present the sound of metal Jew’s harps, on which sometimes minute decoration-sounds are added of e.g. a shaking dried poppy-head, the click-clacking of a steelstrip or the deep pulses on a glass vase-drum.

The Jew's harp Mosaics may leave the impression behind that the Jew’s harp is undoubtedly an instrument of hidden richness. The music expresses restlessness, chaos, dynamic, but also space, contemplation or even sadness. It is minimal music: they all seem to be constructed by slowly changing patterns that rise into an adequate kind of music. Notwithstanding the Jew’s harp is a folk-musical instrument, the Jew's harp Mosaics will sometimes more be appreciated as rock-music than as folk-music. They are Bakx his own compositions and for him, after all those years, the Jew’s harp Mosaics still have a powerful emotional expression. Notwithstanding the imperfect sound-quality of Bakx’ earliest laboratory experiments on Jew’s harps, they prove that rhythmic measures of Jew’s harp playing will be enriched when ►

- 2 -

the instruments are played together in small groups and when, for instance, counter-rhythms are used. Elegance sounds also appear when harmonics of the Jew’s harp ‘gear into one another’, while different keys are plucked together. Intervals like thirds, fourths and fifths will come alive incidentally, just like the more indecent soundcombinations. This all makes the Jew's harp Mosaics unequalled, and we may ask ourselves if such compositions for the Jew’s harp were made and recorded on tape ever before. The mounting numbering (#) of the Jew’s harp Mosaics attests to the chronological sequence in the days when they were made. The Jew's harp Mosaics may leave the impression behind that the Jew’s harp is undoubtedly an

instrument of hidden richness. The music expresses restlessness, chaos, dynamic, but also space, contemplation or even melancholy. It is minimal music: they all seem to be constructed by slowly changing patterns that rise into an adequate kind of music. Notwithstanding the Jew’s harp is a folk-musical instrument, Jew's harp Mosaics will sometimes more be appreciated as a kind of rock-music than as folk-music itself. They are Bakx his own compositions and for him, after all those years, the Jew's harp Mosaics still have a powerful emotional expression. Phons Bakx was experimenting on his very own in Middelburg (NL), without knowing the works on Jew's harp that were done, for instance, by John Wright, Georg Decristel, Bjørgulv Straume, Mario Ruspoli, Ivan Alexeiev or Anton Bruhin.

ordering the CD ►

Jew's harp Mosaics

p u r c h a s e

The price of the CD amounts 10,00 € / 12,00 $ (inclusive shipping)

Paying can be happen the best as following:
put the amount of money into a closed envelop and send it to:

Office Foundation Antropodium, Lijsterbeslaan 19,
4334 BM - Middelburg (the Netherlands)

don't forget to write down your own post address

for e-mail correspondence:
PhonsBakx @ antropodium dot tweakdsl dot nl