String quartet for Vania Bastos
For Tropical Forest Project: Ecuador Brazilian producer Ricardo Severo has written a powerful and incantatory song for Vania Bastos called Os Fazedores de Chuva (”The Rain Makers”) inspired by an ancient Inca myth about Inti-Illapa, the Weather God who drew the rain from the Milky Way. With no direct reference to the myth in the song, it ties in beautifully for me (scientist) with recent work suggesting that chemicals released by equatorial forest trees cause rain-clouds to form. Clever trees. We’ve been struggling to work out how to approach the recording. Ricardo’s piano-based first recording begins with isolated notes suggesting raindrops. Now step forward Benjamin Rous, Ginkgo Music’s very own web technician, whose day job is musician & composer with an interest in Schoenberg. Out of the blue Ben has been inspired to write parts for a string quartet, or perhaps two violins and a cello. I can’t wait! The challenge is to get the recording done asap so that it doesn’t impact on the completion date. I’ll keep you posted.