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Music
and the Dispel of Thoughts
Jew's
harp music by Phons Bakx
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Photo frontcover:
Papua Mahisu playing on a living woodbeetle (hear on track 18)
© 1963, Emer.prof R. McLennan, Mnt. Glorious -
ATP002-99PhB
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...Phons
Bakx and friends are having fun, and there is much experimentation with the
tonal sounds of the [Jew's] harp.... You're amazed at what sounds can be
produced by this small instrument....This album shows his love for
experimenting with Jew's harpsounds... Even non-players will get a buzz from
this album. Lindsay Porteous,
Traditional Music Maker, Edinburgh |
(1999)
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Music
and the Dispel of Thoughts Phons
Bakx and Musicians Track
1-18 - time: 54'56 |
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Phons
Bakx Enno
Meijers John
Wright André Houwing Koen Kuijpers Mahisu Jules Bitter Robert Bitter Izz van Elk Gengénggonggan Banty Rooster
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M U S I C I I N S T R U M E N T |
Jew's harp, génggong Jew's harp Jew's harp Jew's harp Jew's harp living woodbeetle tin whistle, traverse flute piano, harpsichord udu kĕndang, ciblons, suling, bonang,
reed, génggong guitar, tuba, harmonica, drums, vocal vocals, Jew's harps |
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The tracks |
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1. The
First Duet (perfect fifth) - 3'07 |
10. Da
Mihi Manum - 2'12 |
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...Bakx
is a master of the Jew's harp, and provides copious information about each of
the songs he presents. The music he has selected spans many years, cultures
and countries, with the Jew's harp as its constant. Bakx's careful
documentation and painstaking playing makes this cd that most elusive of
creatures, an accessible labor of academic love. After a few hours with this
disc, I not only had an increased respect for the versatility of the Jew's
harp - I also wanted to go to the music shop and get one. Good rock &
roll has sold guitars for years, so why shouldn't the cd ''Music and the
Dispel of Thoughts" sell a few Jew's harps?...For anyone fascinated by
the nature of sound and its significance within cultural and sociological
contexts, I recommend this disc most highly. George Zahora, in: Splendid-E-zine, 1999 |
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Music
and the Dispel of Thoughts Jew's
harp Mosaics (compositions by Phons
Bakx) Track
19-26 - time: 21:02 Phons
Bakx (solo in multi-recordings, 1986 - 1987) |
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19. Jew's harp Mosaic # 19 - 4'06 |
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....This
cd aims to demonstrate that the Jew's harp is a serious instrument rather
than just a toy, and it succeeds... The album's first 55 minutes presents
Phons Bakx playing in different combinations with other musicians, from
renowned Jew's harp players from all over the world like John Wright, to
locally resident musicians with various backgrounds, including the acoustic
blues group Banty Rooster and the brothers Robert & Jules Bitter.... The
unusual combination of Irish traditional tunes and Jew's harp accompaniment
make for a fascinating listening experience. So do the amazing duets with
Enno Meijers... Anja Beinroth, Folk World
(CD Reviews), issue 12-12/99 |
The Jew's harp Mosaics
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In
Part II we meet Bakx' initiation days as a Jew's harp player (1986-1987)
mingled with short soundcuts, e.g. the worknoises of Jew's harp makers
from Norway and Austria, et cetera. Main
feature of his Jew's harp Mosaics (his own compositions) is the use of a
multiple recording-system, which made possible that Phons Bakx dubbed his
Jew's harp playing 4 or 5 times. With his 'Jew's harp Mosaics' he convinced
in his initial days many a person that Jew's harps were not longer trifling
knick-knacks, but musical instruments that could produce minute sounds of
elegance. In
'Jew's harp Mosaics # 3' Bakx played on a reconstructed, Jew's harp-like
mouth instrument (utété) of grassy wood, of which the obsolete
originals for the last time were in popular use at the Îles Marquises
(Polynesia) at the end of the nineteenth century. Its sound evokes a
kind of musique concrète : the spheres of a grass-like micro-cosmos
inhabited by chirping insects. In
the 'Jew's harp Mosaics' restlessness, chaos, but also space, contemplation
and reveries are undoubtedly expressed in a dynamic way. 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 as a folk-musical
instrument, this music will sometimes more be appreciated as rock-music than
as folk-music. 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. |
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CD-data : PhonsBakx
@ antropodium dot tweakdsl dot nl |
to
the CD: A Song for the Jew's harp, 1997