[Ramona_A_Stone]

"A few artists have already written songs inspired by the events of September 11. Country singer Alan Jackson introduced a plaintive “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning”) at the CMA awards a couple of weeks ago, and Paul McCartney sang his rousing “Freedom” as the finale to the “Concert for New York” in October. McCartney has made his song available as a charity single download, with proceeds going to the Robin Hood Relief Fund. Other artists have recorded patriotic songs—such as the Dixie Chicks’ gorgeously harmonized a cappella version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and Bon Jovi’s heartfelt “America the Beautiful”—for download, asking that a donation be given to relief organizations. And still others have put together group recordings—Michael Jackson, for instance, with his “What More Can I Give.”

But to me the most fitting music so far related to the attack and its aftermath is Robert Fripp’s “Refraction,” part of his Soundscapes series. Fripp, best known for his progressive rock group King Crimson, improvised and recorded the 6 minute piece on November 30, 2000, before an audience. Although this was obviously many months before the destruction of the World Trade Center, the free performance took place right across the street from there at the World Financial Center—only a footbridge away.



Listening to “Refraction,” I could imagine Fripp standing on the current pile of smoking rubble, letting everything that had occurred there run through him to create this music. Mournful, ethereal, expansive—the piece seems to be at once a dirge for those who’ve died, a tribute to those who risked or gave their lives, and a call to look deeply within ourselves for the best way to respond.

The guitarist and composer has said of the series, “The Soundscapes recording resounds with the essence of the Soundscape itself: of being true to the moment in which they are performed, to act in accordance with time, place and person.” To this end, Fripp uses his technique called Frippertronics, solo guitar work based on delay and repetition and involving tape loops and sound layering. The surprising thing is that the moment “Refraction” is true to is not only the moment in which it was performed, but also this time, right now—the time since September 11.

Oddly, Fripp was, if not in distance, far away from the atmosphere of ground zero. He simultaneously created and performed the piece in the crystalline Winter Garden, with a curved glass ceiling that sheltered sixteen palm trees—a wondrous sight that never failed to surprise me, the tropics brought to New York City. Since the performance took place during the holiday season, 100,000 white lights hung from the trees and elsewhere in the space. Jonathan Brainin, a guitarist working with Fripp, described the place as having the feel of a cathedral during the evening performances. (Fripp did both lunchtime and evening performances over three days.) Of Fripp’s work, he wrote, “The flavor of the evening’s performance was very much influenced by the space. RF used a wider emotional palette. Compared to soundscapes I had witnessed in prior years, RF seemed to be more involved with the care and feeding of the music.” He also said that Fripp had said the performance would be “gentle.”



That’s a bit at odds with much of King Crimson’s music (most recently to be found in the live album “Vroom Vroom”). In an Internet posting on September 19, Matthew K. Smith, a fan of the group, wrote, “King Crimson is tailor-made for the contemplation of the senseless slaughter of thousands of people. I think we can all hear such tunes as ‘Schizoid Man,’ ‘Epitaph,’ ‘Pictures of a City’…and particularly ‘Coda: I Have a Dream’ in a very haunting and evoKcative [sic] light now….It is very disturbing, but I find some solace and catharsis in how well Crimson represents the madness and inhumanity that exists in mankind.”

Smith will not find an evocation of madness in “Refraction,” but he will find this disaster filtered through the mind and heart of Robert Fripp, even if it was before the fact. I just read that light refracted—bent—by the ice crystals in clouds can cause the optical effect of “halos” around the sun or moon. Fripp in his original way has placed a halo around what is left of the World Trade Center. To feel its power—perhaps healing, perhaps offering emotional insight—go to avantnoise.com and download this music. As a recent media release stated, “It is Robert’s wish for the piece to be shared, free of commerce, with those who want to listen and reflect."
--Mary Lyn Maiscott

I found the avantnoise site very poorly designed, after a hellish logging-in process, the Fripp page disappeared and the site's search engines refused to yield any reference to it. Rather than put everyone else through this frustrating miasma, (it took me nearly an hour to just locate the piece) Mr. E and I conspired to post it on his site at www.tatom.org/eclectica where all may freely and easily obtain it.

This is an absolutely breathtaking piece, as is most of the Soundscape series. For those of you unfamliar with Mr. Fripp's Frippertronic pieces, you may be astounded to realize that this beautiful orchestral tapestry was created live by a solo guitar player. For the initiated, more proof that Mr. Fripp is the premier creative genius of the 20th century. Enjoy!
--Ramona