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Meditations for String Quartet

by Koben Sprengers

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      €12.50 EUR

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Double CD: Official version + Instrumental version

    Includes unlimited streaming of Meditations for String Quartet via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
Meditation I 00:48
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2.
Meditation II 00:54
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3.
Meditation III 00:59
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4.
Meditation IV 07:49
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5.
Meditation V 01:03
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6.
Meditation VI 00:56
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7.
Meditation VII 05:11
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8.
Meditation VIII 01:39
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9.
Meditation IX 05:36
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10.
Meditation X 03:35
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11.
Meditation XI 00:52
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12.
Meditation XII 07:41
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13.
Meditation XIII 02:12
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14.
Meditation XIV 00:40
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15.
Meditation XV 05:10
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16.
Meditation XVI 00:35
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17.
Meditation XVII 03:10
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18.
Meditation XVIII 07:25
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19.
Meditation XIX 13:26
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20.
Meditation XX 06:15
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about

My album Meditations for String Quartet is based on the writings of Roman emperor and philosophy enthusiast Marcus Aurelius Antonius Augustus. I say philosophy enthusiast, because he never actually considered himself to be a philosopher, despite his rigorous education. His writings, in a few editions titled the meditations, were never intended for publication. They were meant for himself, as a sort of diary or personal notebook; to frequently remind himself of the important lessons and wisdom he had learned from the ancient philosophers. Since his writings were aimed at himself, I found that these paragraphs had a very intimate, familiar voice to them. Like a grandfather patiently explaining something to his overly curious grandchild, almost soothing in its kindsness.


While Denver Harrington and I were working on the text together, I was working on the music seperately, so they kind of evolved side by side. In that sense, they can really be considered as two sides of the same coin: they tell the same story, in their own language. In the end, we decided to add the dialogue format for dramatic intent. The female narrator recites Aurelius' words, whereas the male narrator was thought of as a regular person, like you or me, being confronted with its wisdom.

The idea behind the work is to give people a sense of perspective again. To have them take a few steps back, to take a few deep breaths and to observe the universe around them. They might just rediscover its beauty and magnificence. In the end, whether economically, physically, politically, ethnically or culturally, the walls between us are merely imaginary. Many people seem to have forgotten that we are all part of one large living, breathing organism; that we’re all connected somehow. This connection means: that which hurts one, hurts the other as well.

As a species, we need to learn how to listen to the right voices again. Not the ones shouting the loudest, or saying what is most convenient, but the ones speaking the truth, even if it’s a mere whisper. And precicely these voices have been given a stage in Aurelius’ writings. Through his wisdom, they speak to us. Softly, but clearly.



“Dwell on the beauty of life.
Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”


-Marcus Aurelius

credits

released October 21, 2022

Ma'at:

Violin I: Griet Wiame
Violin II: Charlotte Verdoodt
Viola: Esther Coorevits
Cello: Jolien Deley

Double bass, synths & sound effects: Koben Sprengers

Female voice: Dawn Foster
Male voice: Bob Attiyeh
Male voice pre-production: William Schmitt

Text: Marcus Aurelius/Denver Harrington/Koben Sprengers

Sound engineer string quintet: Stef Lenaerts
Sound engineer female voice: Andris Kiss
Sound engineer male voice: Bob Attiyeh

Mixing engineer: Stef Lenaerts
Mastering engineer: Bob Attiyeh/Arian Jansen

String quintet recorded in MoterMusic Studios; Mechelen, Belgium
Synths recorded in Animal Shelter Studio; Brussels, Belgium
Female voice recorded in Heavy Rain Sound Studio; Kendal, UK
Male voice recorded in Imhof Studio; Taos, New Mexico, USA

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Koben Sprengers Brussels, Belgium

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