CHRISTOPHER SHULTIS, Waldmusik

Henry David Thoreau’s time at Walden Pond (1845-47) was a deliberate social experiment in simple living that resulted in his masterwork Walden; or Life in the Woods. Living in a self-built cabin on land owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau sought to “front only the essential facts of life.” The transcendental writer’s text is a reflection upon living in natural surroundings – part declaration of independence, part voyage of spiritual discovery and to some degree a manual for self-reliance.

A master at creating food for the mind’s ear via incorporating environmental recordings and minimalist structures, former orchestral percussionist and renowned educator and composer Christopher Shultis on his latest subtle, expansive masterwork Waldmusik pays homage to the Thoreau aesthetic while artfully - and with supreme soul depth and sophistication - chronicling fourteen years of walking and listening in landscapes everywhere from New Mexico and Pennsylvania to South Korea.

In his colorful liner notes, Shultis quotes Thoreau as a means to creating a personal mission statement for the sonically surreal eight-piece journey that takes us from the exotic, mystical string plucks of “Circlings” (a reflection of walks in the mountains of South Korea featuring the sounds of water, insects and sacred chanting of Buddhist Monks) to the all at once haunting/hypnotic, spacious and tribally grounded, Thomas Merton inspired meditation “One Far Noise,” written for Italian percussionist Simone Mancuso to play on the tamtam – a large unpitched metal gong of Chinese origin commonly used in film scores to produce deep, resonant and dramatic soundscapes.

Shultis writes, “These walks, in woods and mountains, have been my source of inspiration from 1999 until the present. Beginning with taking Henry David Thoreau seriously when he wrote in his essay Walking, ‘I think I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least – and it is commonly more than that – sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.” In many ways, though shorter and created in the service of the unique organic music presented, the percussionist’s notes are as much a guide to understanding Waldmusik as they are a primer for a life we can all aspire to, connected so viscerally to nature that it becomes an intrinsic part of our heart and soul.

Shultis’ initial inspiration for Waldmusik came to him during a 2003 residency in Taos, New Mexico, where that driving aesthetic (“walking in woods/listening/what I hear”) took roots and became an enduring mantra. The collection serves as a chronicle of his inner transformation as his daily practice of sauntering quieted his mind to better attune to the sounds of the natural world around him. “Waldmusik is not just a collection of pieces; it is a document of my journey to a place where I could truly listen,” says Shultis. “The woods of New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Korea, and Germany were where I learned to listen. This album is the sound of what I heard there.”

The irony is that he’s creating sounds from a place where silence allows this kind of listening. But it’s our way into understanding the experience. Though it’s likely that Thoreau would have preferred the simplicity of silence, it’s a nice flight of fancy to imagine him enjoying the experience of listening to this work created in his name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzP6MMCxeTk

The other sonically nuanced, intricately rendered “saunterings” bring us to unique places in Stultis’ personal and musical heart. Highlighted by the dark rumblings, emphatic percussive chords and whimsical high notes of pianist Ashley Oakley (complemented by the mesmerizing percussion of Douglas Nottingham), the trio “Wisshahickon, Pulpit Rock, French Creek” reflects three distinct places in Pennsylvania that sparked the first pieces for the project. Wissahickon is named about a creek just outside of Philadelphia, while Pulpit Rock is a special spot on the Appalachian Trail and French Creek is a state Park and the location of a trail Shultis often hiked, the Mill Creek Trail.

In 2011, Shultis released Devisadero, an album featuring music heavily inspired by his experiences hiking in New Mexico, whose title translates to “a place from which to view,” often associated with a lookout point. While that album featured pianist Falko Steinbach, the version of the 11-minute piece Devisadero on Waldmusik is performed by virtuoso pianist Curt Cacioppo, Professor Emeritus of Music at Haverford College, who spent decades studying Native American music and traditions, collaborating with Navajo elders to preserve sacred ceremonies like the Coyoteway. Though presented in the tracking on the new album as a single piece, its actual title is “Devisadero: Six Preludes for Piano Solo,” which include such Thoreau-esque titles as “Walking,” “Wind Blowing” and “Bird Chirping, Rustling Leaf.” It has its ambient and intensely dramatic passages, but overall it’s most lyrical and melodically compelling piece on Waldmusik.

Cacioppo is also on hand to add passion, majestic wonder and tribal authenticity to Shultis’ grandeur filled, “World End Preludes,” a uniquely evolving narrative and musical pilgrimage that follows the tragic path of the Lenape people, ending with the Gnadenhütten massacre of 1782. Also known as the Moravian Massacre, it took place during the Revolutionary War when 96 pacificist Christian Lenape (Delaware) and Mohican Indians were systematically murdered by a detachment of the Pennsylvania militia led by Colonel David Williamson. The victims were members of the Moravian Church, a pacifist Protestant denomination. They had been converted to Christianity by Moravian missionaries and lived in the village of Gnadenhütten (German for "Huts of Grace") in present-day Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Cacioppo’s balance of harsh, intense notes, flurried musings, beautiful spiritual grace and elegant melodic sophistication carry us through this compelling interpretation of the story, from the frantic “Wyalusing” to the more peaceful, reflective aftermath of “World’s End.”