Words by David C. Obenour
Recorded live and as a single take on an acoustic harp without amplification or effect, Shelley Burgon’s debut solo album, The In Between could be described as a minimalist work. The arrangement is sparse and the surroundings of California’s Meditation Mount instill a palpable tranquility. However living up to its title, the spaces in between here are anything but still – bristling with Burgon’s focus, emotion, and intent. As listening reaches deeper and deeper, earlier perceived silence is rediscovered as fading notes, surrounding nature, and a controlled singular artistry.
Off Shelf: Can you describe your personal appreciation for the tone of a harp without amplification or effect? And in particular, the tone of the harp that you chose to record The In Between on?
Shelley Burgon: I recorded on my Lyon & Healy Style 30 concert grand harp that I have had for 19 years. The concert grand harps have such a big beautiful deep warm sound. Every time I sit and play my harp I am always grateful that I play such beautiful instrument.
OS: Recorded live and in nature, could you describe your surroundings on the morning you recorded The In Between?
SB: This was recording at dusk so the take that became this recording started just before sunset. I recorded in the auditorium up at Meditation Mount in Ojai, CA. It was a warm June summer day and the roof was crackling as it cooled down from the heat of the day.
OS: Had you previously scouted out that location? And at the time you decided to record? What made it right and what considerations did you have?
SB: I started going up to Meditation Mount in the spring of 2017. At the time I needed solace from a broken heart and my nervous system was still jangled from many years living in NYC. It is so majestic up there that I immediately started dreaming of playing there some day. Finally at the beginning of 2021 I was invited through the Ojai Music Festival to be part of Meditation Mounts 50th birthday celebration event that they were curating.
Since then, I have been fortunate in that I have been invited to play up at Meditation Mount quite a few times. One of those events took place in the auditorium and I wrote a new piece for that event. The acoustics in that room simply make the harp sing. After that, Brian Ziegler who is on the board there invited me up to record in the auditorium and I immediately thought of this piece. I was looking for a space that would bring in a unique atmosphere and energy to The In Between. I had previously premiered this piece in 2016 at a Williamsburg church in Brooklyn, NY which gave a lovely contrasting backdrop of loud city sounds which reminded me a of musique concrète. The recording from that will hopefully be released as a download version.
OS: Can you describe your setup that day? What you brought out to the recording, how you arranged yourself and the surroundings? Had anyone accompanied you to help?
SB: I spent two days up at Mediation Mount recording this piece with Brian Ziegler who brought a AEA R88 stereo ribbon microphone and set it up in the center of the room. And for the second day I brought in a DPA as a close mic on the harp. The recording is a combination of the two setups and it is the last take on the last day in its entirety with no edits.
[added from Brian Ziegler:] My objective in this recording was to use minimal devices employing a direct signal path to record true stereo achieving an optimal balance between the direct sound of the instrument and the ambient acoustic of the performance space. By focusing on this, the intention was to create a beautiful audio experience to optimize the meditative state facilitating the sense of ‘being there’ for the listener.
OS: Were the photos for the album taken on the day of the recording? Are we looking at the setting where these songs were recorded?
SB: The photos were taken on a different day by Nicole Valencia down near the river bottom in Ojai. Meditation Mount is up on the hill and overlooks the valley and river bed below.
OS: Have you had previous experience working with field recordings? What importance do you give to them as an element for these recordings?
SB: Yes, I first started working within the framework of field recordings while I was at Mills. I am constantly recording and collecting sounds. Frogs and cicadas are irresistible to me so I always record them. I have lots of recordings from when I lived in NYC, the rhythm of the J train on the above ground tracks in Brooklyn comes to mind as very memorable. Also the premier of this piece and the first recording attempt was at a church in Williamsburg where the city sounds and the creaking of the old church filled the spaces in between the harp parts and overlapped with them.
OS: You time stamped each movement too. Does the music align to the changes you were experiencing around you? If so, how?
SB: The In Between was written as one long continuous piece including all the sections without harp. I would call them silent but because the environment takes the place as another performer they are just harp tacet sections versus them being pure silence. Although it would be amazing to do this piece in a purely silent chamber too.
This record is one long continuous piece. That is how it was written. It is 56 minutes long and each section is 7 minutes long with the harp tacet sections separating each harp moment. The first harp tacet section is 7 seconds long and each one become 7 seconds longer until the end when you have 56 seconds of harp tacet. But for the sake of the 4 record sides and digital platforms sections have been given time stamps associated with the time of day it was recorded. It was recorded right before sunset but I did not use a 24 hour clock so it would be interesting to perform this piece with those timings in the morning hours. The piece utilizes a stopwatch for the temporal structure but Peter Kolovos from Thin Wrist and I thought using the time of day as track markings created a better visual for the music and the corresponding environmental sounds.
OS: Do you remember any sensations that struck you physically while performing?
SB: In order to place fast and for long durations you actually have to be quite relaxed. My eyes are closed for the most part and so I am honing in like a hawk on the sounds of the harp while being as relaxed in my fingers, hands and arms as possible.
OS: Can you distill any of your emotional connection to this music? What your mindset and headspace was while performing it?
SB: It takes a lot of stillness, focus and stamina. I wrote this piece in the first year I was away from NYC for extended periods of time. It documents a time when I was unraveling from myself and the life I had created. Every time I play this piece my focus is to connect my heart to each note as deeply and sincerely as possible. To mentally be inside the sounds in the present moment and nowhere else.
OS: Was there any element of improvisation with the songs for The In Between? To whatever degree, how do you think you performed them differently on the morning of that recording?
SB: The piece is partially indeterminate. Each motif is predetermine along with the length of sections and length of the tacet sections but the tempo and repetitions are indeterminate.