Mem1: Diapason 

Estuary Ltd. (2024)

Diapason effortlessly combines sound-making technologies created at a distance of over two centuries using instruments collected and maintained by Cornell University’s Center for Historical Keyboards in Ithaca, NY. Divesting from Mem1’s quintessential instrumentation (cello/voice and analog modular/electronics) to engage keyboard-based instruments anew, Laura Cetilia explores the Center’s recreation of an 18th century organ from the Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin destroyed during World War II with an ear keenly tuned to how notes from the organ breathe and bend, while Mark Cetilia utilizes the unique circuitry of the Center’s original Minimoog Model D and Juno 60 synthesizers to generate complex soundfields pulsating in time with the organ.

Despite the discrepancies between the musical styles prevalent during their creation during the 18th and late 20th centuries, the Baroque organ and vintage synthesizers are united by Mem1 through their similarities, resulting in slowly evolving and billowing layers of complex timbres and opulent sonorities. As air flows through pipes and electricity flows through cables, a deep understanding also flows between these seasoned musicians. With only one day to familiarize themselves with the instruments and their environment (Cornell’s great Anabel Taylor chapel), Laura and Mark Cetilia rely on their 20+ years of intimate collaboration to marry this unlikely pairing of keyboard instruments through swells and bursts of harmony, or, diapason.

Track Listing

Diapason I [13:35]
Diapason II [15:24]

Availability

This item is available in the Shop.
Also available via Estuary Ltd.