Gunter Herbig - Lux - Tape

…lux

Is the second chapter of my journey into transcribing Thomas de Hartmann’s piano arrangements of Gurdjieff’s music for the guitar. It also completes the sentence ex oriente lux. The light comes from the east, the first chapter having been released by the Swedish label BIS under the name ex oriente.

As is typical for anyone who delves into Gurdjieff's teaching, the realisation that nothing moves in straight lines never takes long to establish itself. Mr. G, as he was often affectionately referred to by his closer followers said himself:  "without struggle, no progress and no result. Every breaking of habit produces a change in the machine".

The recording sessions for lux started with realisation that my amp was broken and produced a distorted sound as soon as you played more than one note at a time. Many weeks of practice and preparation had gone into getting ready for the recording and the frustration to consider to abort was great. The decision to go ahead anyway was made on the spot and, in hindsight, it reveals the inner workings of the path. Nothing ever happens the way you expect and acceptance is one of the greatest lessons we can learn. I decided to go ahead with the distorted sound and let the light shine through the broken prism in its own beauty.

Released: 20. April 2024

Gunter Herbig: electric guitar
Producer and sound engineer: Dick Le Fort
Recorded: September 2021 in Hataitai, Wellington

All transcriptions from the piano
original scores by G. Herbig

Guitar: Gretsch White Falcon G7593
Amp: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe lll

Cosima Pitz, C.P. 57/23, 2024; Ed. of 100