Unable to entirely take hold of the piece, the man began to take alternative measures to possess the exquisite timbres and sequence of pitches. He began researching the event of the composition of the piece, learning of its stylistic influences, its position in the history of music, the character and preoccupations of its composer. Still frustrated, he took to the annotation of each note onto manuscript, documenting meticulously the nuances in the style of performance, inking every precise grace note, with suggestions for mood and technique. Yet even with the completed document in hand, there was still something alienating himself from the work. Thus, he conducted a complete analysis of the wave form of the entire composition, reducing the music to a series of ones and zeroes which he had algorythmically rendered from the physical vibrations generated in the piece's performance. These he began to transcribe upon pages of vellum, illuminating the commencement of each musical phrase with gold leaf and dyes. Only by this means, he reasoned, could he recreate the piece anew, and make it finally his belonging.

 
My most important discoveries and ideas about music originate in my early acquaintance (initiated by a school study) with the eclectic and unusual music of Mike Oldfield. This culminated in around 1993-5, when I researched and acquired numerous articles about Oldfield's music, and formed an aliance with old friend Thorin Kerr, under the name shivaree, which saw us involved in the arrangement and performance of Oldfield's major work of 1975, Ommadawn.

In an earlier version of these pages (around 1997) I listed a breakdown of my musical tastes at the time, and provided links to Real Audio samples of those pieces. I'm not about to embark upon the same project, but for anyone who is interested, here is a link to that old list. Oldfield fans will find a multitude of Oldfield Real Audio (provided the links are still current...)