Alternative Blackhill ad for TEB second album on "Zigzag" magazine.

With a text taken from Paracelsus, Swiss doctor and alchemist of the fifteenth century, Blackhill Enterprises produced an ad for the second album published by Harvest in 1970. The ad, published on some magazines (as "IT") was used also for promoting the "Sun Wheel Ceremony" at the Royal Albert Hall (June 24th, 1970).

This page, thanks to Jon Limbert of Beatchapter, a real mine of rare music stuff (magazines, posters, vinyls, CDs...) on the Net, is taken from an old issue of "Zigzag" (# 13 - June/July 1970).

Here's the Paracelsus' words (that I could read...):

"Musica expells the ???   which belongs to witches and sorcerers and takes away the spirit afernoch which inspires all those melancholic sectarians who think they see heaven and the god therein. All these are diseases of the brain and of reason".

Beatchapter - 49 Sebert Road, Forest Gate - London UK E70NJ
ph.: 020 85194590     e-mail: sales@beatchapter.com 

no©2014 Luca Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)  

Avantguarde French composer Bernard Parmegiani died on last November 21th.

Avantguarde French composer Bernard Parmegiani has died on last November 21th at 86. He played on June 24th, 1970 with the Third Ear Band at the "Sun Wheel Ceremony", a concert promoted at the prestigious Royal Festival Hall of London.

The I.T. ad

That evening the band played with Bernard Parmegiani two traks, "Fire" and the unpublished 34'56" "Freak Dance" (other title: "Pop Secret", from the Parmegiani official Web site). On "Melody Maker" (July 4th, 1970), Chris Charlesworth wrote about the event: "The hall was barely half full. Accompained at times by electronic machines making weird sounds Third Ear Band droned through two lenghty pieces which were well accepted by their fans. Their music has no title and is 90 per cent improvisation. It just starts and finishes when the band feel like it. There's a vague anonymity about their music. However violinist Richard Coff, who hate make announcements, did mention that one piece was called "Freak Dance". This contained some haunting oboe work from Paul Minns, and I rather enjoied it. Their second piece was more ambitious and, I thought, less enjoyable. At one stage I actually saw Richard tapping his foot!".

Quite different Carolyn Looker's memories of the event (April 2012): "Parmegiani concert was at Festival Hall. It didn't work too well in my opinion. TEB's music was organic, the French were music concrete, it didn't got".

You can listen some original Parmegiani's compositions (from 1965 and 1971) at http://www.ubu.com/sound/parmegiani.html or download his "De Natura Sonorum" (1984) at https://archive.org/details/agp140

 

His official Web site at http://www.parmegiani.fr/ and a very good tribute (with fabulous music excerpts!) at http://www.inagrm.com/sites/default/files/mini-sites/parmegiani/co/Bernard_Parmegiani.html
Lastly, a very good 2008 essay on Parmegiani's music by electronic sounds expert Simon Reynolds at http://reynoldsretro.blogspot.it/2008/08/bernard-parmegiani-loeuvre-musicale-en.html

no©2013 Luca Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)