Like many people around the world, my thoughts of late have been of Ukraine and its citizens. As a musician – composing and performing as Frank Blank Moriarty – I try to translate my thoughts to sounds, and so I created this piece: THE CHIMES OF KYIV. It’s a picture in sounds – a performance rather than a song. I can’t say I hope you will enjoy, but I do hope it resonates with you.
At its heart are sounds recorded in Kyiv by webcams on the nights of February 28 and March 1, 2022. The microphones sound as though they were installed right where people live, even capturing snippets of conversations. And the sound of wind chimes – ringing above the siren’s call – were hung by someone, somewhere in Kyiz to try to bring some beauty into the world.
The anthem of Ukraine also plays a part in this piece. The melody heard is that of its opening lines:
Nay, thou art not dead, Ukraine – see, thy glory’s born again
And the skies, O brothers, upon us smile once more!
May those words ring true again soon and long into the future. And may the sound that closes this piece – the defiant slam of a screen door in the face of air raid sirens, captured by a webcam microphone somewhere in Kyiv the night of March 1, 2022 – symbolize the courageous resolve of a people unjustly and brutally attacked.
Link to the “The Chimes of Kyiv”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooUP9qsgE3A
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