Numena
Encyclopedia
Numena is an album by the American
ambient
musician Robert Rich
. This is the most active solo album Rich had released by this time. It features the use of a variety of acoustic percussion instrument
s and just intonation
for the first time in Rich’s career.
The longest and most complicated track on the album is a piece called “The Other Side of Twilight”. It consists of two movements
, each with a different gamelan
inspired electronic sequence and natural ambience.
This is also the first Robert Rich album to be originally released on compact disc. In 1997 Numena was bound in a two disc set
with the album Geometry.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
musician Robert Rich
Robert Rich (musician)
Robert Rich is an ambient musician and composer based in California, United States. With a discography spanning over 30 years, he is widely regarded as a figure whose sound has greatly influenced today's ambient, New Age, and even IDM music.-Early life:At an early age he thought he disliked music...
. This is the most active solo album Rich had released by this time. It features the use of a variety of acoustic percussion instrument
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
s and just intonation
Just intonation
In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval. The two notes in any just interval are members of the same harmonic series...
for the first time in Rich’s career.
The longest and most complicated track on the album is a piece called “The Other Side of Twilight”. It consists of two movements
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
, each with a different gamelan
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
inspired electronic sequence and natural ambience.
This is also the first Robert Rich album to be originally released on compact disc. In 1997 Numena was bound in a two disc set
Numena + Geometry
Numena + Geometry is an album by the American ambient musician Robert Rich. It is a two-disc set containing Rich’s albums Numena and Geometry .-Disc one: Numena:#”The Other Side of Twilight” – 25:04#”Moss Dance” – 5:45...
with the album Geometry.
Note
Prior to the release of this album a shorter alternate version of “The Other Side of Twilight” was broadcast on the National Public Radio program Music from the Hearts of Space.Track listing
- ”The Other Side of Twilight” – 25:04
- ”Moss Dance” – 5:40
- ”NumenNumenNumen is a Latin term for a potential, guiding the course of events in a particular place or in the whole world, used in Roman philosophical and religious thought...
” – 11:51 - ”The Walled Garden” – 10:31