John Wolf Brennan launches the first volume of Sonic Roots/ Wurzelklänge.

The first volume of John Wolf Brennan’s SONIC ROOTS/Wurzelklänge received a stunning premiere at the Frankfurt Book Fair this week. The composer gave a live concert of the works followed by a podium discussion with Dr. Angelika Horstmann (musicologist in Kassel, Germany) and a lively interactive discussion with the audience.

Brennan explains the background to SONIC ROOTS/Wurzelklänge:

“Like many other things, sonic roots (the German word „Wurzelklänge“ sounds very close to „Purzelklänge“ – sonic tumble-roots) have their source in biology and biography. I was born in Dublin, Ireland, and from school-days on, grew up in Switzerland … Together with Bohemia and Bavaria, Helvetia was the central homeland where the Celtic tribes originated. To my delight I found many astonishing parallels between old and new Celtic cultures.  ……Finally, I decided to dedicate a complete project to the quest for Celtic traces and to seek out the common roots. This idea continued to haunt me for half a lifetime, and now the first collection of SONIC ROOTS for piano is ready. ……."

The pieces on the first volume of Sonic Roots/ Wurzelklänge have a clear-cut educational purpose, but can equally be performed on stage. Featured among the twenty four pieces is “Ever for Never”, the opening track on John Wolf Brennan’s solo piano album THE SPEED OF DARK. The second volume will focus on the violin and the third on the clarinet/alto saxophone. The whole series of books will have a comprehensive range of twelve volumes including choir, ensembles, flute, recorder and accordion.