2022 Year-in-Review

After the end of last year and the death of my father, the first months of 2022 were quiet. During that time there were—and continue to be—many moments of uncertainty, listlessness, and feeling lost. I am sure we all know these feelings well. I spent a great deal of time working through them, reassessing values, and trying to accept what I can’t control. I came up with three words to hold on to, as a personal mantra: open, grounded, curious. Returning to what these words mean to me is often helpful, and keeps me from being too serious or too self-absorbed.

Then: a visit to Thomas Merton’s hermitage to film and record in June; a family trip to Maine in July; COVID in August; and a whirlwind Autumn with the release and performance of Words and Silences. I’ve already written about many of these experiences (you can read more in previous newsletters if you wish), and will keep my remarks brief. Below, look for a few notes on Words and Silences, recent press and reviews, a decade of solo performances, and a listing of writings, podcasts, and conversations.

And now, I look forward to new opportunities and projects taking shape in 2023, including a January exhibition at Ohio Wesleyan University based on revisiting and listening to locations of old photographs in Ohio;  and the Johnstone Fund for New Music centered on my father’s workbench; an educational listening program with the Wexner Center for the Arts; and two new writing projects about Forest Listening Rooms and exploring ways of performing archives.

And to all of you who have read this newsletter, engaged with me via email or conversation, listened to the music, or attended the Words and Silences performance: thank you!

Best wishes and Happy New Year — Brian

RECORDINGS: WORDS AND SILENCES

Here are a few words from the album description:

Throughout the album there are moments of deep concentration and quiet, and always a sense of serene celebration: a fever-chill of joy. There are also subtle references to the music Merton loved throughout his life, including Louis Armstrong, Joan Baez, John Coltrane, Buck Owens, and Jimmy Smith. Brass and wind instruments evoke the attentive breathing of meditation, and the piano shares distant echoes of Merton’s love for early Kansas City Jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams. 

Merton’s words still feel relevant today, both in terms of the solitude and reflection experienced during the pandemic, and of the demand for racial justice happening across the country. His work shows how the movement and tension between contemplation and action are not opposed; they complement one another. Words and Silences is available now in the Winesap Store, at Bandcamp, and all streaming platforms.

REVIEWS AND PRESS

(For a complete listing of reviews and press, visit here.)

“Harnetty frames Merton’s humane eloquence with discreet and dignified music, realized on piano with a brass and reed quartet. The monk’s voice remains vital and apt; the settings are just right.”
— Julian Cowley, The Wire

"The Ohio-based composer delivers a magnum opus... Harnetty reveals Merton’s acceptance of frustration, confusion, gratitude, and revelation as part of his journey — and hints it is also part of ours. Words and Silences is musically adept and emotionally and spiritually resonant. Brilliant." — AllMusic

“Harnetty’s vision here is immense... The work is distinctive, immersive, and poignant. It’s an unalloyed triumph and a magnificent achievement. Highly recommended.” — Independent Clauses

“Like most of Harnetty’s art, the Merton project harnesses the musician’s superpower of careful listening and his deep curiosity about other people. ‘It’s a way to open up what you’re doing and to be closer to the rest of the world,’ he says.” — Joel Oliphint, Columbus Monthly

“A meditation and refuge from the incessant noise of modernity, the record offers harmonious balance between distinct spiritual forces, at work both individually and in multi-layered conversation.” — Jason Woodbury, Aquarium Drunkard

“Harnetty’s work is an engagement, not only with thought and voice, but with intonation and emotion. Just as Merton often did other things in the silences: paint, draw, photograph – Harnetty decorates (not fills) the silences with music.” — Richard Allen, A Closer Listen

2022 BEST-OF LISTS

(To read more about these lists, visit here.)

Here are a few more lists from online and radio:

The Wire: Contributor's Charts (Julian Cowley) 2022
Dublab: Morpho—Graph Paper: Best of 2022
Screen of Distance: Best of 2022 Records
Independent Clauses: Top 10 Albums of 2022
No More Workhorse—Boa More: A Year of Music
Byte FM Radio (Germany): Best of 2022
David Mennessier: 150 Recordings of 2022
There Stands the Glass: Top 25 Reimaginings of 2022
iCatFM Radio (Catalonia): Best of 2022 (International Music)

WATCH: 10 YEARS OF SOLO PERFORMANCES

(Watch all seven videos on YouTube here.)

I’m still working on editing the recent performances of Words and Silences, and will share those in 2023. In the meantime, here is a playlist of about an hour’s worth of solo performances from The Star-Faced One, Shawnee, Ohio, Many Hands, and three recent videos from Words and Silences. Many thanks to the Mug and Brush Sessions, the Fuse Factory, and The Wexner Center for the Arts for their support.

1-2: “Marshall’ and “Another Way” from The Star-Faced One (Mug and Brush Sessions).

3: “Jim” from Shawnee, Ohio (at the Tecumseh Theater).

4: Selected pieces from Many Hands (Fuse Factory).

5-7: “Sound of an Unperplexed Wren,” “Let There Be a Moving Mosaic of this Material,” and “Breath, Water, Silence” from Words and Silences (Thomas Merton’s Hermitage).

WRITINGS, PODCASTS, & CONVERSATIONS

I recently corresponded with Jacob Kopcienski about Words and Silences for I Care if You Listen. I really appreciated his questions, and this article was an opportunity to provide more context for the project.

Read the article here.

UK Online Magazine Outside Left asked me to share five things for 2022 — not a best-of list, but things that inspire me. I talk about Radiooooo, Niki and Nat Segnit, Hanif Abdurraqib (and Two Dollar Radio), Robert Lax, and my father's workbench. Read the full article here.

Here you can read an excerpt of my essay "Thinking Out Loud in a Hermitage" and listen to the track "Who Is This I?"

I sat down with Michael Harren for his podcast “MikeyPod” to talk about Words and Silences. We discussed several tracks from the album, and also talked about musical borrowing, and working with archives. You can listen to this podcast and learn more here.

Earlier this year, I took part in Brian Koscho’s podcast “Invisible Ground” that focused on the Little Cities of Black Diamonds in Appalachian Ohio. You can listen to the full episode here (my interview is toward the end).

Whew! You made it to the end! Thanks!