PERPETUA, by Cedric Vermue

PERPETUA

by Cedric Vermue

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Dermac This is a beautiful album, after hearing’Sanctus’ and ‘Heavens be my friend’ I decided to buy the album. So peaceful and meditative, simply gorgeous. Everyone, take a moment and listen.

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
150 Limited Edition Gatefolded CD including beautiful deluxe artwork by visual artist Tjitske Oosterholt. For those who prefer a pick up let us know at hello@mylja.com and we will arrange that!

Includes unlimited streaming of PERPETUA via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.	Prologue 01:57		buy track
2.	Magnesia 04:01		buy track
3.	Aether 04:05 video	info	buy track
4.	Pendulum 03:29		buy track
5.	Patterns 05:58	info	buy track
6.	Solace 06:55		buy track
7.	Variations 08:06		buy track
8.	Sanctus 04:12		buy track
9.	Heavens Be My Friend 06:32		buy track
10.	Epilogue 02:25		buy track

about

Perpetua is an ambient neo-classical album by Cedric Vermue. Featuring piano, organ, synthesizer, electronics, woodwinds, horn and one track with a female choir and a collaboration with Marc Vilajuana.   Perpetua is the latin word for infinity. Referring to the Christian tradition that played an important part in the inspiration for this album, taking inspiration from Gregorian melodies and old organ music. Except for piano, all other instruments were recorded in the St Willibrordchurch in Utrecht, in 9 different recording sessions from 2019 tot 2022. Cedric has been coming here since 2018 and spent many afternoons playing this 12m high church organ, which you can hear in the song: Sanctus ft Marc Vilajuana.

  In this album Cedric has been exploring new aesthetics and sound. Digital production techniques and electronics are essential in the storytelling and listening experience of this album. If anything it is an experimental studio album where acoustic spaces and instruments meet with a modern electronic world. Many days were spend together with mixing engineer Antal van Nie to bring all ideas and elements together into the album it is today.  

Patterns is the most energetic and euphoric track of the album. This track started as an endless 4 second long loop of different complimentary arpeggio patterns and on the Juno 60 Synthesizer run through the Space echo. Later this loop was harmonized and given a song structure, becoming the track it is today. In the end 12 different Juno synthesizer layers were stacked on top of each other, combined with a horn melody recorded in the St Willibrord church.

Aether is the most experimental composition. It is centered around a recomposed gregorian Sanctus melody (Sanctus XI) played serenely by a piano and clarinet. Later, this is harmonized with waterfall like minimal arpeggio patterns that slowly roll into a climax. The same Sanctus melody appears later on the album in an acoustic improvised version on the Willibrord organ featuring Marc Vilajuana, who performed a free and sexy version of this composition. Variations stands out in the album as it is both the longest piece and the only solo piano composition. This piece was originally 30 minutes long, but was later cut to the current 11 minutes. Variations is a conceptual piece with a circular nature and its phrasing is inspired upon Gregorian chant. It consists entirely of a reduced minor scale with only the first 5 notes of the scale, leaving the piece floating in a perpetual A-minor chord. Heavens be my friend is probably the most ambitious composition of the album, featuring 15 musicians within one piece that were recorded in four separate sessions, including a small female choir.

Cedric Vermue is a Dutch pianist and a producer of neo-classical music based in Amsterdam. In 2019 he released his debut album Left Upon Us, mixing piano with electronics and ambiences. Besides playing the piano he also plays church organ, and mixes rhodes and analogue synthesizers in his live performances. Perpetua is his newest project, to be released in the beginning of 2023 with Mylja Records. This conceptual album brings the listener into a new world of sound.

credits

released March 10, 2023

Composed and Recorded by Cedric Vermue
Mixed and Produced by Antal van Nie
Mastered by Wessel Oltheten
Artwork & Design by Tjitske Oosterholt

Piano, Organ and Juno 60 Synthesizer by Cedric Vermue
Contrabass Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Clarinet by Lex Houtermans, Rudi van Hest, Xiya Cheng
Oboe by Quentin Rychner, Maria Jesus Moreno
Horn by Gerart Drijvers
Vocals by Marc Vilajuana, Veronika Akhmetchina, Corine Borsje, Roosmarijn Tuenter, Mirna Attia, Charley Harsema, Maartje Masereeuw, Sanja van Wieringen, Lotte Sarembe and Inda Duran

Thanks to the St. Willibrordkerk Utrecht and Sena Muziekproductiefonds.