Tony Barnard: Philae's landing on the comet
Instrumental piece for solo harp guitar Track 9 on Music for Harp Guitar, 2016 Composed and performed by Tony Barnard on a 21 string harp guitar
Tony wrote: “This piece is my short, but nevertheless heartfelt dedication to the brilliant people of the European Space Agency (ESA).
It is my humble attempt to capture the end of the 6.5 billion kilometre, ten years and eight month journey in just under 4 minutes!! It is in four short section which need a little explaining to make my musical story clear. Think Space!
1. Rosetta, carrying the Philae lander in its deep space, orbiting Comet 67P. 2. Rosetta releases Philae and it gently descends towards the comet. 3. Philae’s anchoring harpoons fail to deploy and it bounces dramatically twice across the comet’s surface, eventually lying on its side in a deep crack in the shadow of a cliff. It sends data for several days and then shuts down. 4. Six months later, ground control receive an 85-second transmission from Philae, forwarded by rosetta, then nothing........
I am truly amazed, astounded and incredibly inspired by the Men and Women of the ESA and the Rosetta team, and their feat of landing a tiny probe on a small chunk of rock 6.5 billion kilometres away must rank as one of the truly great accomplishments in the short and often fraught history of Humanity.”
Tony Barnard is an Australian jazz guitarist currently living in the UK. The 2016 album, “Music for Harp Guitar”, is his CD debut on the solo harp guitar.
The album is available on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/music-for-harp-guitar/id1190682583
