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In addition to being the genius creator of the Talislanta RPG, Stephan Michael Sechi is also a musician. He has taken the time out of his busy schedule to supply fans with music from Talislanta. Alas, however, supplies were limited, and the tapes and CDs quickly disappeared from the shelves.
For those fans who missed the limited release of the Talislanta musical offerings, SMS has graciously given me permission to include samples of the music on this web page and to reprint, in full, the liner notes for the music. Words and music here are Steve's, typos are mine.
[ Music From Talislanta | Music From Talislanta II | Talislanta: Wizard Hunter ]
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"Through a veil of blue mist did I first behold Talislanta: dreamlike and surreal, as if suffused in amberglow. At once it became my goal to explore this radiant new world: to unearth its ancient mysteries. And so I embarked upon a journey that would take me across the strange and exotic land known as... Talislanta."
So wrote the wizard Tamerlin: self-styled explorer, scholar, and author, who first discovered the lost land of Talislanta. Tamerlin claimed to have spent the greater part of fourteen years exploring the Talislantan continent and studying its indigenous cultures, flora, and fauna. The accounts of his expedition first appeared in the book, The Chronicles of Talislanta, and a handful of bestiaries, cosmologies, and treatises.
It was recently discovered that, among his many reputed accomplishments, Tamerlin also conducted an extensive study of the music of Talislanta. This work consisted of a series of short "liner notes" and a selection of musical performances imbued within enchanted amberglass orbs. Transferred to tape, these performances can now be heard, and hopefully enjoyed, by Talislantaphiles of the present era.
As to the land of Talislanta: those scholars who do not dismiss the topic out of hand disagree as to the origins of this mysterious realm. Some claim that Talislanta existed long ago, during the legendary First Age of Atlantis. Others, lending even broader scope to their imaginations, cite Tamerlin's chronicles as proof of the existence of alternate realities. Proponents of the hollow earth theory, avid readers of Charles Fort, and individuals of similar bent may formulate even more intriguing explanations for the Talislantan texts. Whatever your own interpretation, we hope that you enjoy this presentation of the music of Talislanta.
1. Processional (Bodorian) 4:02
The Bodor are widely regarded as the most accomplished musicians in
Talislanta. They possess the ability to see sound waves as a series of
colors, and converse among themselves by means of a musical language
that requires no words to convey meaning. This selection was originally
commissioned by the Emperor of Quan during the year 588 of the New
Age. It was performed by a fourteen-piece Bodorian orchestra comprised
of tambour (tuned drums), glass flute, glass bells, gossamer harp, and
the intricate spiralhorn. The "breathy"-sounding instrument heard in
the background is the four-man bellows-pipes.
2. Desert Dance (Djaffir) 2:45
A tradition among the Djaffir bandit tribes, the Desert Dance is a
ritual performed after the completion of a particularly profitable
raid. The effects of the ritual are apparently quite profound, for at
its conclusion the members of the tribe renounce their thieving ways
and become merchants. Typically, this miraculous transformation lasts
only so long as the merchants have wares to sell, after which they will
become bandits once again. Instrumentation includes ahtra-hide drums of
varying size, shakers, and the djaro, which also doubles as a short
bow. The bowstring is struck with a rod or stick to produce the
instrument's characteristic "twanging" sound.
3. Meditation (Mandalan) 3:03
The music of the Mandalans consists of simple melodies, with a strong
but understated rhythmic pulse underneath. Its structure symbolizes the
Mandalan virtues of outward passivity and inner strength, as
illustrated by the concept of the Mystic Warrior. This selection,
called "Meditation", was performed by a trio of Mandalan mystics at a
small shrine located in the Groves of Serenity. The melody was played
on a two-chambered wooden flute called a madal; the accompanist plays a
silk harp, its seven strings fashioned from a silkwyrrm thread. The
third musician is playing several percussion instruments, including a
mandola (a long bamboo tube filled with smooth pebbles). The trickling
sound of a stream can be heard in the background.
4. The Exodus (Dracartan) 3:58
Long before they settled in the Red Desert and established the great
city of Carantheum, the ancestors of the Dracartans wandered the
Wilderlands for centuries, searching for a new home. This period is
remembered as a time of great hardship and personal sacrifice, and is
commemorated in a traditional song called "The Exodus". The instruments
used in this performance include the daro (drums made of fired clay and
land lizard hide), dracara (ancestral drums made of red iron, dating
back hundreds of years), and tchan (red iron cymbals).
5. Work Song (Yassan) 1:50
The Yassan are an industrious folk renowned throughout the Desert
Kingdoms as practitioners of the lost art of Technomancy. Their music
is technically oriented; in fact, most musical instruments used by the
Yassan also double as tools. The composition, "Work Song", is typical
of the Yassan approach to music. The instrumentation includes clangals
(flexible saw blades used as cymbals), tubals (metal pipe), metal-harp,
spring-chimes, and hammer-gongs. Yassan "sheet music" resembles a set
of mechanical diagrams; at the conclusion of this piece the
worker-musicians had constructed a small wind-funnel.
6. Call to the Sea Dragon (Sun-Ra-San) 3:05
The music of the Sun-Ra-San, an aquatic race of sea dragon hunters, is
haunting and often filled with sorrow. "Call to the Sea Dragon" is a
piece that is traditionally performed after a successful hunt, as an
offering to the spirit of the departed sea dragon. The melody is played
on the rasa, a ten-foot long flute carved from the tail bone of an
ancient sea dragon. The droning pedal tone was sung by the Sun-Ra-San,
who are known for their ability to produce wordless vocal sounds
across a range of six octaves. In the background one can hear the sound
of the wind and waves, and the tolling of a brass ship's bell.
7. Folk Song (Sarista) 3:14
The Sarista Gypsys of western Talislanta earn a living by performing
folk songs and dances for their audiences, as well as by more devious
means; they also bear a well-deserved reputation as pick-pockets and
con-artists. This composition is typical of most Sarista music in that
it is based upon a theme that was "borrowed" from another culture (in
this case, Zandir), and adapted for use by Sarista musicians.
Instrumentation includes the lutara (three-string baritone lute), ahtal
(a type of two-string fiddle), wooden flute, and finger cymbals. As
this song built to a climax the audience was encouraged to join in by
clapping along with the beat. While they were preoccupied, Sarista
children artfully rifled their pockets for coins and other small
valuables.
1. Battle March (Kang) 3:05
The music of the warlike Kang is militaristic and generally
unsophisticated in nature. This piece, with its pounding drums and
braying horns, is typical of the raucous marches favored by these folk.
The instruments heard in this composition (dragon-hide drums beaten
with war hammers, cymbals, and iron battle-horns) were played by Vajra
slaves. Rhythmic counter-figures are provided by the sharp clash of
swords beaten against shields.
2. Temple Chant (Aamanian) 2:51
Aamanian temple music reflects the Orthodoxist Cult concept of
"oneness in mind and spirit", and consists of many voices chanting
repetitious motifs in unison or in octaves over a droning pedal tone.
The Hierophant leads the assemblage in song; the congregation and the
rest of the clergy follow without variation. No instruments are used in
any Aamanian music, as these implements were regarded as "the tools of
the devil".
3. Concerto Pt. 1 (Bodorian) 2:30
This piece is the first movement of a concerto entitled, "The
Wilderlands Suite", which was written by the Bodor composer, So-La. The
entire suite consists of twenty-four separate movements, and is over
eight hours in length. The first movement is based in part on traditional
rhythmic patterns found in the music of indigenous Wilderlands tribes
such as the Danelek and Za. Instruments include nalaka (Danelek drums,
made from land lizard-hide and ogriphant bone), anak (a type of
five-tined marimba made of carved land lizard bones, which are struck
with a mallet), bass gong, glass flutes, and tambour.
4.Song of Madness (Druhk) 3:44
The Druhks are a savage folk who roam the wild hills of northern Arim.
In battle, their shamans wield bone flutes and play the ancient "Song
of Madness", which they say strikes fear into the hearts of their
enemies. This rendition was recorded at considerable risk, while a
tribe of Druhks prepared for an all-out assault on an Arimite caravan.
The instruments heard here include bone flutes of various sizes, Druhk
ceremonial drums (made from flayed skin stretched over dried gourds),
and the uka, or "howling drum"; an instrument made from skin stretched
across a framework of rib bones, which is played by wetting the
fingertips in bood and rubbing them across the head of the drum.
5. Pleasure Palace (Cymrilian) 3:25
While known more for their magical talents than their musical
abilities, the people of Cymril have an avid appreciation of music. As
is the case with most everything they do, the Cymrilians enhance their
music by the use of magic. "Pleasure Palace" is a good example of this
type of "enchanted music". The glass flutes, glass bells, and gossamer
harps used in this piece were enchanted with a glamour that altered the
sound and timbre of the instruments.
6. The Sultan's Dance (Zandir) 4:21
The music of the Zandir nobility is bold, passionate, sweeping, and
rich in ornamentation. Conversely, the music of the peasantry is
simple, rustic, and unpretentious. This composition, called "The
Sultan's Dance", is an example of the style of music favored by Zandir
nobles. It was written and arranged by Zandahl, a Zandir composer who
studied for ten years under a Bodorian maestro. The Sultan's Dance
incorporates Bodorian instruments such as the glass flute, tambour, and
glass bells, plus native Zandir folk instruments like the ojo (a type
of single-reed instrument), zilo (silver chimes), wood-horn,
four-stringed mandallo, and box-drum.
7. Death Dirge (Rajan) 3:39
Rajan music is dark and ominous sounding, as befits these folk, who are
morbid and fatalistic by nature. The Rajan Death Dirge, which serves as
accompaniment to sacrificial rituals, is such a piece. To prepare
themselves for the performance of this composition, the Rajan
"musicians" (actually priests of the Nihilist Cult) donned iron death
masks and dosed themselves with a narcotic known as kaj. The
instruments used here include twenty-foot long black iron temple horns
decorated with the images of leering skulls; the uraj, a bellows-driven
pipe organ that requires a team of forty slaves to fill its giant
bellows; iron drums beaten with mallets carved from the bones of the
Rajans' enemies, and black iron cymbals. As the music builds, a Shadinn
executioner circles the intended victim, slashing at the air with his
axe. At its conclusion the victim is slain, and thereby "converted" to
the dark religion of the Rajans.
The songs on this tape were composed, played, and digitally recorded on an Ensoniq ASR-10 (Advanced Sampling Recorder) keyboard, and its predecessor, the EPS-15. The pieces originally created on the EPS were later transported to the ASR-10 in order to take advantage of this unit's superior (44kh) sound quality and internal effects processing. The digital compositions were transferred to tape using a Tascam 202MKII deck with Dolby HX Pro; normal bias tape was used for the copies to reduce high end noise. For cleaner-sounding playback you may wish to set your tape machine for Dolby B. Also, be aware that if you use "bass boost" or "loudness" you may hear distortion on certain of the lower frequencies (particularly the lower-pitched percussion instruments). If this occurs, roll-off the bass until the distortion effect abates.
My wife, Patty, for the constructive music criticism and design help; P.D. Breeding-Black, for her wonderful cover art; my good friend Joel Kaye, for lending me his EPS-15 until I could afford to buy that ASR-10 (thanks, WotC); Al DiMarco, for sound advice; Robin Laws, for his friendship and creative input; Jai Kel for publishing the first Talislanta 'zine, The Conjuror; all the wonderful folks on the Talislanta e-mail list, for their interest and support; and to Talislanta fans all over the world.
All music and liner notes © 1994 by Stephan Michael Sechi. Talislanta is a trademark of SMS. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication of this tape is punishable by the acquisition of truly bad karma, since believe it or not I do this sort of thing for a living and need the dough.
Thanks.
| SMS |  |
![[SMS Logo]](images/paranormal.gif) |
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1. Harem Song (Djaffir)
The Caliph of Djaffa is serenaded by his favorite wives and consorts.
2. Night of Fools (Zandir)
Traditional carnivale song of revelers on the Night of Fools.
3. Sea and Sky (Sawila)
A Sawila spellsong offered to the elementals of sea and sky.
4. Camp Song (Yitek)
After a long day of tomb-robbing, Yitek nomads sometimes sit around the
campfire and play the songs of their ancestors.
5. Ritual (Manra)
A Manra shape-changing ritual, accompanied by drums and chanting.
6. Foundry Song (Yassan)
Yassan technomancers perform their version of industrial music,
Talislantan style.
7. Ode To Xanadas (Xanadasian)
A traditional lament played each year by the followers of Xanadas, on
the anniversary of the savant's disappearance.
8. Tavern Song (Cymrilian)
A traditional windship sky-chanty from Archaen times. The wizard
Tamerlin makes an appearance on spiral-horn on the last chorus.
9. Opus 49 (Bodorian)
A piece for gossamer harps, glass flute, baritone bellows-horn, and
assorted percussion, by the Bodorian composer Sola Lado.
10. Hadjin Garden (Bodorian)
A commissioned piece performed for the Hadjin Grandeloquence, by
Bodorian maestro Falo Mido and his ensemble.
Music and liner notes © 1997 by Stephan Michael Sechi
Talislanta logo by John Harper
Dedicated to Talislanta fans around the world, with thanks - SMS
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1. Wizard Hunter Theme (Short Version) - 1:22
2. Omen - 4:14
3. The Duel - 4:46
4. The Wanderer - 4:26
5. The Fire Pits - 3:58
6. Soulstones - 5:16
7. Shadows - 6:14
8. Spirit Voices - 5:34
9. Astral Plane - 5:10
10. Wizard Hunter Theme (Long Version) - 4:40
All music on this CD © 1998 by Stephan Michael Sechi. Cover design & graphics by John Harper. Cover art by Ron Spencer. “Talislanta” and “Talislanta: Wizard Hunter” are © and ™ by SMS. All rights reserved. Thanks to John, Dan, Siamak, Teal, Dale, and the WH creative team, and to Talislanta fans around the world.
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Last modified: Sun Dec 31 09:08:14 PST 2000.