Sören Sieg: Beginning. Circle Song No.3 from Umonde. Performed by Jitka Konečná.

This is the third of 12 Circle Songs I wrote in spring 2020 in the first lockdown. Michelle Holloway had come up with the idea, Claire Little encouraged me through the composition process, and Jitka Konečná was so enthusiastic when she heard about these “loops“, that we met for a recording session in her beautiful home town of Olomouc in December 2020. In my view recorder and loop station match perfectly together: the recorder provides the whole range from the deep, warm great bass to the jubilating soprano or sopranino. The loop station allows you to bring them all together, while playing just by yourself. For the titles and mottos of the pieces I turned to Lao Tzu’s Taoeteking. This ancient, deep philosophy is all about following the flow, the energy, the “way“ (Dao) of the universe - just like this music. One of the most famous quotes of the Taoteking is that the longest way starts with a simple step. But he gives many more examples. It is all about the magic