In his diary he notes “This evening’s performance was made possible by the quality of the audience’s listening.[endtease] Very generous & quiet. This enabled me to think and continue thinking, and use dynamics. For the second evening, Soundscapes began with Fantasia On The Theme Of Schizoid.”
Perhaps in anticipation of this very moment in a recent diary entry he also offers this definition of the term from the Encyclopedia Britannica…
“in music, a composition free in form and inspiration, usually for an instrumental soloist… In England the fantasy or fancy for keyboard, lute, or viola had a late flowering at the time of Henry Purcell (1659–95)… Some composers have exploited the fantasia for its programmatic, or descriptive, possibilities… While appealing particularly to the romantic imagination, the fantasia served, from the beginning, also as a vehicle for instrumental elaboration of vocal music” adding that “This Schizoid Fantasia would not be easily confused with the original Schizoid.”
Though it may be darker in tone and shade than the churchscapes series, the second night of Robert’s slot on the Porcupine Tree has an almost scary clarity – direct from heart. When he plays that long lonesome note and lets it float near the end of the Schizoid Fantasia there’s a palpable sense of release and letting go.
Elsewhere "Time Stands Still" has a rhythmic dimension over which Fripp solos and this blissful Evensong is about as close as we’ve ever been to old-school Frippertronics and indeed some of the melodic aspects of Evening Star.
