Sonic Diptych Recommendation

If you have on your computer any of the various free software that allows you to “DJ” with MP3 files (Disquiet, a longtime “WinTel” hostage, recently switched from PCDJ to MixVibes), it’s worth the time it takes to make a snippet of the opening, deeply ambient initial 30 seconds or so of Gustav Mahler‘s First Symphony, and to either loop it for an extended period of time, or to layer it on top of itself. The free edition of MixVibes allows two tracks to play simultaneously, but the affordable upgrade versions allow for four, even sixteen tracks. In most renditions of this Mahler symphony, such as the Leonard Bernstein on CBS Masterworks or the Christoph Eschenbach on Koch, this segment starts as quietly as can be imagined, and proceeds tentatively, as a few, light pulses introduce themselves. With most of these PCDJ-style programs, you can reduce the tempo of the track, allowing it to last longer and, generally speaking, sound deeper.