Koshi Earth Symphony
Mountain, Forest, River & Ocean – Four landscapes. Four worlds of sound. A new generation of Koshi.
With Earth Symphony, Koshi expands its world of chimes with a new collection. Mountain, Forest, River and Ocean are inspired by great natural landscapes – not as acoustic imitations, but as four different ideas of space, resonance and movement.
The collection also represents an evolution in the construction of the instruments. Each Earth Symphony features twelve hand-tuned steel rods and a resonating body made from solid European wood. Four frequencies are doubled with identically tuned rods. These sympathetic resonators can vibrate along with the sounding notes, adding depth and creating a longer, more layered resonance.
All four Earth Symphony chimes are tuned with reference to 440 Hz and are harmonically designed to be played individually or together.
Mountain – Space
Mountain combines an E major tuning with a resonating body of solid walnut. Its sound feels broad and grounded: notes emerge, respond to one another and leave plenty of space between them.
Rather than attempting to imitate a mountain, the inspiration lies in the experience of height, stability and silence.
Forest – Density
With Forest, F-sharp minor meets solid oak. Its twelve rods create a denser and more introspective field of resonance.
As in a forest, individual voices emerge, disappear again and become part of a greater sonic space. Within the collection, Forest represents layers and depth – many sounds with space for silence between them.
River – Movement
River is tuned to G-sharp minor and features a resonating body of solid cherry wood. Its sequences feel fluid and mobile, with individual notes flowing into one another while the additional resonators extend their decay.
River does not attempt to imitate running water. The connection lies in movement itself: the same musical material continually produces new sequences.
Ocean – Openness
Ocean combines solid maple with a pentatonic B major tuning. Its five-note structure creates an open musical space in which different tones can connect particularly freely.
Like looking across the sea, there always seems to be space beyond each movement. Notes emerge, overlap and disappear again without ever completely filling the sonic horizon.
Twelve sound rods – more than additional notes
The twelve steel rods are one of the fundamental differences between Earth Symphony and the classic Koshi 4 Elements Collection. Four frequencies within each Earth Symphony are shared by identically tuned rods. When a note is struck, related vibrations can therefore be set in motion as well.
The result is not simply “more sound”, but a richer structure of resonance: notes continue beyond their initial strike and can interact with the sounds that follow.
Resonating bodies made from walnut, oak, cherry and maple give each of the four instruments an additional material identity. Brass and coconut shell are used for the clapper assembly, and the Earth Symphony Collection contains no plastic.
Handcrafted and tuned by ear
Like all Koshi chimes, Earth Symphony is made in the workshop at the foot of the French Pyrenees. The steel rods are silver-soldered onto a metal base and then individually tuned by ear.
Precise frequency is only the starting point. What ultimately matters is how fundamental notes, resonances and overtones interact within the finished instrument.
Mountain, Forest, River and Ocean can be played naturally by the breeze or deliberately set in motion by hand. And because their tunings are harmonically compatible within the Earth Symphony collection, two, three or all four instruments can be combined to create a broader soundscape.
Mountain opens up space. Forest gives sound density. River sets it in motion. Ocean sets it free.
Four landscapes – and four different ways of translating nature into sound.
Earth Symphony & 4 Elements
Earth Symphony complements the classic Koshi 4 Elements Collection rather than replacing it. The two collections follow different musical concepts.
While Terra, Aqua, Aria and Ignis feature eight sound rods, bamboo resonators and an adjusted 432 Hz tuning, Mountain, Forest, River and Ocean use twelve rods, solid wood resonators and a reference tuning of 440 Hz.
The instruments are designed to harmonise within their respective collections. Because the two collections use different reference tunings, however, Koshi does not recommend combining Earth Symphony and 4 Elements as a single ensemble.