Here a two metaphysical miniatures which I think
are worth meditating upon.
By this, I mean simply considering slowly and
carefully the ideas as a kind of instrument, a kind
of musical play.
Water is one of my central themes. How we think
about it, how we treat it, what it means to us.
And resonance — a kind of basic ‘moving together’
of not just bodies but other movements which are
not actually contiguous or physically touching — is
a central idea in my work.
I become aware of water in walking the world.
Frequently on a trek, finding sources of good water
is THE problem, more important than any other
consideration.
And I become aware of resonance as a performing
musician and composer. Especially conducting ensembles,
and I suppose it needs to be said, of acoustic instruments.
Awakening, developing sonorous ensemble sound, a
sound which carries in space, can fill a hall, can touch
listeners deeply. But also especially teaching performance.
With young classical musicians.
One of my primary convictions — to me it is self-evident –
is that we, say in Europe or North America, have become
largely and remarkably insensitive to what I think of as
living sound. We have surrounded ourselves with noise,
so what needs to explained really is how one could possibly
think that language, poetry and the other musical arts
could flourish in such a hostile environment.
So when it comes to an ethical imperative in Music,
the first we need to do for children is very simple:
turn off the noise. In other words, create a protected
space where tension releases, and natural intelligence
can freely unfold.
LOVE & WATER
We shape the world and the world shapes us.
There may well indeed be another planet in the Universe
with high mountains and streams of pure, fast-flowing
water, but we do not know that for a fact.
There may also be other beings in the Universe capable
of Love and Compassion, but also that we do not know
for a fact.
Love is like water: wherever it is there in abundance,
life flourishes; And water is like love: wherever it is wasted,
polluted, blocked or dammed, we abuse not just Earth’s
defining essence, but also somehow
our own.
LOVE RESONANCE
We shape the world and the world shapes us.
See the electronic keyboard—the synthesizer—with
its brittle octavesmade of wired concrete, and its complete
lack of sympathetic resonance.
I say to you, when similar sounds no longer spontaneously
vibrate together, when like sounds no longer reflect one
another, no longer mirror each other’s energies, upon
which instrument shall we play our songs of love? Upon
which instrument shall we teach our children the principles
of Nature’s way?
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