RESONANCIA
as a husband,
a parent,
a grandparent,
a great grandparent--
and everything else in LIFE
many times, musicians have asked,
"how do you continue to be so passionate about MUSIC?"
many continue to realize that
PASSION
cannot be rehearsed
or
bought and paid for
or
turned off and on
PASSION
simply is
or
it isn’t .............
a musician once mentioned that they were
working on a “passion project.”
saying that most of their work,
“was for financial gain and not for artistic fulfillment……”
followed by
"you probably wouldn’t understand,
since all YOU do are passion projects..."
YES,
definitely yes
and able to provide for mi FAMILIA
i.e.,
if I wouldn't do it for FREE
I wouldn't do it for any amount of $.......
since 1980
weekly concerts, recordings, rehearsals continue
four, sometimes five ensembles a week
composing
concerts
recording
refining.
rehearsing.
listening
different instruments,
different people,
different music
different musicians
always discovering something new.
MUSIC
keeps the hands honest
the ears open and heart open
and
the spirit humble.
week after week,
year after year,
decade after decade
nearly 200 days each year
devoted to music-making--
not counting performances--
alongside musicians
who share the same quiet devotion.
a privilege.
a plesasure
and
an honor
a blessing never taken for granted.
always more to learn
from other traditions,
from other musicians
from the instruments themselves,
from LIFE
lessons unfold
through sound shared in real time,
among real people,
in real moments.
and when the question returns--
how can passion continue so long?--
silence becomes the answer.
for the truth cannot be spoken.
it can only be lived.
as we each follow our own path
toward our own destination
in our appointed time....................
but the following quotations,
are far more eloquent than anything
I have ever been able to muster,
and they continue to inspire
and RESONATE inside of me ....
as a husband,
a parent,
a grandparent,
a great grandparent--
and everything else in LIFE
many times, musicians have asked,
"how do you continue to be so passionate about MUSIC?"
many continue to realize that
PASSION
cannot be rehearsed
or
bought and paid for
or
turned off and on
PASSION
simply is
or
it isn’t .............
a musician once mentioned that they were
working on a “passion project.”
saying that most of their work,
“was for financial gain and not for artistic fulfillment……”
followed by
"you probably wouldn’t understand,
since all YOU do are passion projects..."
YES,
definitely yes
and able to provide for mi FAMILIA
i.e.,
if I wouldn't do it for FREE
I wouldn't do it for any amount of $.......
since 1980
weekly concerts, recordings, rehearsals continue
four, sometimes five ensembles a week
composing
concerts
recording
refining.
rehearsing.
listening
different instruments,
different people,
different music
different musicians
always discovering something new.
MUSIC
keeps the hands honest
the ears open and heart open
and
the spirit humble.
week after week,
year after year,
decade after decade
nearly 200 days each year
devoted to music-making--
not counting performances--
alongside musicians
who share the same quiet devotion.
a privilege.
a plesasure
and
an honor
a blessing never taken for granted.
always more to learn
from other traditions,
from other musicians
from the instruments themselves,
from LIFE
lessons unfold
through sound shared in real time,
among real people,
in real moments.
and when the question returns--
how can passion continue so long?--
silence becomes the answer.
for the truth cannot be spoken.
it can only be lived.
as we each follow our own path
toward our own destination
in our appointed time....................
but the following quotations,
are far more eloquent than anything
I have ever been able to muster,
and they continue to inspire
and RESONATE inside of me ....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Music must serve a purpose;
it must be a part of something larger than itself,
a part of humanity.
I am a man first, an artist second
As a man,
my first obligation is to the welfare of my fellow men
I will endeavor to meet this obligation through music -
the means which God has given me -
since it transcends language, politics and national boundaries.
My contribution to world peace may be small,
but at least I will have given all I can to an ideal I hold sacred.
PABLO CASALS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Music must serve a purpose;
it must be a part of something larger than itself,
a part of humanity.
I am a man first, an artist second
As a man,
my first obligation is to the welfare of my fellow men
I will endeavor to meet this obligation through music -
the means which God has given me -
since it transcends language, politics and national boundaries.
My contribution to world peace may be small,
but at least I will have given all I can to an ideal I hold sacred.
PABLO CASALS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Practice of the art of music is an endeavour directed towards self-realisation.
All endeavor irresistibly emanates from an inner urge, may it be obscure or evident.
In the evolution of living beings from the beast to the perfect Guni,
every individual represents a stage in the attainment of self-realisation.
The choice of the means for fulfilling this innate urge depends upon the individual's
evolution and level of awareness.
This explains the diversity of paths to self-realisation, which in the case of music may take
the form of vocal music, instrumental music (such as sitar, sarangi, tabla, etc.), and the various
styles of dance.
It is therefore not justifiable to discriminate between one path and another,
for this is tantamount to criticism of the individual's state of evolution.
The criterion of judgment, therefore, is not the attainment of the destiny,
but the spirit behind the quest.
The spiritual application of the endeavors to a particular form or style is like
one of many roads terminating at the same destiny:
self-realisation."
PANDIT TARANATH RAO
[introduction to 'Pranava Tala Prajna']
my first tabla teacher
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Practice of the art of music is an endeavour directed towards self-realisation.
All endeavor irresistibly emanates from an inner urge, may it be obscure or evident.
In the evolution of living beings from the beast to the perfect Guni,
every individual represents a stage in the attainment of self-realisation.
The choice of the means for fulfilling this innate urge depends upon the individual's
evolution and level of awareness.
This explains the diversity of paths to self-realisation, which in the case of music may take
the form of vocal music, instrumental music (such as sitar, sarangi, tabla, etc.), and the various
styles of dance.
It is therefore not justifiable to discriminate between one path and another,
for this is tantamount to criticism of the individual's state of evolution.
The criterion of judgment, therefore, is not the attainment of the destiny,
but the spirit behind the quest.
The spiritual application of the endeavors to a particular form or style is like
one of many roads terminating at the same destiny:
self-realisation."
PANDIT TARANATH RAO
[introduction to 'Pranava Tala Prajna']
my first tabla teacher
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My God!
What has sound got to do with music!
That music must be heard is not essential - what it sounds like may not be what it is"
CHARLES IVES
[Ives' italics] (Essays 84).
If [a composer] has a nice wife and some nice children,
how can he let the children starve on his dissonances?"
CHARLES IVES
(CI: A Life With Music 143).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I was young, three years old, she tells me ,
when I heard music for the first time
the little village band playing its evening concert in the square.
I stood listening for a long time and with what must have been spectacular concentration
because it was so intense that my eyes crossed.
And cross-eyed I remained for three or four days after.
(Now, Unfortunately, musicians no longer leave me cross-eyed.)
As a small boy, (and maybe as an adult)
I always preferred banging on a washtub or dreaming
up tales to doing something useful.
And that is how I spent my time, imitating instruments with my voice,
improvising orchestras and songs to accompaniments on the washtub,
one of those round galvanized tubs that I always preferred to drum on more than to bathe in.
And I went on dreaming of music...........
I continued studying music but was not very diligent.
I began to love Bach and Beethoven at a very early stage.
It gave me much pleasure to stroll Chapultepec Park romantic avenues,
taking long strides, arms behind my back, long hair in disarray.
Those lithographs and engravings of poor Beethoven, grim-faced,
defying the storm had a strong influence over me. I could do no less myself.
I have had many teachers.
The best of them, with no degrees,
knew more than the others.
For that reason I have always had little respect for degrees.
Now, after many years I still study,
have teachers,
write music,
dream of distant countries and sometime
bang on washtubs................"
SILVESTRE REVUELTAS(1899 - 1940),
written on March 13, 1938:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"DO IT!"
JOHN BERGAMO
(my musical mentor)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"DO IT!"
JOHN BERGAMO
(my musical mentor)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To be a musician is really something,
it goes very very deep,
my music is the spiritual expression of what I am.
My faith, my knowledge, my being.
I know that there are bad forces,
I know that there are forces out here
that bring suffering to others and misery to the world
but I want to be the opposite force,
I want to be the force which is truly for good......."
JOHN COLTRANE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To be a musician is really something,
it goes very very deep,
my music is the spiritual expression of what I am.
My faith, my knowledge, my being.
I know that there are bad forces,
I know that there are forces out here
that bring suffering to others and misery to the world
but I want to be the opposite force,
I want to be the force which is truly for good......."
JOHN COLTRANE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
