The musical novelties of the last decade show a larger percentage of
works that more consciously respond to the mystical roots of our
existence. By mysticism I want to understand here an inner knowledge,
which is not clouded by our defective sensory perception (derived from
the Greek myein = closing the eyes).
Assuming that the ancient theater had a religious basis, the same can
be said of music. Add to this the fact that music is the most abstract
art form that uses vibrations (in our physics expressed in Hertz), then
it becomes clear that music in itself is a language that we no longer
understand (rationally) in our ordinary profane life, but rather
experience it. The fact that in our twentieth century - with our
positive scientific thinking on the one hand and our neurotic-stressing
lifestyle on the other - we no longer have a conscious understanding of
the deep message that every music sends to us in a veil of harmonic
sounds or not, rather increases its influence rather than reducing it.
It goes without saying that over the centuries a therapeutic value has
been attributed to music. While nowadays people strive for a creative
music experience, in Antiquity people limited themselves to listening.
The view in ancient Greece seems particularly interesting to me,
especially since in this period there was a very important movement to
the East, Egypt and Israel, where various schools of mystery arose
around this time. According to the ancient Greeks, music reflects the
cosmic world order. This order is expressed in numerical proportions
corresponding to the musical intervals. By way of illustration I would
like to refer to the number symbolism of Pythagoras and the kabbalistic
number theory. These theories are, moreover, partly to be found in the
four great schools of thought which have developed from these ancient
schools of mystery and which are still active today, namely
Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Anthroposophy and Theosophy. While
Pythagoras and Plato still made a distinction between good and bad
music, Aristotle's generation argued that all music has therapeutic
value. Ultimately, the latter theory seems to me to be justifiable only
if one sees therapy as a change of a certain attitude apart from
ethical considerations, in other words if one holds the principle that
the end justifies the means. After all, since music is based on cosmic
(read: universal) laws, it does indeed seem possible to cause profound
changes to matter and psyche. From this the conclusion can be drawn
that all music is cosmic. But this is not so. Because each of us
applies the laws (e.g. attraction, gravity, etc.) of physics
(unconsciously), there are only a few who can call themselves
physicists. That is why I believe that the concept of 'cosmic music'
should be limited to a successful striving for an expansion of our
consciousness by means of rhythmic sounds. Ultimately, the question
arises how we can now separate the wheat from the chaff. A first
measure is, of course, our own morality. Three guidelines can be used
for those who can agree with my definition mentioned above.
First, there is music with a religious basis insofar as it was not
created to support commercial sects. In our Western culture, this
includes Gregorian chant and the various movements that grew from it to
a greater or lesser extent. From the late Middle Ages onwards, the
influence of Islam should certainly not be neglected. The objectives of
the music itself - not its external form but the composer's own
attitude - is decisive. It can thus be said that Bach's entire oeuvre
is religious and therefore therapeutic in a positive sense. On the
other hand, there are quite a few prosaic elements in the many Passions
that Telemann wrote and Brückner's 'worldly' symphonies are extremely
mystical and religiously tinged. From the romantic period onwards,
there are many doubts in our music, about which more in the course of
this article.
A second designation of cosmic music is "primitive" ethnic music. Here
one distinguishes between the rather calm, almost meditative music of
Buddhist origin, among other things, but also the intense rhythms with
heavy bass sounds among the black peoples. It has now been
scientifically shown that these cosmic sounds on the one hand greatly
increase physical endurance and on the other they transcend the
objective thinking ability and bring the listener into a kind of (black
magic) trance. In this sense, the commercial success of disco can be
understood because to the tones of this music it is possible to dance
longer, of course also drink more and the critical mind is reduced to a
minimum. Both the meditative and the inciting so-called primitive
ethnic music are characterized by a certain simplicity and even
monotony. These characteristics can now be found in minimalist,
repetitive music. With the rise of the synthesizer, this kind of music
became acceptable again in our western music. This is often based on a
certain laziness on the part of the composer, but in rare cases also
higher intentions. The fact is that this kind of repetitive music has a
special influence on our psyche.
A third possible indication of cosmic music is the knowledge that the
composer possessed of the therapeutic possibilities of music. From this
point of view, composers with an Anthroposophical, Theosophical,
Freemason or Rosicrucian background are particularly interesting. In
that view, we should certainly mention Schumann and Mozart. The latter
also has a pronounced preference for high frequencies. This is in line
with Thomatis' experiments, who managed to bring outspoken melancholic
people into euphoria through music in which all tones below 5000 Hertz
have been filtered out.
If you infer from the foregoing that music is more dangerous than
deep-sea diving, then you're right. In the absence of well-founded
scientific research, the above indications still appear vague. If an
innate or acquired feeling is not available, a few things can be
learned from various esoteric associations. Russian experiments by
parapsychologists who have recorded music graphically and who have
constructed striking geometric figures for this can help us in this at
a later stage of development. We can stimulate the personal feeling by
listening to the music with our back to the sound source and checking
whether or not our ability to concentrate is disturbed. Particularly
sensitive people will experience the music as a physical pressure on
the spine. Based on the feeling this way of listening to music gives,
the positive or negative influence of the music can be experienced.
This method does entail certain psychological risks for unstable
persons. Deep basses with a strong rhythmic structure should not be
listened to in this way. Caution is also advised with Tchaikowsky's
symphonic work. Particularly high-quality esoteric music can endanger
the (necessary) contact with material reality.
A totally different form of cosmic music is the recording from Paul
A.R. Timmermans only with his Revox tape recorder. Javanese gamelan
music is allowed here and Buddhist temple music was the basis. Like
Gurdjieff's music, this musical evocation of the cosmos technically
quite sober. At the first meeting I thought I sensed some affinity with
the minimal music of Philipp Glass and Steve Reich. The concentrated
tension and the resulting peace made me feel a deeper dimension than
the association with the appearance of Glass and Reich's music
suggested, even though the latter is no layman in Eastern philosophy.
The first part Meta is a sequence of electronic sounds that creates a
kind of order in the create elements. Part two Parameter Game based on
the eternal flowing of water, symbolizing the daily course of things in
this world. The third part Clocks bears a clear resemblance to gamelan
music and evokes a meditative attitude to life. The stark white LP
cover with the nameplate Paul A.R. Timmermans in lead forms a close
harmony with the first three movements. It's a bit more difficult for
me with part four Oertaal (primal language) and not because this part
is exclusive voices of Paul Timmermans exists. This part doesn't seem
so cosmic to me inspired music. It seems more like a articulation (in
primal language) of the struggle in and around us of the material
negative (= mathematical, not in a moral sense) world and the way to
the higher. However, the fear that speaks from the beginning of Oertaal
makes towards the end give way to a hopeful resignation. In biblical
terms I would like this final part call it Fight with the Angel. The
gutteral sounds show resemblance to speaking attempts by stroke
patients. These sounds may well be the spine of our language, real
primal language seems more to me to arise from vowels (cfr. ancient
languages such as Basque). However, this critical note does not away
that Oertaal radiates an enormous power that passes into a remarkable
tranquility.
An experiment to make you think with Timmermans' words:
A tree is a tree
a title is a title
my music is my music
words are words.
As a reviewer I would like to add:
My truth is my truth.
I am aware that both LPs contain only a few symptoms of cosmic
consciousness in the music and that the works presented are by far not
the only ones. A complete overview would fill more than a lifetime.
JÖRG PYL (1987)
Discografie:
GURDJIEFF-DE HARTMAN (1982: 2 X LP): Hymns from a Great Temple, Journey
to Inaccessible Places, Seekers of the Truth Herbert Henck, piano
- Trilok Gurtu, daff (tambourin). WERGO SM 1035/36 Serie
Spectrum
Paul A.R.Timmermans (1983: vinyl, LP): Meta. Contact for ordering
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