"Kunst gibt nicht das sichtbare wieder, sondern macht sichtbar." -Paul Klee
While doing research to the modernist style period, concerning philosophers and poets, i am also diving into the visual arts. I feel inspired to play with the modernists ; even- though the ground breaking works of art were created a century ago, the concept is up to date. One can still feel the avant garde in it. I really appreciate this era ; my home/studio (1924) is also inspired by the modernist design values / the minimalist music i compose is based on patterns figures, textures that are found in architecture, visual art, poetry and nature. My mystical harp merges the mundane, the profane and the sacred, into lyrical tone poems.
"A line is a dot that went for a walk." -Paul Klee
I feel affinity to inspired artists, like Paul Klee who is also in favor of the imagination of a child, the fantastically weird, the surreal. He wanted to embrace the anima mundi with his work and at the same time he wandered off in an in-between world, Especially his angels speak loudly to me ; besides the simple linings, these amazing creatures have always been there while wondering & wandering. Reflecting. Experiencing. Then this sensational clarity !
How wonderful !
"April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land" -T.S. Eliot
As a natural introvert I resonate deeply with the poet ... that's why I want to explore the spiritual relation between 'The Wasteland', the soulful angels of Paul Klee, and my 47strings. I am looking forward to be guided by the Celestial and the garden spirits, my intuition. I will tap into my harp and soul to find alignment with the visuals that are (un)seen, the words that are (un)said and (un)spoken, the sound of the poetry will come to me as soon as i am ready to hear the music. it is such an exciting adventure - based on my inner-knowing, curiosity and imagination, that the legendary words, the heartfelt voice, the intriguing poetry shall invite the harp to join this inspirational dance of the muses.
"Literature is there for everybody. There is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind." -Virginia Woolf
Finally I have read 'A room of one's own' by Virginia Woolf. She writes with amazing clarity, such a brave woman! At the moment i am experiencing 'the living mountain' of Nan Shepherd. I am eager to learn about nature as the embodyment of poetry, and what the living mountain represents to me personally. Firstly I will go on an imaginary hike and follow Nan's trail next to my own artistic route. In the meantime i am taking note of my steps during the making off process. It all starts with a lot of reading. this time my new project begins in my head, thinking, contemplating. Learning.
Wee seeds are planted. My hands will know when the time is right to make the music.
"I have walked out of the body and into the mountain." -Nan Shepherd
As a harpist in a landscape I shall bring my 32strings from the Lowlands to the Highlands. Next time in Scotland we shall travel to the North where i will actually experience the poetry (the place where harp and soul are one) of the trailblazing Nan Shepherd. I am dreaming my new project into shape. Visioning a short film, an album inspired by nature, the living mountain / my inner mountain, texts, (free) improvisation, collabs with amazingly creative musicians and my favourite record label. I already can hear Paul Klee's Angels talking in a whimsical manner, with a mind of their own to the modernist poet and the mountaineer. I just have to be present to receive the inspiration and translate, transform their magic into another language. It is a bliss to work with these grant works of art !
"Through art humankind expresses hope. Everything else is irrelevant. All that which doesn’t express hope and isn’t built on a spiritual foundation has nothing to do with art.”
-Andrei Tarkovski
As art is spiritual, i name my work harPrayers or harPoems. Meditative, mystical music that complement the visuals, the audio and the texts. In Switzerland i started composing myself, harpless, but with keys of happiness.
The 'Emily Dickinson bible' is very helpful in finding the right words, guiding me through outer and inner feelings; she presents a strong religiosity towards nature in her poems, and shares her love for the hills she saw from her writing room. I am comprehending the poetry, even though their grant majesty could be overwhelming, the mystical feeling is magnificently delicious. Now, i can hear the 'joyful mountain landscape' singing. Now, i know what the Angels of Paul Klee and T.S Eliot are talking about. Now, i can feel 'The living Mountain' unfolding through my hands. My senses are heightened. Meanwhile, i have
opened a window ... in divine timing the muses shall join me...
"It will do you no harm to find yourself ridiculous. Resign yourself to be the fool
you are. We must always take risks. That is our destiny.” -T.S. Eliot
Contemplating 'The Wasteland' next to my own beautiful world is both intriguing and challenging. Luckily there are angels and harp music. It raises questions about living in freedom and a priviliged life in peace at my loving home with a wonderful enchanted garden. About going places. Taking risks without compromising, being a glorious fool.
I make choices in life that are heart based and that come from my inner-peace and joy that lead to happiness. Of course there is shadow work and there are dark places, yet nothing that i cannot handle. Because i got this, i feel my way through it. And after all, all is well. It raises another question about sharing contrasting feelings. I am hesitant giving to much attention towards the things, events that are emotionally challenging, due to the fact that what one pays attention to grows. I have a strong believe about the Dutch saying "shared sorrow is half sorrow", therefore i am careful about my thoughts and actions / am i inspired or am i reacting on default? As soon as i am in alignment with my beloved inner mountain i am able to pronounce the proper words. As soon as i am able to make sense, i shall hear the music / in the mean time i am having fun improvising.
“Yet often the mountain gives itself most completely when I have no destination, when I reach nowhere in particular, but have gone out merely to be with the mountain as one visits a friend with no intention but to be with him.” -Nan Shepherd
This summer i have been in a contemplative state of mind. I am listening and learning. I never get it right and i never get it done; there is such great comfort in this realization. Knowing that there are infinite new beginnings, as is every ending.
Change is inevitable. I embrace the unknown with curiosity. The destination is felt in the joy of being alive, having fun playing, fooling around, taking things slow, and go with the flow. And at times in just the Breathing .. In divine timing i am shown the way through music. Translating all these mesmerations into another language .. with a clear sound, as the blue of water, the textures and patterns in nature. Or buildings, these awesome constellations that come from our expansive minds, inspired by landscape, nature and place. I can already see how my music is morphing, shaping to become both complementary, serving as it were, and into a autonomous sounding sculpture - often found in a landscape on its own.
Or an aural instalment for millions to experience. I am on my way .. still in silence ..
Pjotr van Schothorst Photograpy
Pjotr van Schothorst Photograpy
Pjotr van Schothorst Photograpy
Pjotr van Schothorst Photograpy
“In September dawns I hardly breathe - I am an image in a ball of glass. The world is suspended there, and I in it.” -Nan Shepherd
I look back, I look forward. I am wandering off to misty Lofoten, whilst projecting myself near the clearest lake in the Cairngorn mountains. The humbling majestic landscapes, inspire me to listen different classical composers, From Stravinsky, Bruckner, Reshpigi, Sibelius, Rachmaninov, hildegard von Bingen to A. Part. I shall inhale their music, then i will let them go, exhale their spirit to become 'tabula rasa' as it were. How natural, naive or open-minded am i ? Of course this raises even more questions. Am I living my cherished childhood dream, my longheld aspiration? What do I want and why? What do I desire? How about my passion, my inner fire? Am i on the right track? food for thought. September turns me into a philosopher. In Emily Dickinson her words:
September's Baccalaureate
A combination is
Of Crickets - Crows - and Retrospects
And a dissembling Breeze
That hints without assuming -
An Innuendo sear
That makes the Heart put up its Fun
And turn Philosopher.
"From the root, the sap rises up into the artist, flows through him, flows to his eye. Overwhelmed and activated by the force of the current, he conveys his vision into his work. And yet, standing at his appointed place as the trunk of the tree, he does nothing other than gather and pass on what rises from the depths. He neither serves nor commands he transmits. His position is humble. And the beauty at the crown
is not his own; it has merely passed through him." - Paul Klee
How an artist is like a tree. I am a tree. I am oak. Ek is eik. Trees resonate through my compositions. Even literally through the sounds of Emily’s Talking Trees.
The treescape i am moving in at the moment does not include my harp, that is a bit unsettling, but at the same time i am listening to my inner voice and therefore i allow other weird noises to inspire me, I am learning to appreciate the uncomfortable places inside me, i am learning to relax and discern. Finding emotional alignment. / I do not feel attracted to my 47strings, and that is ok... in the mean time 45strings ;) Like the falling leaves? Because I feel unsure I am gardening my thoughts and feelings. When i come across an inner mountain... i want to say i feel good embracing my shadows, but it feels rotten. I feel unrooted. It means that i want to feel connected again. That makes me a human too, rather than an angelic harp being. I really know how to fly high, yet i am still learning to ground. Maybe that's why i want to make music tactile. / I am creating an installation (i am working on a proposal - as in a visualized dream via a 3D render - with the intent to realize my concept in collab. with e.g galleries, museums, festivals, artistic directors, curators, visual artists, techies - an unique platform to share my work. First things first; the act of restringing my harp means reconnection with my soul, All is well. Everything is working out just fine and at the perfect moment. I know my way. My footsteps in the first field recording remind me that i am on the right track, i am going further and forward.
Playing outside is fun! It evokes the childlike imagination, whilst connecting the dots with my 47 strings.
To be continued,
.. with music & love
-AV
