Dedicated to Mari Kawamura
“Three Aspects of Ma” Op.11 is a set of three piano pieces, which came into existence as a fruit of creative collaboration with a pianist Mari Kawamura.
As part of her doctoral studies, Ms. Kawamura has conducted a focused research on the concept of ma (間) as it is expressed in Japanese art and culture, and then compared her findings with the perceptions of art and music globally, with a particular emphasis on western music and culture.
Three Aspects of Ma is a journey of neurolinguistic transformation, where the original understandings of emptiness, silence, and timelessness of ma are taken into a new place of linguistic and semantic comprehension. These contemplations of Ma are translated into three musical compositions: Matrix, Mantra and Magic. Each aspect represents a certain perception of ma, and also serves as a musical illustration to different stages of hero’s journey of transformation. Thus, In Matrix a hero goes through the experience of duality, polarity and contrasts seen in a diversity of forms as elements of manifested reality. Matrix is neutral energy that holds all forms of existence, past present and future manifestations, and patterns of perception. In Mantra the hero discovers musical formulas as tools of mastery and healing, that help him/her to balance, harmonize, and integrate all the perceptions of duality and separation and to attain mastery over the emotional sphere of existence. Magic is a state of new reality, where transformation of the old limited perceptions has occurred and the hero now experiences the state of flow, harmony, inspiration, serenity and creative freedom.
Piano language of the set combines melodic and rhythmic patterns that are musically inspired by various traditions including western classical, and contemporary academic, jazz, funk, neo-soul, rock, minimalism, traditional Indian music, including mantras and Carnatic vocal and instrumental improvisational techniques, and rhythmic patterns typically used in percussion instruments, such as Mridangam, and Tabla.
MATRIX
The unified energy field in Matrix is expressed in the first and the last sections of the piece, creating an overarching geometric structure where φ (golden ratio 1.618, appx. 3.09/1.91) is encoded rhythmically as hemiola figure. Further, this hemiola formula is imposed over a regular 4/4 time signature which results in a pattern of 8 measures, grouped as 3:3:2. The emptiness and infinite potency of Matrix field is expressed with unwavering steadiness and consistency of pulsation, that allows a variety of contrasting forms to emerge as acoustic images and impressions results in a series of fleeting musical ideas, with their unique vibrational signatures, perceived emotional qualities, both resulting in a crystalized pianistic textural expression. Music takes us on a journey within ourselves and brings to light the emotional qualities of our daily experiences, with its contrasts and unending variety of nuances. It may feel like a dream state of mind, where sudden transformations occur as a matter of fact, and where one may hope to become lucid and return awareness to the beginning of all forms, the primordial emptiness and neutrality of omnipresent spaciousness, which is MA.
MANTRA
The hero discovers the healing capabilities of Mantras, and starts using it to balance and harmonize the emotional sphere, and to heal and transform the perceptions of daily experience from an unending rollercoaster of uncontrollable emotions into a blissful and enjoyable sattvic state of peace, allowance, love, creativity and freedom. The piece starts and ends with a mantra-like motive wrritten with “swaying” piano texture, that reflects the movement of gentle ocean waves, so to allow the melody to rise up on the surface, while still remaining deeply integrated in the stillness of the ocean in its wholeness. The sound of a mantra is expressed in the beginning and the end. It features syncopated rhythmic formula where the eight notes are grouped by 2 and 3 following the sequence 2,3,3,3,3,2,2, in a calm and heart-warming environment of D Major. The rhythmic subdivision remains the power of harmony and coherence between all sections of the piece. The middle section brings a sharp contrast to our experience by shifting to D minor. Here, the rock-style riff in the bass register of the piano provides a basis for a new emotional story to be expressed. The story of effort, struggle, intense emotion, and sometimes desperation is expressed with an energetic and lively melody, composed in improvisatory style in the right hand. After reaching the climax, the music takes another shift into a sattvic state of mind, by introducing a new modality of mantra-like melody, that calms downs the fire and soothes our senses into a warm atmosphere of gentle ocean. The calmness and rhythmic consistency of the following episode, is briefly interrupted by a sudden shift of the rhythmic alignment and breaking into the emptiness, which may feel almost like a “screaming” moment of revelation, the revelation of the Truth which is true always. So, through the gap within the sound vibration we start seeing all things as they are – pure and innocent expressions of light and beauty. Mantra works on a very deep level of consciousness, through sound vibration, that permeates the cellular structure and transcends all perceptions that are not in harmony with the whole. The piece finishes with a mantra section featuring joyful arpeggiated passages as a sign of newly attained mastery and awareness of bliss state.
MAGIC
Magic is the final attainment of wisdom and harmony with the Self, where life is a flow of inspiration and reality is simply an artistic expression of love. Here the hero comes to finally realize piece and harmony which streams from within and connects us to the whole Universe. The state of sattvic mind can be described as unconditional love, state of harmony and allowance. The piano language here features a sequence of modal environments that begins from F sharp minor and passing through A flat 7th Sus, A major, B flat Minor, b 7th Sis, A flat Major, finally arriving to Db Major. The melodies and harmonies of Magic coalesce in a blissful play of overtones producing a variety of joyful frequencies of sound, as light would flicker through innumerable inflections on the surface of the water in a forest creek during the fresh morning of a summer season.
SASHA SOUND ART 