The art of doing nothing
Inspired by observations of Bach’s contemporaries on his organ playing I minimised my movements as a classical organist in the past almost forty years. I called this The art of doing nothing or The art of playing with relaxed precision. In addition, The art of doing nothing has always been a metaphor for finding silence within myself. The following video, recorded in 2007, is a good example of this art:
or, not on a real organ, but with the digitalised sound of Hauptwerk:
(other examples can be found here: Organ Works J.S. Bach - before the summer of 2016)
Or regarding Messiaen:
During these forty years I also built up my own musical language for improvisation and composition. Among other things, this resulted in becoming a pianist of the avant-garde jazz trio Turnstone:
Joyful elegance of G major: Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter BWV 650 (under construction)
Purity and innocence of F major: Herr Jesu Christ dich zu wend BWV 632 (under construction)
The term "the art of doing nothing" is meant as a tantalising paradox with multiple meanings to stimulate the mind. Therefore it can be very misleading and the truth is in fact that it is about the military —or even more than military— discipline, needed to play any music instrument on a highly sophisticated level. Seen in that light I consider my past forty years of extreme discipline as something in need of a next step. In the summer of 2016 I realised that this next step would consist of replacing military discipline by female sensuality, represented for me as a catholic by Maria. This implies integrating the physical sensation of dance into my Bach interpretation. This is so personal that I could only reach that point through my own music. At first this manifested itself in an extravagant way in an improvisation for piano:
Piano Music 18.8.2016
Piano Music 18.8.2016
This does not mean that I disapprove of exuberant body language now; it is just an extra tool to create a maximum of variety, which will no doubt be used in future performances.
A full evening project as an artistic result: The Enchanted Desert
To quote Aristotle: “Through discipline comes freedom”. Or in more poetic terms: forty years of dwelling in the desert of strictness to reach the enchanted desert of imagination. This relates to the title of a full evening project of mine for organ, flute, percussion and with dance and performance:
The Enchanted Desert was premiered in the Der Aa-kerk in Groningen on 30th June 2016.
Finding a 21st century kind of authenticity in new and unexpected ways
Broadly speaking, Bach interpretation from 1829 (the year of the Mattheus Passion’s revival by Mendelssohn) till the first and larger part of the 20th century may be considered as romantically subjective. On the contrary, historically informed performance practice in the latter part of the 20th century up to the present can be regarded as objective, or at least as aiming at objectivity. My personal authenticity regarding Bach is a mix of objectivity and subjectivity: firmly rooted in the historically informed performance practice through my education, but flourishing with the help of the 21st century practice of my own compositions and improvisations. If A represents romantic subjectivity and B historically informed performance practice, I do not want to go from B back to A, but forward to C, representing the present and the future.
Sorrow and anxiety of f minor: Prelude and fugue in f-minor BWV 543 (under construction)
Spiritual grandeur and the notion of music as a healing force
I do not pretend to know what Claudio Arrau exactly meant with "spiritual grandeur", but considering the importance of Beethoven (who wanted to heal people with his music) in his life I understand it as a reference to the healing force of music, which I experienced very intensely at crucial moments in my life. If one believes in deeper meanings of encounters with certain persons, then there must have been such value in René van Commenée's bringing Mike Garson (who later became our mutual friend) and me together in 2006. Mike's goal in life is to present music as a healing force to people.
Speaking of music as a healing force brings me also to Nobel Prize winner Albert Schweitzer, doctor, organist and Bach biographer, whose house in the Alsace I visited in 1985. Regarding music as a healing force in Bach interpretation as the ultimate authenticity...Not only Albert Schweitzer, but also Albert Ayler, one of the other free jazz heroes of my youth. A famous album of his was "Music is the Healing Force of the Universe". Not to mention Cecil Taylor, a father figure to many avant-garde jazz pianists (read what he said about dancing musicians in Teaching the history and future of Bach interpretation)
Conclusion: closing the circle
A circle is being closed now, because Bach, Messiaen and Coltrane were my main motivation to enter the conservatory as a teenager, after falling in love with the organ through Rudi van Straten's lessons. It is because of the overall hymnal character of their music and the organ being simply the most appropriate instrument to receive and transmit their message. To realise that is like rediscovering a lost innocence of youth. A good memory which I have of my entrance exam in 1976 is Jan Welmer's smile when he asked me about free jazz, which I (among other things) had mentioned as my favourite music. He must have liked that out-of-the-box thinking.
I have followed a difficult and unusual path to find a simple truth: music as a healing force for both listeners and performers. Rudi van Straten closes the circle for another reason: as the founder of Stichting Klinkend Erfgoed Nederland he promotes the use of historical organs, bells and carillons among all members of society. After my two crises the high quality digitalised organ sounds of Hauptwerk were of great value to recover at home. But the live experience of playing real instruments can not be replaced in this respect, as Rudi keeps saying as a good teacher.
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