G. I. Gurdjieff’s Piano Music and Its Application in and outside “The Work”

Gurdjieff (c. 1866–1949) wrote a diverse collection of piano pieces at his “Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man” at the Chateau du Prieuré d’ Avon at Fontainebleau near Paris in a unique collaboration with pupil Thomas de Hartmann, a Ukrainian composer. This music was composed most inten...

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Détails bibliographiques
Publié dans:Religion and the arts
Auteur principal: Petsche, Johanna J. M. (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Brill 2017
Dans: Religion and the arts
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés:B Gurdjieff, Georges I. 1872-1949 / Hartmann, Thomas de 1885-1956 / Musique pour piano / Composition
RelBib Classification:AG Vie religieuse
AZ Nouveau mouvement religieux
Sujets non-standardisés:B G. I. Gurdjieff Thomas de Hartmann esoteric practice music the Work
Accès en ligne: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Résumé:Gurdjieff (c. 1866–1949) wrote a diverse collection of piano pieces at his “Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man” at the Chateau du Prieuré d’ Avon at Fontainebleau near Paris in a unique collaboration with pupil Thomas de Hartmann, a Ukrainian composer. This music was composed most intensely between the years 1925 and 1927, after Gurdjieff’s near-fatal car accident of 1924 when all work on his “Movements” or “sacred dances” had ceased. Thus this music was not written for the Movements but for other spiritual purposes. Gurdjieff would whistle, sing, and tap Eastern-sounding melodies and rhythms, and de Hartmann was required to immediately transform these indications into written Western notation, adding suitable harmonies. Like Gurdjieff’s teaching overall, the piano music is best described as a blending of Eastern and Western elements. In Gurdjieff’s lifetime this music was not published or recorded, and was mostly performed within his circle of pupils, as is appropriate within an initiatory and personally transmitted spiritual teaching. This article explores the Gurdjieff—de Hartmann music and its relationship to Gurdjieff’s overall esoteric teachings. There will also be an examination of how Gurdjieff groups and musicians continue to keep alive this music today, and it will be shown that the large number of recordings released represent its greatest cultural penetration into wider society. Currently hundreds of these recordings are available though, interestingly, most “Work” members are critical of them, arguing that the music only has value when experienced live and in a Work context.
ISSN:1568-5292
Contient:In: Religion and the arts
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15685292-02101003