Buddha, Stockhausen. Stockhausen, Buddha.

My faculty mentor at Vermont College of Fine Arts, Diane Moser, takes an approach to composition that she describes as holistic, and I would describe as having a very strong philosophical component. As part of my studies, she recommended I subscribe to tricycle.com’s “Daily Dharma” newsletter. Today’s newsletter reminded me of Stockhausen’s Music from the Seven Days:

 

“The Buddha intuited some type of evolutionary process that creates our bodies, and his essential point is that they are neither formed nor owned by us. We now have evidence that our bodies arise from the forces and elements that make up the entire universe, through a complex chain of interdependent events. Internalizing this understanding can help liberate us from the powerful sense of ownership and attachment we have to the body.”

-Wes Nisker, “Evolution’s Body”

 

Compare this to Stockhausen’s beautiful prose score:

 

 

Play a vibration in the rhythm of your body
Play a vibration in the rhythm of your heart
Play a vibration in the rhythm of your breathing
Play a vibration in the rhythm of your thinking
Play a vibration in the rhythm of your intuition
Play a vibration in the rhythm of enlightenment
Play a vibration in the rhythm of the universe

Mix these vibrations freely

Leave enough silence between them