| Numinous The Music of Joseph C. Phillips Jr. |
Vipassana (2007)
Vipassana (2007)
3 Woodwinds, 2 Brass, 2 Vibraphones (or 1 Vibraphone and 1 Harp), 2 Percussionists, 2 Pianos, 2 Electric guitars, 5 Female voices, String sextet (2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos) and Bass
60 minutes
1. Of Climbing Heaven and Gazing Upon the Earth
2. Stillness Flows Ever Changing
3. Into all the Valleys Evening Journeys
4. The Nothingness that is the Source of Everything
My Journey to Vipassana
“Allwissend bin ich nicht; doch viel ist mir bewusst”
(I do not know everything; still much I understand)
-Goethe, from Faust
Of Climbing Heaven and Gazing on the Earth came into focus after my visit to The Hague in the Netherlands for a two-week festival celebrating composer Steve Reich, where a number of my own compositions were also performed. Taking a break from the festival, I took a train north to Amsterdam. While walking around the city I stumbled upon Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s outdoor photography exhibition, Earth from Above. This powerful and moving touring exhibition featured aerial photographs of natural and man-made objects taken from many places over the globe. Ecological or societal dangers in the areas of the photograph are detailed in accompanying captions. One photo I was particularly drawn to was of a flock of scarlet ibis flying over the Amacuro delta in Venezuela. The photograph was taken from a perspective high above the flock. The very striking juxtaposition of the deep red birds against the rich black soil evoked a sense of ‘soaringness’ and beauty that found musical outlet when I returned to the States. The title comes from a line in one of Percy Shelley’s last poems:
Art thou pale for weariness
Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth
Throughout the creation of Stillness Flows Ever Changing, a recurring image of a river of sound cycled through my mind: beginning with a small ripple gradually flowing into waves of melodies that dance and weave around each other, with Ben Kono’s soprano saxophone surfing on and through the aural cascade.
Into all the Valleys Evening Journeys was partly inspired by Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces which illuminates how a “call to adventure” can send one on a path of trials and tribulations before reaching a final apotheosis, redemption and (sometimes) return. This physical journey is often a metaphor for an internal spiritual awakening from innocence to enlightenment. From Odysseus to Buddha to Anakin Skywalker, this dramatic arch is common to many stories and myths throughout the world.
Of the four compositions of Vipassana, The Nothingness that is the Source of Everything, took the longest to develop and was the last I wrote. Originally titled Ich bin der Neuen Welt abhanden gekommen (“I am lost in the new world”), it was partly inspired by both Gustav Mahler’s beautiful orchestral song from Rückertlieder Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen and Björk’s haunting New World from Lars von Trier’s movie musical Dancer in the Dark. Although all of the melodies are original (except for one ‘sort of’ quote from Mahler), hints and refractions of the Mahler and Björk pieces are sprinkled throughout all four compositions.
I did not plan on using text for Vipassana until stumbling across the book Breathing the Water by Denise Levertov. The evocative title and minimalist cover design were instantly attractive but it was the description on the back cover that piqued my sensibilities: “Breathing the Water draws the reader deep into spiritual domains—not in order to leave the world behind, but to reanimate our sometimes dormant love for it.” Reading various poems in the book, I decided Variation and Reflection on a Theme of Rilke, with its’ self-reflective tone, would be a compelling and beautiful end to Vipassana.
Vipassana recording (2009) on innova Recordings
3 Woodwinds, 2 Brass, 2 Vibraphones (or 1 Vibraphone and 1 Harp), 2 Percussionists, 2 Pianos, 2 Electric guitars, 5 Female voices, String sextet (2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos) and Bass
60 minutes
1. Of Climbing Heaven and Gazing Upon the Earth
2. Stillness Flows Ever Changing
3. Into all the Valleys Evening Journeys
4. The Nothingness that is the Source of Everything
My Journey to Vipassana
“Allwissend bin ich nicht; doch viel ist mir bewusst”
(I do not know everything; still much I understand)
-Goethe, from Faust
Of Climbing Heaven and Gazing on the Earth came into focus after my visit to The Hague in the Netherlands for a two-week festival celebrating composer Steve Reich, where a number of my own compositions were also performed. Taking a break from the festival, I took a train north to Amsterdam. While walking around the city I stumbled upon Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s outdoor photography exhibition, Earth from Above. This powerful and moving touring exhibition featured aerial photographs of natural and man-made objects taken from many places over the globe. Ecological or societal dangers in the areas of the photograph are detailed in accompanying captions. One photo I was particularly drawn to was of a flock of scarlet ibis flying over the Amacuro delta in Venezuela. The photograph was taken from a perspective high above the flock. The very striking juxtaposition of the deep red birds against the rich black soil evoked a sense of ‘soaringness’ and beauty that found musical outlet when I returned to the States. The title comes from a line in one of Percy Shelley’s last poems:
Art thou pale for weariness
Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth
Throughout the creation of Stillness Flows Ever Changing, a recurring image of a river of sound cycled through my mind: beginning with a small ripple gradually flowing into waves of melodies that dance and weave around each other, with Ben Kono’s soprano saxophone surfing on and through the aural cascade.
Into all the Valleys Evening Journeys was partly inspired by Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces which illuminates how a “call to adventure” can send one on a path of trials and tribulations before reaching a final apotheosis, redemption and (sometimes) return. This physical journey is often a metaphor for an internal spiritual awakening from innocence to enlightenment. From Odysseus to Buddha to Anakin Skywalker, this dramatic arch is common to many stories and myths throughout the world.
Of the four compositions of Vipassana, The Nothingness that is the Source of Everything, took the longest to develop and was the last I wrote. Originally titled Ich bin der Neuen Welt abhanden gekommen (“I am lost in the new world”), it was partly inspired by both Gustav Mahler’s beautiful orchestral song from Rückertlieder Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen and Björk’s haunting New World from Lars von Trier’s movie musical Dancer in the Dark. Although all of the melodies are original (except for one ‘sort of’ quote from Mahler), hints and refractions of the Mahler and Björk pieces are sprinkled throughout all four compositions.
I did not plan on using text for Vipassana until stumbling across the book Breathing the Water by Denise Levertov. The evocative title and minimalist cover design were instantly attractive but it was the description on the back cover that piqued my sensibilities: “Breathing the Water draws the reader deep into spiritual domains—not in order to leave the world behind, but to reanimate our sometimes dormant love for it.” Reading various poems in the book, I decided Variation and Reflection on a Theme of Rilke, with its’ self-reflective tone, would be a compelling and beautiful end to Vipassana.
Vipassana recording (2009) on innova Recordings
Thanks and credit to all the original photos on this website to: David Andrako, Concrete Temple Theatre, Marcy Begian, Ed Lefkowicz, Donald Martinez, Kimberly McCollum, Geoff Ogle, Joseph C. Phillips Jr., Daniel Wolf-courtesy of Roulette, Andrew Robertson, Viscena Photography, Jennifer Wohrle, Carolyn Wolf, Mark Elzey, Numinosito. The Numinous Changing Same album design artwork by DM Stith. The Numinous The Grey Land album design and artwork by Brock Lefferts. Contact for photo credit and information on specific images.