One Hand
Clapping:
The Taoe of Music
WholeArts and
The Psychic Internet is proud to present the
"Preface" and "Part One" of this
remarkable book by Daniel d'Quincy. "One Hand
Clapping: The Tao of Music," originally published by
WholeArts in 1991, is a book-length essay on the
performance of music from the perspective of Eastern
philosophy and religion. Mr. d'Quincy is a noted
composer, musician, author, inventor, educator, speaker,
and photographer. Please visit his unique music sites at WholeArts: syNThony, and the WholeArts Online Music Conservatory.
Page 13
Artistic freedom
– the condition and the experience – is central
to our quest as artists, and it represents a goal to
which we may direct ourselves. But it will not be
properly conceived with regard to any narrow definition
of its nature. We cannot examine every premise that is
assumed in this book, but one that should be recognized
explicitly is that freedom, per se, is indivisible,
manifesting on all levels of being, material and
spiritual. Moreover, with implications that will be seen
in what follows, we assume that every manifestation and
form of freedom contributes to the well-being of artists,
and other people – IF, that is, this freedom can be
brought into harmony with all things as they exist, in
the broadest view that we can possibly take of them.
Only the very
greatest artists ever puzzle the question of freedom out
to its farthest extent. As we all instinctively suppose
when we gaze on a Rembrandt, or listen to J.S. Bach, they
do this by attaining to a surpassing level of
consciousness – and, as noted above, we are looking
for a principle that is active in the artist even before
the work is undertaken. Thus, we note that freedom would
appear to arise by virtue of attaining to higher levels
of consciousness, and, by implication, to the panoramic
view of things opened up in that consciousness.
Certainly, in a practical sense, the great artist’s
consciousness of every detail and aspect of his work
(with reference to established and collective aesthetic
norms) is knowledge that results in the perfection of the
forms he creates. But the content of those forms reveals
an even greater knowledge, and it stands to reason that
only a fully comprehensive consciousness is capable of
perfect freedom. The all-seeing and all-powerful
attributes that we attribute to deity are complimentary
and mutually interdependent.
Thus, knowledge
and freedom would appear to be the twinned coordinates on
which we must plot our success as artists, not to mention
the course of this inquiry. Make no mistake, we can brook
no arbitrary boundaries to our search – even
straying into forbidden territory if necessary to find
our way. In Hassidic lore, a very great rabbi broke every
law of God and man, as part of a scheme to get close to
the Devil. In this way, he hoped to outwit the dark angel
and rob him of his secrets. The true artist is engaged in
a similar battle. What a nexus there is between knowledge
and freedom. Frightening, no doubt, but also pregnant
with potential.
In this book, we
are making an inquiry into our consciousness as artists,
in hopes of attaining to a greater experience of freedom
in our music. We cannot speak of the highest reaches of
that level of consciousness, experienced only by the
likes of Rembrandt and Bach. But the consciousness we
will describe may be open to artists at progressive
levels of achievement, a Gradus ad Parnassum of
enlightenment. As musicians, we partake of that
consciousness to whatever degree is possible for us. We
may discover that the degree intensifies as time goes on.
In this book, we assume that our path forward along these
lines can be only gradually revealed to us, but that it
always appears in richer detail and greater dimension as
we constantly penetrate to ever-deeper levels of
consciousness. Once set forth on that path, who can tell
what distance we will go? (Next Page)
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