THE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA








WILLIAM MASELLI















1998 Krystal Media
2003
Krystal Publishing Company









The opinions expressed herein you may differ with intensely, yet it is true that any opinion profoundly held and advanced is better than nothingness. Experience shows that all is transitory in this world; yet I maintain a naive belief in the constancy of friendship and love. Ultimately who I am is revealed in music and poetry: the essence of my being. Life on earth is another matter.


wdm






THE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA





The child and I were engaged in moving massive stones. Deep in the spring woods we breathed. I called him to me, held the boy close, embraced him tenderly, hushed all tones to whisper, soft words, silence --- listen to the brook --- it speaks to us? Translate, child, discern the spirit voice of the flowing soul. We listen, both. He looks in my eyes, seeking wisdom. I glance to the stream, soft in its glide to the sea, on its gentle journey. I tell the boy, the brook speaks, it says, ÒDrink deep of the pool of life.Ó I repeat the words. ÒDrink deep of the pool of Life.Ó Does he hear and understand? Will he remember? Will I? Drink deep, consume and be consumed.

 



The symphony orchestra is the final vestige of civilization. With its ultimate demise shall perish the fevered quest of higher spirituality which singularly ennobled an essentially savage Race inherently bent upon the destruction of not only itself but every living or decaying species upon or within the earth and indeed beyond and into the greater Universe.
What inner demons so pollute a living spirit which with will, perseverance, and purity may soar amidst the distant spheres and beam amongst the light rays of sacred beauty and even more chaste radiances?
The perils of mortality scar the virgin flesh and tear the fine fabric of ecstatic liberty or labored creation. All sink beneath a weight of human breath.


With the commencement of the execution of the Jeffersonian Music Drama begins the formal and irrevocable quest toward the salvation of humanity materially and spiritually. While the divisions of the Race are marked and formidable, and while every individual life hangs on the merest energy thread, the first step must be the spiritual union of the white and black population of America. Both races identically lust for freedom, for soul expression, for a self and collectively valued existence. We may not be deluded by outward appearance and shallow surface reality. The American black race is more corrupt and degraded than any historically known collection of repressed peoples. The white American race is as deluded about their own spiritual, mental, and military condition as any historically known dominant people. The black American slave race was a powerhouse of burning spiritual and physical fuel, nearly heating the cosmos with simmering and God-driven effusions of Life. The destruction of the core of the black people has been accomplished by the 20th century liberal welfare state and the shockingly perverse application of fiercely rejected principles of genetic selection which itself has become most clearly a reprehensible and nearly accomplished act of genocide. Correlatively, the tribal losers who formerly would have starved to death or been actively killed now walk the streets with impunity, coloring darkly the conditions of everyday existence and blocking the ascension of energy flow. While the white race has suffered from a similar phenomenon less potent and irrevocable, and which might be reversed with relatively mild corrective measures over two or three generations, and while the nation as a whole has been gutted with the lavish nourishment of the weakest and least productive elements of society to the serious detriment of the true talent and spirit of the nation, the black American race stands in mortal peril of imminent and permanent collapse. The vast majority within AmericaÕs great cities have already been written off as animals to be fed as necessary, to be contained within jungles of irrelevant despair, and to be caged within the massive weight of a sick societyÕs chains of derision and condemnation and supposed irrelevancy, and finally within the ever-multiplying prison cells.
That nearly literal animals do populate the streets and tenements of the cities is fact, as any objective belief in the ascension of human evolution and capabilities must classify those with a moronic mental state and with no moral character or conscience. The true Black American, the descendant of the powerful slave race and the further descendant of the Great Nations of distant Africa, lives in bewildered disgrace and paralyzed uncertainty as to his or her own identity and obligations for constructive action and capacity for spiritual realization when confronted with seeming hopelessness, crippling confusion, and a frenzied final futility. Even beyond these mortal constraints and debilities is the necessity to bypass the normal human narcotics of home, tradition, and roots, of which there are none --- neither foreign nor domestic, but must seek union and solace directly with the stars and the Eternal. But all of America is transplanted and the solitary disconnection from heritage is more fancy and illusion than truth. We all as Americans are rooted in shallow soil. We may be forever born anew and together. And all the world is One! But we progress too far. We must deal with the immediate. How far we have traveled from JeffersonÕs Aristocracy of Virtue and Talent! [n.1].
The human cancer which drives toward racial hatred and extermination, while inherent within the species, flourishes within the vacuum created by the seemingly more benign human flaws of inattention, materialistic greed, and fundamental moral degeneration. The sordid growth of conflict, hatred, and evil flourishes within the clouds and mists of twilight and the hidden recesses of entombing night. It is not merely that the brilliant rays of sun and starlight expose the true qualities of such growth, but that the compelling spirit of Light provides the alternative path. Thus it is not the inherent baseness of the race which determines moral corruption but the often absence of any alternative provided by courage and vision. As the pedestrian is debated with a solemnity that is itself perverse in its shallow facileness and pervasive consequences, the stone foundations of mortal enlightenment and survival are transformed to wood and devoured by the lowest elements of humanity. Such commentary though valuable in and of itself provides no relief yet is critical as the garment to clothe the courageous few, who alone may positively impact upon the receptive many. [n.2]
Forever we have struggled for balance and truth. The lights which have beckoned sometimes blaze, sometimes pale, but have never been extinguished. No canvass portrays reality, no stroke captures All, no sound scores the Eternal. We drift in a melancholy maze of visions and fabrications. Are we lost in a wilderness of unreality, casting about in blindness and futility? Are discordant tones harmonized within a tide that sweeps inexorably toward Divine Realization? Are these premises contrary or inevitably rhapsodized in union, amidst the infinite flow of energy and spirit? Who contends upon the field of spirit to strive with Eternity, with mortality, with pain and desperation, with joy and realization? Having surrendered by birth to mortal despair, we are reduced to struggle for balance and truth. And we are to endure in the absence of both. [n.3]
The drive toward certainty defies practical success, and thus the very need for this cripples all attempts at achievement. This says no more than HamletÕs pale cast of thought reproach, and yet it is far more compelling now than ever before due to lifeÕs ever-growing complexity. The rational extension there is that we shall grow ever more paralyzed as we are confronted with an ever-multiplying array of circumstances and conditions. Contemplation alone is enough to still-birth our projects, This infirmity nevertheless exists on a philosophical theoretical plane, true as it is. Simultaneously we are confronted with concrete difficulties and even seeming impossibilities. Raw economics, simple physical and intellectual limitations, and the non-cooperative and even undermining efforts of our fellow men and women present overwhelming difficulties. Little wonder all surrender, slight surprise that we all settle for a fraction of our human potential and guard that fractional territory with fanatic resolve.
Where is the interest, the resolve, the desire to comprehend and fashion the global political and social reality? Is the virtual non-existence of these endeavors a result of utter hopelessness, helplessness? Complexity, social and economic inertia, and abandonment have created a vast sea of humanity which heaves to and fro with no purpose nor sense of destiny nor commitment to mission or faith. Some of us, the fortunate, maintain these virtues on wholly personal and limited levels. These are the spirits who may be inspired to transcend their boundaries and strive for greater goals. The inspiration and the ignition of the inchoate mass is even more difficult and perhaps not so necessary. Only the goodwill of the mass must be effected so that mountains are not actively and consciously blocking constructive designs. That goodwill alone could go a long way toward negating the active efforts of those negatively blocking our projects or scheming toward alternative darker visions.
Must we assume that alternative visions are by necessity darker? Yes, should we succeed in creating a wide enough movement that embraces the essential aspects of a positive mortal and spiritual existence. Shallow and limited objectives, or narrow hostile purposes, must be cast aside or the entire fabric is corrupted.
Fortunately we have conceived a solution to a problem that has been crippling us and even led to the contemplation that unless we abandoned our ancient ambitions to move forward in life we must do so with some nihilistic philosophy of hopelessness and destruction. This contemplation affects us deeply. In conceptualizing The Arc, being specifically the political, military, cultural, spiritual alignment of the major capitols: New York, London, Paris, Berlin, and Moscow, we come upon core truths of what peace would be mandated by this alliance relative to the major portions of our world and those diverse civilizations. It may then be realized that rather than having to imagine dictatorial and oppressive control over the various antagonistic cultures, a Separate But Equal Civilizations policy is an answer to the ever-elusive quest for world peace. Yes, we have reached the sacred terrain where we may declare that world peace has become envisioned and may therefore be effected at any moment where courage, decisiveness, and great effort are sufficiently generated. The specifics of this philosophy must perhaps await another day. However, this situation may allow for the separate development of the Black, Islamic, various Asian and Hispanic civilizations, along their own unique paths and by virtue of their own resources and the development of these resources. Any employment of indigenous national resources by The Arc would be by fair market purchase only. In this manner of international trade the only true link between the civilizations will be maintained, and this by necessity alone. There is no rational need to make demands upon the resources or territories of the competing civilizations, and therefore The Ark shall abandon all such ambitions. Likewise The Arc must ensure that this policy will be followed completely by all societies. Therefore the strategic military and other combat potential of all other societies must be eliminated, excepting only certain great powers that have more to gain by stability than destruction. Once accomplished, all fears should vanish for all peoples. And truly should this state of affairs not exist even today, where the strife and killing between competing civilizations is particularly virulent? There can be no argument for extremists who regularly perpetrate violence upon their own people and those of the Arc Nations in their frustration. Let each society determine its own fate, without outside interference of any kind, and what should the complaint be? Must one live in daily frustration because somewhere far away some other peoples are living with other sets of values? There is no real basis to live this way, and that is really the basic solution to our eternal dilemma of war and extermination.
Or, to the contrary, may we still strive for spiritual and racial integration, for the bridging of the fundamental divisions of the civilizations of the world, all existing within a thriving generational animal of biology and spirit that somehow defies every fractional instinct, need, and lust of mankind? Perhaps anything is possible, yet something must finally be erected.
The entire creative process of the Race is sexual, and the most powerful and potent spirits and energies arise through the generation of sexual passion. Of course the powerful sexual passion which drives one onward through the heat of a frenzy so to speak is not the more effective manifestation of the phenomenon. It is the longing and wistful contemplation sprung forth by the burning engines of simmering love which paints the more penetrating portrait.
It is the sacrament of physical union which demands our fervent admiration and commitment, to be contrasted with the exalting release of physical passion, a great beauty unto itself, while both to be held entirely apart from routine habitual intercourse which is indeed the death of love and the mother of dependence, ingratitude, and unchallenged acceptance of mediocrity. The sacramental essence of physical union joins the inexpressible immortal eternal divine longing --- indeed an eternity of seeking the warmth of Love amidst a cosmos of fire and ice --- of two blossoming mutually-realizing spirits with a sacred impact that imperils the rhythm of the heart and shatters the individual existence heretofore known. Thus death itself may be feared from such union, while death-longing and the abdication of all mortal reality is the angel-call of true spiritual consummation, the sacrament of the simultaneous convergences of physical and spiritual union. No other aspect of mortal life bears us to divinity so surely and so purely.
With or even without that divine connection the passionate attachment of two soaring spirits in locked physical embrace, gripped by the fever of blood afire and loosed by a mutual attraction, or love, or camaraderie, sears a burning presence of our existence upon the moment, frees the bonds which grip our lives to a barren field of loneliness and responsibility, and wrings from the depths of mortality an explosion of exultation and defiance. With such fuel one may journey to the ends of the earth, combat injustice and disgrace, conquer the armies of blackness and ice, and pour melodies into the vortex of the stars themselves. The power of Love is the essence of mortal life.
Only true expression of genius can move the population to enthusiasm in a sustained fashion, vital for actual achievement. Ideas, conceptions, truth unexpressed must vanish if indeed ever considered alive at all. Expression alone conveys the force of life at issue. The Artist casts outward into the furthest reaches of Spiritual Existence and through an agonizing indomitable exercise of Will fashions the spiritual mass into Energy and Art.
Even great and successful artists develop burning frustrations and embarrassments at their own and humanityÕs limitations. [n.4] The struggling neglected wounded artist is filled with the bitterness of betrayal and abandonment and lovelessness and views many as enemies. Both types see real and imagined hindrances to the realization of the perceived ultimate spiritual/artistic creation, the literal flowering of the Race, only to be fully realized as the outer blossoms sprung forth from the branches, body, and roots that, together, labored mightily for many ages against the very same limitations and hindrances. And it is the very disinterest, the utter apathy, of the population which dooms these ultimate pursuits, while lesser things flourish. [n.5]
It is often a subject of contention as to whether Verdi was influenced by Wagner --- indeed, it was contemporaneously alleged that with Aida(and later Otello) he had become a virtual imitator. VerdiÕs very greatness forced him to reckon with the transcending and revolutionary communications of Wagner, while that greatness also allowed him to absorb and adopt much of the essence of Wagner. Yet also without question VerdiÕs essential Italian and Republican outlook remained independent and in fact were rejuvenated by WagnerÕs Germanic and will-imposing essence. Verdi insisted on declaiming upon the core separation between German and Italian Art, and national character, and he was correct.
Perhaps shockingly, both produced only one great successor, which shortcoming terminated the development of German and Italian opera. Puccini won undisputed mastery over the operatic stage, a mastery which still sways the remnants of the music drama public. Whether Puccini artistically moved beyond Verdi is an unsettled question. The likely ultimate resolution of that debate is that Puccini became the more extreme conjurer of overflowing human passion and drama, while sometimes perhaps to excess or caricature, while in the more important points which constitute mastery Verdi remained unsurpassed.
Only Strauss followed Wagner, [n.6] and it may be said that he brought to near perfect fruition the execution of the unitary and continuously-flowing music drama. Strauss was the dramatic successor of Wagner, and while it may be seen that the dramatic evolution formally approaches a sort of perfection, the same cannot be declared for the overall artistic and spiritual achievement. These dramas, however, have been yet to be fully given their due nor to have been susceptible of final judgments. Ironically, it may be seen that VerdiÕs Otello, composed shortly after the death of the master, is in fact the ultimate music drama in its perfect synthesis and artistic triumph. If that occurred as a partial result of the inevitable and unlamentable influence of Wagner then a further revelation of divine realization may be discerned.
While Mahler is the greatest and most reverential disciple and successor of Wagner, his refusal to enter the operatic sphere casts a cold light upon his appearance in this analysis. While every fibre of his being throbbed with repulsion over the Wagner who seethed with hatred for MahlerÕs Race, MahlerÕs spirit raised without will at the sorcererÕs magical powers, and indeed his being was intoxicated when conducting Wagner, exercising voracious will in reveling in and revealing that magical power that poured from the brain and soul of the great Wagner.
Mahler employed the language that Wagner created. The root language of the most elevated expressions of Mahler wholly has its genesis in Wagner; Mahler is the true son of Wagner, as is Wagner of Beethoven, bearing his heritage to unexpected and exalted regions of Life. [n.7] MahlerÕs path is solitary, however. His never-ending quest for the true revelation of God caused him to embrace and indeed consume GodÕs greatest disciple of the modern age, Wagner. Yet, again, Mahler traveled alone, willingly being pierced by the frozen jagged peaks of the mountains which rise in an ever-ascending path, and ever-more bitterly painful --- and breathtakingly beautiful --- journey to the pure soul of God.



THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF MUSIC IN THE MODERN AGE


Though America has not achieved greatness in the dramatic musical sphere at the classical spiritual divinely elevated levels, American society has developed popular musical art so far as to have transcended the heretofore scope and indeed essence of popular music: on multiple fronts --- folk, rock, pop, jazz, popular music has been transcended as Art. Not coincidentally, the two greatest English-speaking musical artists of the second half of the 20th century, Dylan and Lennon, have laid the groundwork for the practical application of the musical force upon the behavior and morality of the human race.
The psyche of the animal has been conditioned to accept transformative guidance instruction and leadership from the prophets of musical art, which embraces the poetic and musical aspects of creation, blended with a virile penetration challenging injustice, stupidity, and shallow social mindlessness. The mass are herded as sheep, even by the very prophets of enlightenment, yet the journey within streams of creative bliss and angst is ever more defined by sensitive perception of ultimate realization. This is purely a spiritual journey, and only as such may it be rejoiced, commended, and understood. The survival of this ascendance of the consciousness is ever in mortal peril, in constant danger of being crippled or wholly silenced by social, political, and religious bigots who preach a common path to the promised land but who carry only sterile seeds of impotent surrender. Every comfort in social life, every fear of the unknown, every calm in quiet and safety and conformity calls out to the good and bad citizen alike, to the lazy and industrious, to the well-motivated and the ill, to join in the mindless and irresponsible coalition of tradition and acceptance. While the somnambulance of vapidity and comfort is itself death to the spirit of justice and the betrayal of the thrilling but tortuous climb from inanimate cosmic dust to seething biological sentience, such lofty standards vanish entirely when we gaze through the windows separating the enslaved existence with which we are imperiled from the universe which is ours but for which we may be too soft and slow to grasp. Thus the prophets of spirit must guide, even drive, our slumbering souls toward our mission, while the afore-mentioned blankets of submission ever restrain and menace our consummation.
Triumphs of past masters, though they might have touched the spirit of the people of that time, were yet limited in impact due to the extremely constricted availability of the immediate experience. [n.8] The major impact of Wagner upon the evolution of the German psyche is the most extreme successful example, but even there WagnerÕs influence developed mainly in the last decade of his life, and after many bitter failures and deprivations which would have destroyed the great majority of human beings in identical circumstances. Further, the most extensive impact occurred after his death, when he was no longer in a position to direct, modify, qualify, or otherwise control the nature and scope of that impact. Finally, such impact was limited chiefly to the German Nation. Today, with America predominant over all the world, and the English language universal in its reach, the potential for an effect of massive geometric proportions, which could sweep aside all contrary influences, is apparent. [n.9]
I had always been a great advocate of opera in English, thinking it absurd to listen to Òliving dramaÓ in a foreign language that could not be understood, particularly in light of previous masters willingness to and cooperation in translating their works, for instance Verdi and Wagner in Paris. [n.10] Today I see the absurdity of it. Translated they are out of their natural spirit. It is far better to create new works today in our own language that are created for our language than to try to resuscitate works dead one or even two hundred years. Thus translation is no longer palatable while creation is of the essence. Listening to Pavarotti in his recording of VerdiÕs masterpiece Aida drives home the point with singular clarity. The greatness of Italian opera as exemplified by Verdi, Puccini, and Rossini is ultimately in essence Italian and must remain so. Further, there is a more significant phenomenon relative to the modern American dramatic stage, in that American opera composers, whether relatively traditional or excessively modern, cannot escape the idioms that they model, regardless of the foreign influence implicated. Therefore the English language employing such idioms always seems unnatural and even unmusical. Under those conditions the existence of true drama and true passion invoking true love is out of the question. Far more successful have been the American musical composers, writing melodies destined for Broadway and popular theater houses in large and small towns all across America. Witnessing a performance on Broadway recently, lured there by a star attraction, I was struck certainly by the banality of the drama itself; however, even more importantly I was captured by the magic of the melodies that poured forth from the great American popular composer Rogers.
Ultimately, the American musical from the early twentieth century to the present day represents the far better example of what can be done with the English language and modern American society than anything in the classical or operatic worlds. However, there has been no ultimate greatness achieved with the American musical, although there have been very many shining moments. Where the true greatness of the English language has been artistically conjured has been in other formerly popular realms, Ôformerly popularÕ because, as has been discussed, these have been transcended in modern American society. The terminology necessary to describe the new essence has not yet arrived. While the popular/jazz classics, achingly gorgeous love songs or songs of the deepest and richest despair, have far surpassed anything in American classical or even musical theater, to reach the ultimate in consciousness-expanding art one must arrive to taste the work of Bob Dylan and John Lennon. Both grew out of an American musical tradition, though the true roots of Lennon are bitterly Irish, grudgingly British, and ultimately universal. Dylan is likewise universal in his genesis, though not European in the least. Mostly he embodies the most elevated and rarified essence of modern America. His unique Hebrew connection is an intangible but decisive influence upon the nature and quality of his work. Ultimately, however, both employed the English language to massive effect, and in an entirely natural fashion, painting with musical idioms directly related to the language itself. Let that instruct you, composers, to seek your inspiration closest to home, wherever that home is, physical, temporal, spiritual.
Both Dylan and Lennon have transformed Western society and affected the social evolution of the world. Yet they are not in a position to unite the world by reaching the heart and spirit of a sufficient portion of mankind. This could be discussed and debated at great length. The point here, however, is that it is the modern American music drama which must ultimately surpass all previous efforts above-discussed and connect integrally with the American spirit, which dominates the Globe and which should most substantially influence the future course of world events and the consciousness evolution of the Human Race.
The possibility of music playing the decisive role in transforming the planet is scintillating and highly suspect together at the same time. There must be a magnificent combination of both the tangible and the intangible, music being chiefly intangible while poetry and dramatic idea being chiefly tangible. The interrelationship of all the varied qualities of music and poetry shall elevate the consciousness of Man where all else fails. To have powerful dramatic action is merely to provide an attractive door to pass through and enter in to the essence of the creation. But the existence of that door is absolutely necessary or the work perishes in oblivion. And so, American composers and mystics, the stage has been set for your arrival. The world anxiously awaits you. Place aside your doubts and fears and find strength in courage and the conviction that you stand alone by nature of the very uniqueness that shall make your impact singular. Competing forces for good need not collide in antagonistic competition but may coalesce and thereby increase potency. Within such a sweep might the world be transformed.
As the symphony orchestra recedes into history a core section of the human soul likewise passes into more remote energy. Yet new core sections arise: such is the ever-transmuting and indeed transcending nature of the mortal and spiritual existence. We enter into terrifying terrain.
All the Universe beams upon a single point! --- Òstar dancing beamsÓ --- each star reflects not only its own radiance but every beam of Light that touches upon it from the Infinite. The Light ray of one star contains the essence of all Life and is the very substance of God. [n.11]
God is the Eternal Spirit. That in itself is a simple concept, yet its depth renders it impenetrable. Communion with anything at the spirit level is communion with God. So much of the Spiritual Essence of existence --- Beauty, Truth, Love, --- will not find reflection in mortal life: to seek it is vain if the goal is fulfillment. Yet the glimmers are grasped, sought or no. But more wonderfully, it is the journey of the search with its many raptures, perils, exhaustions, and visions, that defines us as living spirits and as children of the Source of All.







THE BIRTH OF A GENIUS OF THE MODERN AGE


And the Spirit said unto thee, ÒStand and be counted among thy fellows.Ó And though the Spirit commandeth thus, you stand not, for thou art burdened with the deepest griefs and massive chains of crippling debility. The slow churning of human destiny amidst the flowing rush of Time lifts you despite your frail humanity and causes the Light to rest upon thy brow. Deceive not, falter not, and lead the yearning Human Spirit to Union with God.


Note 1. The restrictions and constrictions of the modern Age are frightening and a great stimulus toward emigration. Yet when I would consider where I could go that I would feel more free or that I would feel more secure I then realize that this Great Nation remains the haven and the hope of Liberty. And thus there is no escape, neither in desire nor in reality. As a function of sacred responsibility we must tend to the ills of our society and render the Nation(living entity) stronger and thereby freer, freer and thereby stronger. With a foundation of tradition, an inner pulse of precious metal, and a vision spied from the light-tasting spirits in the sky, we forge and sanctify a New Alliance, sworn to give endless birth to new revelation.
Note 2. The human race is exercising cancerous growth in even the most unexpected correlative directions, correlative to major fundamental trends. For instance, the reverse Darwinism occurring most explicitly within AmericaÕs cities relating to the Black population, the strengthening and nurturance of the weakest elements of that society and the discouragement and/or destruction of the strongest, is paralleled even in the areas of animal survival. Take for instance the deer, one of the most magnificent, strong, and proud of natureÕs wild creatures. The image most modern citizens have of the deer today is of a weak pathetic animal that can barely stand. This view is constantly reinforced by personal observation. As we all know, in a state of nature the natural predators eliminate the weak and the sick from the population, leaving the strongest to thrive in untrammelled ascendancy. Mankind works strenuously to eliminate and destroy the strongest elements of animal society, leaving behind the weak and pathetic. The only true trophy for a true hunter is a magnificent specimen; thus these are sought after with a frenzy bordering on psychotic obsession. Thus, the elimination of predators allows the weak to survive while the elimination of the strongest specimens by mankind makes sufficient room for the weak to maintain themselves while striking down the best and the brightest. What is even more essential than this immediate death, however, is the elimination of that line of genetics relative to the propagation of the Race. And thus is the species weakened immeasurably and irrevocably on a continual basis. The deer is but one example of the general calamity. The deer may yet be saved, perchance, with the elimination of hunting the first essential step, which would also strengthen and renew the existence of the wolf simultaneously.
Note 3. What happens when a gang of armed men remove a man or woman from their home, abuse, torture, and murder them, in a place like Kosovo or Guatemala?: Is this our concern? I say each living spirit is degraded who with knowledge turns a blind eye with helpless surrender. We are all connected in this world at the most elementary levels, spiritually and physically. How to manage, heal, and cause to blossom those connections is the great challenge that we live for.
Note 4. One might ask how a political and social radical such as Hitler and the ultra-dark and evil spiritual core of his movement can be tolerated and even embraced by artistic and intellectual masters of the day, though hardly uniformly. Even more compelling is the inquiry as to how or why or if Grand Spiritual Forces of Art, which require exalted purity as their very breath, fostered or even gave birth to such movements. Let us view Richard Wagner and the flowering of Grand German Art and Grand German Murder. The proposition was simple.
Note 5. And where the patronization and subsidization of these trivialities galls when perpetrated by a fellow of race, at least bound up within the glorious traditions and struggle of the nation, this same patronization and subsidization by Ôoutsiders,Õ racially and traditionally, drives the suffering spirit of racial grandeur to contemplate the most comprehensive purgatives(ultimately genocide/extermination). Where prophets and saints take the laboring oar moving a vessel into waters the population would willingly, greedily, lustfully, sinfully, and sorrowfully enter, powerful forces are afoot and the world must shudder and contemplate mortality.
Note 6. Contrasted from those merely influenced by Wagner, such as Debussy, Schoenberg, Berg, etc.
Note 7. Today you cannot allow yourself to sound even remotely like Beethoven without arousing the most unfavorable inferential comparisons. So if tempted, not to suggest you should be, to emulate too closely that immortal master, temper your ambition with more moldable material.
Note 8. As we plunge into the mysteries of a masterwork such as The Mastersingers by Wagner, ever deeper and ever richer, we must be struck by the pitiful past potential for any repeated listening and therefore thorough study of the work. When written, a composer could hope that, his composition might be heard two or three times in a lifetime by even devoted admirers, much less the average musical devotee, much less the average musical listener. Today the effect is massive for those seekers; yet for a modern popular composer the vast multi-media presents overwhelming visions of limitless power and potential.
Note 9. For the pure spirit to penetrate the core of the GlobeÕs psyche, however, the originator of the impulse must remain alive to control the nature and scope of that impact. If not, the most haphazard effects may be foreseen with disastrous results. The potential exception to this scenario is for a hand-picked successor or heir, whether by blood or spirit, who may step in decisively and carry forward successfully. All these chances remain in the hands of fate, and thus we shall see.
Note 10. This discussion has been further complicated by the advent of effectively presented subtitles, an important bridge to the presntation of true drama.
Note 11. One obsession of many is the search for alien beings. Where great error is made is in seeking aliens in physical form. Ultimately we as a Race believe in the imperishable existence of the Spirit, while some among us believe in the evolutionary and transforming (transformational) ability of the spirit relative to even mortal existence. Communication with advanced, and even primitive, aliens occurs continually on the spirit level. The spirit transcends mortal life, and thus the spirit communes with Life broadly and is not limited to the Human Race nor earthly species.