02/07/2014

Bach, Improvisation III on "Birds, drums and signals" and native American Indians

Pima Indians, native Americans, believe that music is something that already exists in a supernatural world and has to be unraveled by the musically gifted. This appeals to me, more for instance than the romantic notion of expressing one's personal feelings through music. Accordingly, an artist may connect to an "external" idea of quietude or excitement, like in the following piece by Bach and my improvisation respectively. In a way, the Pima Indians' view is not so different from the 18th century concept of "Affekte".