Resting at the old monastery
Solo for bass flute (1992/94)
In Memoriam John Cage
Resting at the old monastery
How the mountains slowly
draw nearer,
and the big storm
howls closer.
At night it seems
as if the moon was more familiar,
and in the walls
where bushes grow
are hanging stars.
You are enchanted
by an old, crumbling world.
Poem by Su Dung-Po (1036-1101), English translation by Alexandra Schulz
I wrote “Rest at the old monastery”, a solo for bass flute (1992/94), in memory of John Cage. The revised version of the piece is dedicated to Suzanne Huber on her 60th birthday.
When Cage died in August 1992, Reinhard Oehlschlägel asked a number of composers to write short pieces in honor of his memory. I immediately knew what I wanted to write, and which poem I wanted to use. Back then I thought, the composition's theme would be, once more, The Familiar and The Foreign.
The work's title is referring to Günter Eich's German translation of a Chinese poem by Su Shi (1036-1101): “Rast in einem alten Kloster” (Resting at the old monastery)
Leg dich hier ins Gras, dann wirst du spüren,
wie die Berge langsam zu dir kommen,
und der große Strom rauscht nahe.
Nachts ist dir der Mond Vertrauter,
und wo aus den Mauern Sträuche blühen,
hängen Sterne. Du bist ganz im Zauber
einer alten und verfallenen Landschaft.
“Aus dem Chinesischen“ Bibliothek Suhrkamp Frankfurt am Main 1973, S. 126
Lie down in the grass and you will feel
the mountains slowly drawing nearer,
and the big storm howling closer.
At night, the moon is your familiar,
And where bushes grow through the walls,
You see the stars. You are enchanted
By an old, crumbling world.
English translation by Alexandra Schulz
The bass flute is capable of expressing a flow and tranquility that touches us deeply. With its broad, deep, colorful sounds, this instrument carries the root note further and further. The last breaths take us home.
Younghi Pagh-Paan, July 2000
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