The Orchestra Of Crafty Guitarists
09.15
The Orchestra Of Crafty Guitarists V –
Special Performance Project
April 15th to 23rd, 2012
Foresteria Sorelle Povere di S. Chiara Monastero s. Maria Delle Grazie
Corso Vittorio Emanuele III n. 68
01010 - Farnese (VT), Italy.
A bright, brisk morning. Rising 06.25 local time, an hour earlier on the body clock.
Morning Sitting at 07.30. Breakfast at 08.15 with 31 around the tables.
Silence visited shortly after breakfast began. How to describe this, the visit of a good and continuing Friend to the Guitar Circle? There is no end to possible description because there is no end to Silence. If I were able to know what there is within Silence, it would not really help very much in terms of description. The good news: it is simpler to experience Silence, to dwell inside it for a while, than to talk about it. The extent to which we may dwell-inside Silence is governed by our capacity to simply be present. In a word, be.
Many of the faces around the table are familiar, and with an acceptance of each other that is exceptional; despite, because and regardless of our failings. This is so rare. Guitar Craft, the Guitar Circle and The Orchestra Of Crafty Guitarists have validated for me the promise of Sherborne House. The many earnest discussions, and observations presented in serious meetings, contrast very clearly with the work in the Guitar Circle: if we miss a note, we weren't there. No argument, no explanation, no justification: we simply weren't present. In the Guitar Circle, argument, explanation and justifications aren't necessary: we know the experience of absence so clearly in ourselves. We see the effect of a bum note moving outward from us around the Circle, reflecting our absence, disturbing the momentum until somehow it is redeemed. Someone in the Circle sees and hears the disturber-of-equilibrium moving towards them and, when the ripple arrives, strikes a note that is true. The Note continues on its way, restoring rightness to the harmony of the Circle.
Those who arrive in the Circle come from a variety of backgrounds and ways. Music is itself also a way and, despite Steven Pinker, likely the best language we have to give voice to the totality of what it is to be human. Gratitude.
10.15 Director Nunez has just been to visit. We covered a wide variety of topical arsings, including the live album of RF & The League Of Crafty Guitariststs Live In Argentina (2007). Hernan mentioned that all the very best performances of the League and Soundscapes are characterised by distortion at the very best points. This, strangely, seems to have nothing to do with amplitude. Rather, as if it is impossible to put musical quality into the digital domain. My experience suggests this is also true of analogue recording. Something like, the intensity of the music / performance distorts the recording of it, regardless of the volume that hits the A/D recorder. Strange and inexplicable.
Also discussed: madness in the world, difficulties dealing with business, the widespread dishonesty and unreliability of large operations, the tendency for good people when in positions of power to move off course. I saw this with young rock stars of my acquaintance when invested with attention, money and the trappings of celebrity; and also managers and record industry executives who benefited from the work of their artists (disproportionately). When fame and power come to get you, good to get going out of the way. One very good getting-out-of-the-way strategy is to return to your hometown. People who know you will insult you – who do you think you are? – and know you as nothing more than the same jerk who used to live around the corner.
Hernan is into town with Alessandro, to meet with the priest and visit the space where The Orchestra Of Crafty Guitarists will be performing on Saturday.
13.47 Lunch at 13.00. A cellphone went off at the top table. This is a first. It was the boyfriend of a Director Nunez’ daughter. This is also a first.
Words of utility and necessity, such as when not to play, and to honour the Sisters’ quiet times.
The ballroom I…
II...
… noting that, despite the nomenclature, it is unlikely that there has ever been a ball held here during the c. 450 years of contemplative life.
The office comes together…
20.24 Tea at 16.00. Dinner at 19.00. Silence visited both.
Hernan and Alessandro went to Viterbo this afternoon, dealing with the Italian form of PRS. This model of collection agency was imported to Argentina during the Peron era. It is a model where “the artists have to be paid”. Given our experiences in “being paid” by the Argentinian version of the PRS, it is a model which functions more effectively as a collection than distribution agency.
The degree to which corruption is endemic in all parts of the music industry to which I have access; alternatively expressed, to which the music industry has access to me; continues to astonish me.
21.49 Inaugural Meeting at 21.00.
This course, The Orchestra Of Crafty Guitarists V, was acknowledged as underway at 21.01. We went around the 31 seats saying who we are, where we come from, what brought us here, and our aim for the course. I spoke first, and for Bill Rieflin. My personal aim: to see what is required of me.
In the outside world, sometimes a reasonable person might despair. But in the Guitar Circle, there is hope (although on occasions I have found myself feeling otherwise). An act of quality is ungovernable by number. So, the smallest act of quality is as big as a big act of quality. A small act of quality within the Circle is somehow magnified and, although outside the rule of Quantity, somehow gets bigger: it is intensified.
At the end of the introductions, the question: Who would like to play for the House? An octet played a variant boogie, three times. And after all, why play on the same beat when there are other places to land? I enjoyed this immensely. A captivating little piece.
