08.22
Monasterio Nuestra Senora De Los Angeles (Monjas Dominicas), Sant Cugat, Spain.
A grey day over Sant Cugat…
Grey Cranescape…
The singing of the Sisters’ choir has been rising from below, bringing sunshine to the day.
Performances at breakfast.
T’ai chi at 09.00 in the ballroom, with Luciano & without mosquitoes.
09.59 Dr. Mike is leaving this morning to honour a prior commitment. We met for a final touching-base. Various arisings discussed, including the UK weekend 1-12th. November. This will most likely be held in Dorset.
12.20 Hernan, Lillian & I visited the Mother Superior at 10.00. She is a wonderful, smiling woman who emanates goodness. She told us that the Sisters pray while singing & quoted St. Augustus: those that sing pray twice. She was very happy to see young GC people from many different countries working together: we pray for them. She told us that our work supports theirs: this is a considerable compliment to GC, and stating that the converse is true seems redundant.
Then a meeting with Hernan covering several bases & future plans, for example possible performance of Soundscapes & The LCG in Mexico, Portugal & Spain.
Raining, thunder & lightning…
14.05 An excellent performance of VROOOM by Level Three at lunch.
A quiet lunch with delicious silence visiting. Several comments: on forgiveness & renunciation of the unnecessary. A new visitor arrived this morning from Madrid.
Rainscape I…
II…
18.51 Tea at 16.00 with a Level Three performance. This was followed by the most voluble conversation I have heard at the table during this visit, moving gently towards quiet, and then Silence visited bringing with it a particular benevolence. This generated certain internal responses I recognise, followed by an insight into the first exercise introduced to me at Randolph House, the Bennett House in Maida Vale, and which I have practised over a period of nearly 32 years.
Then a discussion of our how best to address our work for the remaining afternoon.
Meeting with Visitors + at 17.00.
Getting more bang for your buck! – how to generate interesting music within a mixed ability & experience group of guitarists? Several developing variations addressed:
Basic theme statement in 6/8;
Slight variation 12/8;
3 tempi in 3 octaves;
11/8 against the 12/8;
5/8 against the 6/8;
offsets (hocket);
retrograde motion (in 12, 11, 5);
retrograde motion (in 12, 11, 5) in offset;
plus a few more.
19.56 T’ chi at 18.00.
The Quiet Time in the house at 18.30 was, according to a report at dinner, not honoured.
At dinner, Silence visited the dining room once again, and strongly. This is in extreme contrast to the 21st. anniversary course in Lunlunta where Silence visited only one meal: the final dinner.
Dinner performance by Level Three.
For our evening: a request for an exercise shown at the Lunlunta anniversary course (the second time this has arisen here). Although I arrived, prepared to present this exercise for the morning sitting, it has not felt appropriate. Hernan concurs. And I do what Hernan tells me to do. So, the work chosen for this evening: House of Guitars at 21.00.
22.18 An Inner Circle of 10 guitars & an Outer Circle of 20.
Beginning: circulating in F natural minor; Outer Circle on beat, Inner Circle off beat. Then Outer to 7/8, Inner to 5/8.
Dangerously close to music early in the meeting, then it fell apart.
The Circles experienced an astonishing degree of difficulty playing in time, in addition to finding notes so far outside the key that might damage even those sensibilities already familiar with damage.
THRAK, an exercise of health & vigour, was played as a serenade before we returned to circulating in C harmonic minor. This was so bad as to render the scale incomprehensible; that is, comprehensible on a Level One with cheap guitars, no prior experience and players locked in adjoining cupboards. But not here, this evening.
"Sometimes God hides."
