Photo: “Sunset Clouds & Ghiridone Mountain” (Ascona, Ticino, Switzerland)
Conscience
Our encounter with nature matures from the contemplation of its manifestations. In our journey among the various ecosystems, we are often surprised by the sound quality of nature and of its elements: inasmuch as they invite us to share existence. In these instances, we take the opportunity to record these sounds: the immersion in these surroundings, the encounter with the elements and the creatures that live in these spaces, engender a vibrant exchange that transforms us. This union with nature engenders inspirations that invite us to express our experience through music. When we play, we let our emotions go free, even in the title of an improvisation, composing without any kind of pre-decided scheme. The vibrations pervade us and a sense of conscience-energy awakens in us; this creativity gives birth to sensations that are useful in our daily lives. Our compositions present sounds from the Italian part of Switzerland, especially near the Lake Maggiore, and from the Ticino valleys and mountains. In addition, it is possible to find regions that have been recorded during various trips taken around the world.
Photo: Panorama “Lago Maggiore & Isole di Brissago” (Ticino, Switzerland)
Cultures
The compositions assemble a series of experiences of encounters with other cultures. The music expresses our perception and interpretation of the message revealed by a culture. But, above all, it expresses the emotions that the encounter has awakened in us. This cultural exchange transforms us and puts into evidence thoughts, symbols and common inspirations that draw all human beings closer together. The compositions are often inspired by daily life sounds and by cultural rituals of people we have met.
Photo by Dante Bianchi: “Tibetan Monks” (Tibet)
Photo: ”Sardegna Sea” (Sardegna, Italy)
Photo by Dante Bianchi: “Kailash Mountain” (Tibet)
Metamorphosis
As we live through our musical experiences, we almost subconsciously learn to open our beings to thepresence of Nature. As water and light softly but profoundly enter our bodies and minds, they invite us to follow them through their stupendous manifestations: this is a metamorphosis which allows us to dance with them in the micro- and the macrocosm. We dwell in the ocean like luminous blue or green algae; we participate in a moonlit concert of frogs; as the forest awakens, we become light on a glittering stream; we let ourselves be transported and elongated like clouds in a wind that is the colour of spring. And then we seem to hear that inner voice that inspires us human beings, suggesting: learn to see things as they are; simply be a pure mirror reflecting nothing but the present moment, without projecting judgement, without assigning significance.
Photo: ”Sunset & Mountains” (Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland)
When this happens, our eyes will see more, our ears will hear more, our bodies will feel more, our hearts will love more. And ‘more’ not only in the sense of quantity, but also of quality. Not only will we see more trees, clouds, flowers, waves, but we will percieve them more profoundly. Their colours will not only become more intense, but also more luminous. These manifestations of the elements will begin to assume an individuality of their own, and so enable us to live in a more profound communion with existence. The world will be the same, but it will also be different. Trees will seem more verdant, roses more fragrant, people more alive, more beautiful. The world will be the same, but snailshells will seem like diamonds. All of life will acquire a new intensity, filled with tastes, our senses will become more acute, alive and aware. When the presence of this splendour and our awareness of it have impregnated our beings, everything will become a continuous and endless celebration of life. When we return to our daily tasks, we find that we are more sensitive to the quality of the elements and creatures, to their gifts, but also to their degradation. We invite you to share this search and research for a relation to Nature and to Humanity which is more alive and more constructive.
The earth, a living planet
What kind of view of the world should one have today in order of an existential orientation? In the twentieth century, science in all its various aspects has dominated thinking while at the same time leading to a more profound knowledge of natural phenomena and to the development of advanced technology. But it has also resulted in a limited and materialistic conception of the planet. The Earth has been accurately analysed in terms of its lithosphere (rocks), hydrosphere (water), atmosphere, biosphere (organic nature) and anthroposphere without the sum of its parts having been investigated. In the last few decades new conceptions have evolved and have been developed in the context of holistic and systemic science: based on some important experiments of quantum physics and the study of complexity in the universe, these new conceptions illustrate the essential interdependence between all living beings on both the physical and the psychic level.
Photo: “River Verzasca” (Valle Verzasca, Ticino, Switzerland)
Photo: “Plum Flowers” (Ascona, Ticino, Switzerland)
At the same time, various holistic biologists and ecologists think that they have found a process of global self regulation of the Earth, and they have consequently suggested the hypothesis of Gaia. This hypothesis conceives the planet as a living organism which has a certain level of consciousness. These concepts of the Earth, which are, of course, still not fully worked out, raise many questions and provide numerous opportunities for human beings. These ideas really increase the extent of the possibility of participating in the life of the planet, thereby also perhaps providing new impulses to the process of socioeconomic and psychological change that is so impellent in the contemporary world: what is the connection between thought and nature? lf the Earth is a living being, how can one interpret its psychic life and its consciousness? To what extent do human psychological states participate in and spread in the planetary system? What is the function of the harmony and the rhythms of the Earth? To what extent could they constitute a source of energy for helping human beings to regenerate themselves and to awaken in them new meaning in life?
The new conceptions of interdependence that riunite science and tradition in a new synthesis help one to understand that the separation and fragmenting that cause conflicts are the result of one’s own behaviour and attitude in daily fife. A more correct and harmonious relationship with the rest of humanity and with nature is developed not only be means of words and actions, but is built and nourished by one’s thoughts and imagination. They are seeds that are spread all over the Earth by means of the network of relationships that link people with each other both intimately and publicly. One purpose of the work of GioAri is to make available, without any great pretensions, some samples of sounds from nature that can help to shape one’s inner self in a creative way and to remind one that he is an active cell in the transformation of the physical and psychological conditions of the world. lf one listens to the Earth, he can receive nourishment from it and be inspired by its mind. One can learn the art of understanding love which makes the subtle nourishment of give and take flow in all of mankind.
