Weekend Concert 22: The Nationalist School's Indian Snake Oil
2006/12/23 15:15:15
The Nationalist School
's
Indian Snake Oil
There's a seemingly plausible piece of nonsense that says what's national is what's international. Indian snake oil is national and also international -- so what? Indian snake oil is still Indian snake oil — apart from being smeared on, making some non-rod-shaped object that may have never been rod-shaped at least rod-shape for a moment, Indian snake oil is just Indian snake oil.
The Nationalist school's Indian snake oil began being smeared everywhere in the late 19th century, turning different nations' homelands into objects of moaning. But humanity's true homeland, especially music's homeland, has always existed only in dreams, only in the distant depths of the heart. Stray from the heart, and music loses its way. By the twentieth century, technology innovated endlessly, the heart grew ever more remote, and the climax brought by Indian snake oil could only be Indian snake oil's climax — humanity had forgotten what a real climax is.
Of course, the Nationalist school isn't entirely worthless. Some people's certain works, as long as they broke free from the self-imposed prison of the Nationalist school, still radiate the light of the soul. Naturally, someone like Dvořák essentially only nominally — or was only nominally by others — draped in the cloak of the so-called Nationalist school. He was always of the world. Where is the true world? It's your heart. There, there's no such thing as homeland — the present moment is your homeland. There's no such thing as going home — the present moment is home. Only in the home of the heart can music truly bloom.
A side note: someone asked whether I could play some folk/national music. This ID has a complete collection of Chinese classical music — every ancient piece is included, a huge box of it — unfortunately it's not at my Beijing home but at another place out of town. I'll bring it back when I have time. Been too busy lately. So just make do with the foreign stuff for now. And truly, real music is just music itself — there's no foreign or domestic. Music is the entire world, and everything is within it.
Today, responding to listener requests, we'll hear Dvorak's two most famous works: the Cello Concerto and the Ninth Symphony.
The upload website has been acting up lately, often can't connect. Please be patient.
Replies
Chán Zhōng Shuō Chán 2006/12/23 15:30:37
Beijing's weather is terrible today, but outside this ID's window there's a flock of pigeons flying — about 50, half gray and half white. This ID is going to watch the pigeons. Those of you with pigeons, go fly them; those without, go fly paper airplanes.
Heading off, goodbye.
Chán Zhōng Shuō Chán 2006/12/23 15:26:21
The upload website has been acting up lately, often can't connect. Please be patient — if you can't connect, try again at a different time.
If only Sina could support music uploads too. They've added video now, but the capacity is too small — this ID originally wanted to upload an Opera, but apparently that won't work.