That I Did Always Love

Music = Poetry and Poetry is Music, a language that evokes the landscape of the universal and imaginary, therefore music unites; we all are music as it were. Music and Poetry are existential. A concept of life. Utmost profound and everywhere. Music is everything and everything is music. Imaginative and effective chosen words that express introspection or come from intuition define poetry. To be touched by the unsaid and infinity of for example a majestic whispering oak tree, the murmur of a bee, the attar of a rose, a reticent volcano, fabulous bird talk, and the silence of an amazing landscape, it all makes absolutely sense — how wonderful! My passion, desire, restlessness, insecurity, despair (life is really felt in absence), are filtered in the serenity of my harp talk. Heart/soul, time, space, and silence are essential (without silence there is no music!), so one can escape into the music, another reality, an alternative beautiful (dream) world, and might have fun whilst unraveling the mystery of life or finding fudge.

Expression
Emily Dickinson is remarkable! The life of Emily Dickinson makes me reflect on women’s rights and freedom from then and now — the freedom of speech and creative expression in particular. Dickinson’s poems were not allowed to be published. Her exceptional gifts, her flowers to the world were withheld and denied. Despite that, she felt such a strong force and desire to express herself, through a very vital and progressive language about the wonders of nature, the identity of the self, death and immortality, and love. Her extraordinary poetry is of such great value and inspiration for many.

From her rich repertoire, I have picked the poems that immediately touched my soul by the poet’s choice of words that also resonated with me on a sound-level in order to place my harp in a soundscape. A (hq) headset is my favorite way of listening — in silence, in my own time and space, to a spoken word poetry project. The sound experience is very personal and effective. The listener’s heart and soul resonate immediately, because the auditor is isolated, therefore more focused and in touch with the artist. The combination of earphones and sound art is an immersive way during an aural journey to understand poetry and feel the music.

Where do I stand as an artist?
When there is injustice, one should speak up to give voice and make noise to break the silence, to make change, to transform the world in a just and livable place. This thought invites artists to be politically and socially aware, the responsibility and choice are ours. During today’s contrasting situations I/we (experimenters and explorers) could consider to be adaptive, and develop the courage to share powerful, inspiring messages in an original (visual) language, based on our life experience and inner wisdom. I translate my thoughts and feelings into a meditative and poetical note-score with complementary pictures that come from my strong desire to make connections, to make myself seen, heard, and named. When we appreciate our journey and navigate through our (inner) landscapes with curiosity and playfulness, we can indeed take better care of each other and our amazing planet — our fragile future! It takes emotional alignment to find the accurate and solving words that resonate and inspire to envision a better world, related to the grand topics like war and climate change and the disconnect within and between humans, and (re)connection between man and nature, at the right place at the right time. To reflect where I stand in society, I engage with those who act in the arts as a “journalist,” a “truth seeker,” or an “activist poet.” Then I escape into my harp and soul to have impact, and share music and love, beauty, and consolation with the world.

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee.
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.

With the singing birds and bumbling bees in my garden, a talking oak, streaming lava and singing ice I intend to give a voice to our rumbling Earth in my ode to Emily Dickinson. As the poet I dream to shape reality. Sometimes subtle harp and abstract music will do but for this album I wanted to make a stand by using sonic symbolism through harp fx and (natural) soundscapes. Combining the poem “The Soul selects her own Society” with the women of Iran chanting: “Women, Life, Freedom” the loaded words become even more powerful. And yet: “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant –”

– Anne Vanschothorst