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A collaboration with the '10th Konya Mystic Music Festival' in Konya/Turkey -
resulting a new art video festival release,
featuring the 'Gurdjieff's Movements' performance
by the 'Gurdjieff Foundation' group during the festival (in September 24th).
The 3 minutes video is based on the 'Gurdjieff's Movements' photography project (LINK) and ArtWork (LINK).
- YouTube Link (Click on the image) -
- More about the 'Gurdjieff's Movements' performance from the festival's press release -
G.I. Gurdjieff & Movements
G.I. Gurdjieff was born to Greek and Armenian parents in Gymru in 1866. A thirst for knowledge drove him to travelling for two decades in Egypt, the Near East and Asia, studying hitherto inaccessible cultural and religious practices. He became active as a spiritual teacher in Russia in 1912 and after the outbreak of the revolution moved to Georgia. From Georgia he moved to Istanbul and finally settled in Fontainebleau near Paris where he established his ‘Institute for the Harmonic Development of Man’. In 1924, after a serious car accident, he focussed on writing, but continued teaching small groups of pupils in America and France until his death. He died in Neuilly, France, 1949.
He left a highly varied legacy: an esoteric teaching, three books, 300 musical compositions and his Movements. In reality, however, all these seemingly different elements form one organic and coherent whole.
His esoteric teaching consists of such penetrating psychological insights and such an original vision on Creation that the author P.D. Ouspensky believed that they were fragments from an unknown knowledge still existing somewhere on earth. Gurdjieff´s books are a first voluminous mythological work and two shorter autobiographical books. His musical compositions started as music to accompany his Movements, but were extended with some 250 pieces for piano solo, composed in the short time span of only two years and notated by Thomas de Hartmann. These pieces were partly inspired by the music Gurdjieff had heard during his travels, but also contain many strikingly original works, some of which showing an astonishingly mathematical precision. Whereas Gurdjieff´s writing and composing took place in distinct stages, his teaching of Movements remained central throughout all his years of instructing.
His Movements can be divided into two groups: those for demonstrations given in 1923 and 1924 which could be called the ‘early’ Movements and those created by Gurdjieff between 1937 and his death in 1949, the ‘later’ Movements. In this last period especially, Gurdjieff gave so many Movements that only about 25 percent could be remembered by his pupils. The Movements of the first period show influences of oriental folk and religious dances, those of the ‘later’ period are Gurdjieff's own creations, still based on what he called ‘objective Laws’, however. In total approximately 250 Movements have been preserved. Only those of the ‘early’ period, about thirty, have Gurdjieff´s own music. All music for the ‘later’ Movements was composed after Gurdjieff´s death.
Gurdjieff´s teaching is now studied by a wide variety of groups, only some of which can be traced back to Gurdjieff. His Movements remain rather unknown and those that are known are in danger of distortion through influences alien to their aim and meaning. The very root of the Movements is Gurdjieff's teaching and as such they are a ritual, enabling the participants to get a taste of the sacredness of this teaching.
Movements Foundation
Public demonstrations of Movements are rare and the Movements Foundation will endeavour to present a selection of Movements in a historically relevant format. Directors of the performance are Christiane Macketanz and Wim van Dullemen. All participants have been studying Gurdjieff´s teaching and it should be kept in mind that this will not be a spectacle offered by professionals, but an intimate ritual by a group exploring the inner content rather than the outer form of Movements. Founded over ten years ago as an independent vehicle to research, study, teach and perform Movements the Movements Foundation has been active in building a large archive, publishing many articles, recording music and performing Movements as well as in teaching. It is our conviction that this last activity can only be effective within the context of Gurdjieff´s teaching as a whole.
- '10th Konya Mystic Music Festival' 2013 -
More Links
The Full Press Release
web: www.mysticmusicfest.com
facebook: www.facebook.com/MysticMusicFest
youtube: www.youtube.com/KonyaMysticMusicFest
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