10. DOKA | MORIHEI UESHIBA (植芝盛平 道歌)

http://www.aikikai.or.jp/eng/ TEN DOKA (道歌)– ten music compositions for vocal and piano with ‘flavor‘ of Meiji (1868–1912) and Taishō (1912–1926) eras – a time of a great transformation of Japan as a whole, when Western influences spread widely in almost all layers of Japanese society. In these TEN DOKA, tone colors of Japanese and Western music come closer together in a blend, where they join each other in a very natural way, creating a unique mixture. Morihei Ueshiba (植芝盛平, 14.12.1883 – 26.04.1969) was one of the greatest Japanese budo masters of the 20th century. A visionary, ahead of his time, he developed a modern martial art AiKiDo, that was based not on the Art of War, but rather on the Art of Peace or as the Founder called it „Spirit of Harmony“. In his Doka (道歌, literally „Songs of the Way“), in his Japanese tanka-poems, through the beauty of its language and profound depth of expressions, he exposes his view of human life and the connection between microcosm and macrocosm – between a Man and a Universe. If you try to grasp the meaning of Doka purely intellectually, you will eventually fail to truly appreciate their beauty. When you are hungry, the description of the food will not still your hunger. Just as in this case, you have to search for the meaning behind the words and symbols. Only a pure, altruistic, and loving heart, not cold, egocentric intellect, would be able to penetrate the words and uncover the true meaning of these poems – enter the Treasure Hall! Doka-poems of Morihei Ueshiba were originally published in the book „The Secret Teachings of Aikido“(by Kodansha USA in 2007 and 2012). All ten Doka were composed by me in 2017-2018 in Weimar, Germany. These compositions are based on the mutual interference of stillness and sound, where stillness is a canvas and the manifested sounds are the strokes of the brush, just like in calligraphy (shodo). Also, each of these compositions can be seen as representation of seven characteristics of Buddhist Japanese art, these are: 1) Asymmetry (不均整 fukinsei) 2) Simplicity (簡素 kanso) 3) Austere Sublimity or Lofty Dryness (渋味 shibui/shibumi) 4) Naturalness (自然 shizen) 5) Subtle Profundity or Deep Reserve (幽玄 yūgen) 6) Freedom from Attachment (脱俗 datsuzoku) 7) Tranquility (静寂 seijaku) I strongly believe that the true purpose of art, and music in general, is to touch the deepest levels of human beings, their hearts and minds to purify them, to elevate them from the animal state to the state of enlightenment – seeing one’s own nature. I poured all my heart and soul into these ten compositions and truly hope that these beautiful poems of Morihei Ueshiba combined with my music will resonate in your being just as powerful as in mine. Thank You! ありがとうございます。 Sergey Dunaev – composition, vocal Nao Aiba (相羽なお) – piano (concert grandpiano C.Bechstein) OUR GRATITUDE goes to following persons without whom this project will not be possible: – PETER GESANG and Medicom Music Label Weimar – ANNE-CHRISTIN DELAKOWITZ – GÜNTER MUNA NEUMANN Special thanks to UESHIBA Family and Aikikai Foundation. All rights reserved! *This is a NON-commercial project.

Видео 10. DOKA | MORIHEI UESHIBA (植芝盛平 道歌) автора sergey_dunaev_music