Tra Mistico e Occulto - F. Busoni - G. Mariotti (High Resolution Audio)

BETWEEN MYSTICISM AND OCCULTISM

1 Sonatina seconda Kind. 259 (1912)

2 Sonatina in diem nativitatis Christi MCMXVII Kind. 274 (1917)

3 Toccata. Preludio - Fantasia - Ciaccona Kind. 287 (1920) Quasi Presto, arditamente - Sostenuto, quasi Adagio - Allegro risoluto

4 Berceuse (Andantino calmo) Kind. 252 (1909)

5 Fantasia contrappuntistica Kind. 256 (1910)

"The Sketch of a New Aesthetic of Music" (1906), the revolutionary treatise by Busoni which caused quite a stir in the European music scene of that era, is dedicated to the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, a "musician of words," from whose works the composer drew both the title and the character of the Elegies. Romanticism had already signaled a return to ancient mystical ideas, and with the turn of the century, a period laden with decadent expressions and tragic premonitions, mysticism found fervent advocates such as M. Maeterlinck, P. Claudel, and, in the German-speaking world, R. M. Rilke. Sartre wrote, "...the West was suffocating... Since it had no visible enemies, the bourgeoisie began to feast on the fear of its own shadow... there was talk of spiritualism and ectoplasms, the hereafter seemed so near..." During those years, the arcane disciplines began to exert a significant influence on Busoni. He attended séances and became interested in occultism, spiritualism, and clairvoyance. He developed theories on the ability to see ghosts: humans could supposedly see— for brief moments—into the future or the past. "...It would be nothing more than a fleeting, uncertain glance cast—into the present or the past. Everything proceeds in the form of a circle, and so it must be for clairvoyance. It is a phenomenon similar to what happens at a radiotelegraphic station, which transmits to the same distance in all directions..." Similarly, he explained his beliefs in extrasensory perceptions: we can therefore reasonably deduce that Busoni believed in the existence of entities and forces that are not rationally or empirically explainable but might nonetheless be known and perhaps mastered, in his case, also through musical experience. During his American tours, Busoni came into contact with Theosophical doctrines developed in the United States at the end of the century. They advocated a path of ethical and spiritual evolution that, through the progressive purification of motives and works, culminates in achieving an ideal of mystical perfection rich in all attributes of wisdom, serenity, beauty, and power: the aesthetic foundations of the "New Classicism" (Junge Klassizität), in other words, the return to simple, clear, and beautiful compositional patterns, are fully expressed in the Sonatina on the Nativity of Christ MCMXVII. In May 1912, Busoni purchased in Berlin the large painting by the futurist Umberto Boccioni "The City Rises." During May-July of the same year, he composed the Second Sonatina, his most avant-garde piece containing a multitude of mystical and occult elements. As read in his Berlin diary, "at night the Boccioni in the music room, lit by the magical light that penetrates from the square below, takes on a strange, magical appearance." It is not difficult to imagine the composer sitting in the dim room, surrounded by Buddha statues, rare books, and "The City Rises" casting its multicolored reflections. Just as the occult transcends spatial and temporal distinctions, through which the individual navigates the real world, so often Busoni erases bar lines, accidental signs, and especially, tonality: this is the manifestation in musical terms of what takes place in the dark zones of his personality. This sensitivity to occultism and mysticism greatly enriched Busoni's language through the creation of new concepts and means of expression and was a crucial ferment of his final creative phase, whose peak is reached in the Fantasia Contrappuntistica. Here are encapsulated all the elements characterizing Busonian aesthetic thought. The ingenious union of modern musical language with the counterpoint of J.S. Bach's Art of Fugue generates a sort of mystical "experience" through which the inner motions of the soul gain predominance over rational thought, will, and consciousness. In a complex of bold harmonies and pure polyphony, the path ascends between moments of exaltation and mystery, visionary thrusts or thoughtful episodes, deep meditations, and vague reflections. When music resonates, the human being is capable of acquiring a transcendental ability that leads to a new plane of awareness, where the temporal world is submerged by the resonating universe. The musical artwork exists before and after it has finished resonating, simultaneously inside and outside of time. This "Omnipresence of Time," also present in the Berceuse, synthesizes the ideal of mystical ecstasy idealized by Busoni: "...we humans conceive of time as a line starting from a point behind us and proceeding forward, while it must expand in all directions, as everything in the cosmic system..." Only with the calm of the spirit can we however penetrate the deepest mysteries and aspire to a higher and fuller life, which is inherent in human consciousness. "Only those who look forward see with joy," says Faust. The esoteric meaning of these principles was expressed for the last time in his unfinished opera Dr. Faust, whose themes and strong hues permeate the Toccata. The high and experienced spirituality of the composer made him well aware of embarking on a new path, full of consequences for the music of the 20th century. "Still inexhausted are the symbols/ that the omnipotent genius comprehends;/ the work will produce a school/ that will mature fruitfully for decades./ Let everyone draw their own lesson/ so that Spirit may add to another Spirit:/ this is the sense of the continual ascent/ the dance will then close its circle."