progressive rock (74)

Marimbariation (Octoccata part 7)

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("Athletics tracks finish line" by Petey21)



« Marimbariation » takes its name from the brief passage featuring the marimba that leads this seventh movement of the « Symphony of Eights. »


Once the percussive instrument concludes its opening statement, the music returns to more traditional orchestrations as it explores a succession of quirky melodies supported by syncopated rhythms.


The section culminates on a repeated phrase wherein the main riff is a restatement of a previous figure which is now

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(Untitled Artwork by Fred Bonneau)



« Polygraph » is intended as a portrait of human relationships turning to the sour, hinting at the necessity of constant genuineness. The composition lasts a little over 10 minutes and is composed of the following four sections :


  1. Exposition
  2. Confrontation
  3. Consideration
  4. Vindication

I have a particular fondness for that piece of music. One fine evening many years ago, the TV was on to Robert Lepage’s movie « Le Polygraphe » as I stumbled upon the main motif while tryi

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Epilogue (Juggernaut part 6)


("Steamroller" by dam)



The closing movement of « Juggernaut » is entitled, simply, « Epilogue. »


Inspired by ELP's « Abaddon's Bolero » from their « Trilogy » album, this instrumental piece is based on a single theme that is played in harmony by all the instrumentalists over various but similar chord progressions.


The section starts with bass line and triangle, soon followed by the main theme on guitar, and then the various instruments progressively add their voice to the ensemble. The music cres

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Multilethalead (Octoccata part 8)

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("Label from a bottle of O·c·t·a·T·o·n·i·c" by Christopher Stewart, using a picture of William Henry Fox Talbot by Antoine Claudet)



The eighth and final movement of « Octoccata » is entitled « Multilethalead » and starts on a ostinato-based progression that slowly morphs into a relentless string of offbeat melodies harmonized by an increasing number of voices, building up to a climactic reprise of the « Lethal Lead » theme introduced in the fourth movement.


The « Multi » part of the section's ti

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Procession (Juggernaut part 3)


("Ratha Yatra Festival in Puri, India" by James Fergusson)



The third part of « Juggernaut, » entitled « Procession, » evokes the arrival of the juggernaut before it unleashes into a frenzy of steamrolling.


The title and music of this section are both inspired by the origin of the word. From Wikipedia :


One of the most famous of Indian temples is the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa, which has the Ratha Yatra ("chariot procession"), an annual procession of chariots carrying the murtis (statues) of
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Progigoriation (Octoccata part 6)

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("Nixie eight" by L. Marie)



How on Earth can a musical movement be named « Progigoriation » you ask ? Well, obviously, because it's the prog rock variation of another similar movement entitled « Igorchestral » I emphatically reply. And so it is that the music of this sixth movement of « Octoccata » is closely related to that of the aforementioned second movement, with the noticeable difference that it is orchestrated for a 5-piece rock band comprising of drums, bass, guitar, organ, and synth.


If

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Surface (The Dam part 6)


("Surface Tension" by darkmatter)



In « Surface, » the sixth chapter of « The Dam, » the protagonist/narrator is gradually returning to activity after having transformed into who he feels like being, and will ultimately reach the surface where he will properly begin his new existence.


In the storyline, this step marks the end of a long process of metamorphosis wherein one has endured many transformations and shed that which belongs to their former way of being. Once released from the demanding tr

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The Door Of The Law (part 5)


("The path to enlightenment" by rohit gowaikar)



"The Door Of The Law" is a suite in six parts inspired by "A Parable About A Parable" from RAWilson's "Quantum Psychology," itself inspired by Kafka's "Before The Law." (There is also a video version by jackhalfaprayer.)


After Simon tells his roshi the story of the man who waited at the door of the Law, he begs him to explain the dark parable. The teacher replies that he will explain it, if Simon follows him into the zendo. So the young American fol

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Upward (The Idler part 3)


(Blue Morpho Butterfly by Martin Johnson Heade)





The third part of “The Idler” is entitled “Upward.”


The idea behind the movement is quite simple : once the necessity of evolution has been recognized and accepted, there’s only one way to go and its up.


To convey the feeling of somebody who is reinventing themselves, the music reintroduces some of the themes already presented earlier in the suite, but gives them new forms or turns them completely inside out.


There are no vocals in his section. Here's

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Creeper


("Climbing Plant" by Popperipopp)



“Creeper” is directly inspired by the following aphorism from The Dhammapada :

The streams flow everywhere; the creeper, having sprung up, becomes established. When you see that creeper sprout, sever its root by intense insight. – (XXIV. Craving, #7)

and accompanying translator’s note :

The “creeper” is insidious suggestion, rooted in ignorance and craving, developing into bondage, aggression, and folly. To sever it the moment it sprouts is what the Tao Te Ching ref
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The Door Of The Law (part 2)


("Huike Thinking" by Shi Ke)



"The Door Of The Law" is a suite in six parts inspired by "A Parable About A Parable" from RAWilson's "Quantum Psychology," itself inspired by Kafka's "Before The Law." (There is also a video version by jackhalfaprayer.)


The second section of the suite is entitled "Plight" and presents the situation in which Simon Moon, a young American man studying Zen, finds himself after reading "Before The Law," a mystifying parable which can be found near the end of the Czech au

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The Door Of The Law (part 4)


("Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-Ji Meditation Hall" by Michael Dougan)



"The Door Of The Law" is a suite in six parts inspired by "A Parable About A Parable" from RAWilson's "Quantum Psychology," itself inspired by Kafka's "Before The Law." (There is also a video version by jackhalfaprayer.)


The 4th part is entitled "Pedagogue" and tells the story of the roshi's response to his student's plight.


Now I see
Dear Simon why you looked so weary

Don't worry
I will explain the allegory
And from its bind you will be

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Informaëlstrom (1000 Radios part 2)


("Informaëlstrom" by poligraf)



1000 Radios is a two-part piece which explores the relationship between an individual and their reality, a subject and their objective world.


The second part, "Informaëlstrom," aims to depict this reality gone awry, a maelstrom of information as it were, and the struggle of the individual endeavouring to escape the chaos and finally break through the confusion to revel in understanding and effortlessness.


The piece is an instrumental, but I thought I'd write some rel

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the_idler_upward_butterfly_painting320.png
("Upward" - detail from an old kindergarten painting)



The Idler was born of a combination of concepts discovered while exploring various domains of knowledge during the second half of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s.

« The idler who does not arise when it is time to arise, who is full of sloth though young and strong, who is lazy and weak in thought and mind, does not find the path to insight. » – The Dhammapada

I was developing an interest in Buddhism, and from the works of Jung, in the c

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Reinfused



"Reinfused" is basically a rehash of the material presented in "Lifeforce," but with an emphasis on shifting time, forward movement, and dynamism, to suggest the removal of obstacles from the path of a process which is then finally allowed to follow its course toward completion.


The piece is an instrumental. Here is the related poetry :


Tell me when are these times that I have dreams about
Are they mere memories of better days gone by
Unsubstantial fancies fated to fade away
Or horizons waiting to b

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The Door Of The Law (Epilogue)


("Artwork on the Anschutz Medical Campus" by Rinaldodsouza)



"The Door Of The Law" is a suite in six parts inspired by "A Parable About A Parable" from RAWilson's "Quantum Psychology," itself inspired by Kafka's "Before The Law." (There is also a video version by jackhalfaprayer.)


The conclusion of the suite is a short section wherein I present my interpretation of the parable. The music is basically a reprise of the introduction, with a very simple acoustic guitar and vocals arrangement, so as to

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Child Of The Sky


("Aurora Borealis" by Frederic Edwin Church)



I am a child
Of the Sky and the Stars
Loving and sweet as Venus
And fierce as Mars

I'm lucky as Jupiter
Each brand new day I
Bathe in a meteor shower
Under the Milky Way

Brothers and Sisters high
In a round of light
We paint the aurorae
On the canvas of the night

I am a child
Of the Sun and the Moon
I sustain the gull in flight
And soothe the crying loon

Porcupine petting - And
Rhinos meal at noon - Then it's
Off to the desert 'til the evening
Shift to shape the dunes

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On The Wings Of My Guardian Angel


("Guardian Angel," sculpture by Josep Llimona, photography by P. B. Obregón)



Do you remember when
Things would happen
Have we wandered since then
Far from heaven ?
Seems to me

Roads to hell and
Good intentions, oh anything
For a taste of liberty
And a kiss from my
Guardian Angel

The door opens again
I still want in
If I had known back then
The price of sin
C'est la vie !

Blindfolded
But the seer says everything
Is the way it needs to be
On the wings of my
Guardian Angel

And if at first you don't succeed
Just wait fo

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The Door Of The Law (part 3)


("Ganjoji in Izushi" by 663highland)



"The Door Of The Law" is a suite in six parts inspired by "A Parable About A Parable" from RAWilson's "Quantum Psychology," itself inspired by Kafka's "Before The Law." (There is also a video version by jackhalfaprayer.)


The 3rd part is entitled "Parable" and presents a reading of the story by which Simon, the Zen student, is bewildered.


Once was a man who had made it
Up all the way to the Door of the Law
No obstacle had made him quit
No one burden had caused him

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The Music Of Poligraf : The Dam part 8


("Masculine Wave" by Katsushika Hokusai)

"Ocean" is the concluding part of "The Dam" and symbolizes the dream, the goal, the calling.

The ocean is calling.

The Music Of Poligraf series are reposts of writings and audio clips that have been originally published on The Goal Was So Near from November 2008 to April 2009, made available for those who missed the original Clip Of The Day series.

Please note that poligraf.net will be offline for a few days while our servers are being relocated and upgrade

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