Life is Music
Interview with David Darling
February 2011
by Sens Unic
It is almost impossible to describe David Darling’s music in a few words. If you listened to any of his albums, you would realize that Darling’s music conveys complex feelings, it fills your heart with light and hope, lifting you and making you follow him in a better world, where there are no poverty, no wars or politics, a world that’s full of love, making you realize that you live in the best of the possible worlds, that Heaven is possibly here, on Earth. Darling’s music covers a whole range of styles, from the relaxation music, new age, folk and spiritual music, culminating with the best jazz albums that have ever appeared at ECM. David Darling colaborated with several musicians, among whom we should mention Ketil Bjørnstad, Ralph Towner, Jan Garbarek, Colin Walcott, Steve Kuhn, Terje Rypdal, Paul Winter, Arild Andersen, Jon Christensen, Sidsel Endresen, Pierre Favre, Eddie Gomez, Palle Mikkelborg, Nils Petter Molvær and Bugge Wesseltoft.
David Darling is a complex artist, combining music with poetry, literature and philosophy. The album entitled „Dark Wood” is accompanied by a short story by Barry Lopez, „Disturbing the Night”. In „Tao of poetry”, together with Chungliang Al Huang, he combines his music with eleven Chinese poems translated into English. The „Eight String Religion” album contains in each of its titles a Lao-Tzu saying. David Darling founded, together with Bonnie Insull, a non-profit organization entitled „Music for people”, that promotes creativity and improvisation as ways of expressing oneself through music.
„“Music for People” was founded to fulfill a key missing element in the training of many skilled music students, and especially to call back to music those former students who were lost along the way, when the form of their music schooling became too filled with criticism and harshly communicated judgment. „Music for People” also strives to act as a catalyst in gathering people together to play and sing by creating safe environments in which they can explore music improvisation…Our improvisation workshops are open to everyone — no matter what your musical background and experience.”
Mr. David Darling kindly agreed to answer some of our questions and we was very delighted, as we could also find out how he thinks about life, the world in which we live and, we somehow discovered his precious soul…the soul of a “Maverick” cellist, a marvelous personality, whose music of spheres makes you tremble with emotion. Anything we could say more won’t be enough, so, here’s the interview:…
David Darling
Life is music
Interview with David Darling
Regarding music and life
Life is music! All things and all of nature resonates with music quality.
The trees sing, the rivers sing, the animals are singing and we humans
are doing the same. The first breath of the baby is the perfect phrase
of music, tension release and since all music has this profound entity,
we are musical from birth. And therefore we all can express ourselves
though music if the music teacher has enough breath to welcome all
humans begin out life in music within music.
How to listen to music?
Listening is a matter of interest and of concentration or meditation.
Both concentration and meditation can bring us into a “Deeper” state
of listening. When we feel this we are very inspired by what we hear.
How to live with music?
It is impossible to live in this time without being influenced by music.
Perhaps there are a few but for most of us music is a big part of our
life. Most of us listening to structured music daily and when we have
a ritual like a wedding or a funeral or any celebration we make sure
that music is part of our gathering. Silence is also one of the great
musical sounds and many humans seek silence because it is so
healing.
How can music help in life?
Music is one of the entities of daily life that heals us, inspires us, and
lifts us from the daily pedestrian level of existence. When we listen to
music it puts us in a spiritual place. Even more amazing is that if we
participate in making our own music, like singing in a choir, or playing
in a band etc, we receive even more of the gift of spiritual inspiration,
and it helps us heal and communicate to our fellow traveler.
What give you hope?
Children give me hope…they represent the possibility of growing up in
a world that is of total opportunity with better schools and no racial
prejudice. They have the chance to be part of a New World where there
are no wars and no military and where the wealth of the planet is given
to the people to prosper and celebrate this life.
What you are sorry for?
I have always been sorry that there is poverty, cruelty, racial prejudice,
and war. I also am so sorry that commercial endeavors are taking over
the world and creating untruths about life. I am also sorry that in my
country the top 1$ have all the wealth and they are doing a very bad job
of sharing the wealth with humanity. I am sorry that we have not as a
planet come to the point of sharing the planets wealth to let every child
have a great education, and not live in poverty and to live in all cultures
that are peaceful.
This planet is heaven on earth and it is simply astonishing that we as
humans don’t want our planet to be in a heavenly environment.
What is the way of music?
It is very clear that the way of music has always been as one
of the most important elements of life. Music has been part
of man’s rituals since the very beginning. It is part of ceremonies
and celebrations. It is part of making events more noble.
It is always used to comfort and accompany the passing
or mourning of things in life.
About “The Spiritual Significance of Music”:
There is a way for me personally that the great and profound idea of
God has always been in music. Each tone of a Bach Cello Suite is God.
Those of us who are musicians on all levels realize that the there is
Spirit in music and that Spirit is therefore a Spirituality.
The very intervals of music seem to have profound colors and feelings
and various modes, ragas and scales create very different feelings.
Music that has no literal subject “River Flowing” or Program music is in
a category called absolute music or the music of the infinite. The very
fact that a tone or a chord or a phrase has no literal meaning puts this
entity into the realm of the unknowing and it is simply astonishing how
it makes humans feel.
Personal site of David Darling: www.daviddarling.com
Site of “Music for people”: www.musicforpeople.org
Viata este muzica
Interviu cu David Darling
Februarie 2011
de Sens Unic
Este aproape imposibil să descrii muzica lui David Darling în câteva cuvinte. Oricare din albumele lui le-ai asculta, constați că muzica lui Darling îți transmite sentimente complexe, te umple de lumină și speranță, îți înmoaie inima, făcându-te să te înalți și să-l urmezi într-o lume mai bună, fără sărăcie și fără politică, o lume plină de iubire, cu armonie și respect între oameni și, de fapt, te face să realizezi că trăiești în cea mai bună dintre lumile posibile, că Raiul este posibil aici, pe Pământ.
Muzica lui Darling acoperă o paletă largă de stiluri, de la muzică de relaxare, new age, trecând prin muzică cu influențe etnice și spirituale și culminând cu, poate, cele mai frumoase albume de jazz care au apărut vreodată la ECM. David Darling a colaborat cu numeroși renumiți muzicieni dintre care îi amintim pe Ketil Bjørnstad, Ralph Towner, Jan Garbarek, Colin Walcott, Steve Kuhn, Terje Rypdal, Paul Winter, Arild Andersen, Jon Christensen, Sidsel Endresen, Pierre Favre, Eddie Gomez, Palle Mikkelborg, Nils Petter Molvær și Bugge Wesseltoft.
David Darling este un artist complex, îmbinând muzica cu poezia și filosofia. Albumul “Dark Wood” este însoțit de o scurtă povestire a lui Barry Lopez, “Disturbing the night”, în “Tao of poetry”, împreună cu Chungliang Al Huang, îmbină muzica lui cu unsprezece poezii chinezești traduse în engleză. Albumul “Eight string religion” conține în fiecare titlu câte o maximă de-a lui Lao-Tzu. David Darling a înfiintat, împreună cu Bonnie Insull, o organizație non-profit numită “Music for people” care promovează creativitatea și improvizația ca formă de exprimare prin muzică.