A modern audio exploration of the Symbolic Archetypes of the Flute

    Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

    Abstract

    In this paper, I discuss audio explorations of the modern interpretation of the symbolic archetypes of the flute that have evolved since antiquity. With the flute’s existence dating from 35,000 ago (National Geographic, 2009), the evidence for the development of the flute has been largely derived from artwork and mythology. Early evidence of flutes existed in tombs in ancient Egypt, in Sanskrit depictions in temple reliefs in India and on coins from the Indus civilisation. From these earliest artworks and artifacts, indications of the extra-musical associations of the flute are apparent. Religious icons such as Krishna (India), Osiris (Egypt), Athene and Eros (Greece) have all been depicted playing it and its Japanese relative, the Shakuhachi, is integrally linked to Zen Buddhism. This project selected twentieth century works from Australia (Paul Stanhope*#, Anne Boyd, Richard Meale*), Argentina (Coco Nelegatti*#), the Czech Republic (Jindřich Feld), India (Vanraj Bhatia), Latvia (Pēteris Vasks), Slovakia (Márian Búdos)*#, Switzerland (Frank Martin) the UK (David Matthews)# and the USA (Ernst Bloch). They are linked by their extra-musical thematic associations related to the spiritual role the flute has held throughout history. The interrelatedness spanned four continents. The accompanying CD output, “Hemispheres”: Mystical Journeys through Four Continents, Sally Walker Flute, Philip Mayers Piano was released under the “Chartreuse” label in February 2013, with CD critical notes by Sally Walker. It was recorded in Mendelssohn’s Summer House (Leipzig, Germany) and produced by Sally Walker and Thomas Wieber (BeoRecords). It has been broadcast nationally on ABC Classic FM and reviewed positively in the Dutch Flute Society journal and Sounds Like Sydney online.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pagesp16
    Publication statusPublished - 2021
    EventMusic & Spirituality Symposium - Western Sydney University, Australia
    Duration: 1 Jan 2021 → …
    https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/home/events/music_and_spiritually_symposium

    Conference

    ConferenceMusic & Spirituality Symposium
    Country/TerritoryAustralia
    Period1/01/21 → …
    OtherMon Sep 13 00:00:00 AEST 2021
    Internet address

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'A modern audio exploration of the Symbolic Archetypes of the Flute'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this