@billscottydowning1963: Thank you!  Will look into it. Best wishes

山に守られ、落とされずに安定
yama ni mamorare otosarezu ni antei
protected by mountains that provide an unwavering stability
ずっと日々も晴れ、曇りさえなくて
zutto hibi mo hare kumori sae nakute
there are clear skies every day, with no clouds in sight

笑う理由なくても微笑むと
warau riyuu nakutemo hohoemu to
it is said that if you keep smiling, even when you have nothing to smile about,
雨を防げると言われる
ame wo fusegeru to iwareru yo
you can prevent the rain

でも、太陽の谷の日差しが眩しすぎて痛むよう
demo taiyou no tani no hizashi ga mabushi sugite itamu you
but in the valley of the sun, the sunlight is so bright, it almost hurts
いつの間にか目を覚ましたら、見えなくなった
itsu no ma ni ka me wo samashitara, mienakunatta
and before I knew it, when I would open my eyes, I couldn’t see anything

やっと日が沈んで、鮮やかな色彩
yatto hi ga shizunde azayaka na shikisai
as the sun finally sets, the sky is dyed
染められた空、紅の夕焼け
somerareta sora kurenai no yuuyake
in vibrant hues, a scarlet sunset

みんなに望まれた、その日差し
minna ni nozomareta sono hizashi
but that sunlight everyone wished for
暑く差したから、火をつけて
atsuku sashita kara hi wo tsukete
shined so hot, it began to light fires

見守った山が赤く燃えてる、息苦しくて重い
mimamotta yama ga akaku moeteru ikigurushikute omoi
the mountains that once watched over us now burn red
煙が届かないところに逃げられない
kemuri ga todokanai tokoro ni nigerarenai
we must escape to a place where the suffocating and heavy smoke cannot reach, but we can’t

炎を消すためにその制した雨放してもいいかな
honoo wo kesu tame ni sono seishita ame hanashite mo ii kana
in order to extinguish the flames, I wonder if it’s okay to let the rain that I had held back go
建前が流させられたら、癒せるのか
tatemae ga nagasaseraretara, iyaseru no ka
if we let it wash away our faces, would it soothe the pain?

太陽の谷 (The Valley of the Sun)

Celebration Double Time was composed for opening scene of the Dairakudakan production "Sokonuke Mandala" featuring dancer/choreographer Kumotarou Mukai.

Celebration Double Time

Composer: Parsa Ferdowsi
Pianist: Soroush Sadeghi

Prelude In B Minor

Fugue

Cello Sonata

The Cycle (A Poem Symphonic for Cello and Orchestra)

Improvisation (The Cycle)

Track 20 from the Westwinds Band project Lenten Songs: Anticipating Reconciliation was written and produced by the incomparable Stacey Garrison of Zen Buoy Productions. Lead Vox performed by McKenna Jones.

The Source

Watch the MV;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIEgJOv2EKk

CHEEZE (치즈) - 수채화 (Water colour)

"Guernica Dances... for 2 pianos" is a musical expression of warfare. 
The title is derived from Picasso's legendary mural "Guernica" (1937), a passionate memorial to the horrific destruction of the Spanish town of the same name by a fleet of Hitler's military bombers. When I first beheld the enormous painting, I was immediately struck dumb by the thought that humans were capable of wreaking such destruction upon other humans. But more importantly, I was astonished when I realized what Picasso had done: he had revealed a fundamental purity and lyricism at the heart of such an atrocity. He had, in effect, distilled and illuminated and sublimated the powerful dance of war.

In 1994, my piano teacher at the University of Michigan, a young, boisterous, and beautifully talented musician named Ellen Weckler, collapsed under a devastating resurgence of cancer that had previously lain in remission for 15 years.  Despite the physical and mental ravages undergone in her struggles against this disease, her spirit grew stronger and more open to the possibility that there was some larger meaning behind all of this, a meaning which she must have overlooked. Despite the fact that her body was turning completely against itself - becoming one tremendous contradiction - she never lost her glorious artistic urge to discover the poetry beneath the madness. She taught me to look deeper than superficial antagonisms, to understand that war is actually an interaction of opposites. 

Using two pianos, both at odds with each other, as well as mutual participants in a bloody game, a la corrida, I invoke the spirit of war to musically manifest how Guernica dances.

This dynamic performance features the one-and-only Gabriela Lena Frank on Piano 2, and Me on Piano 1, Britton Recital Hall, University of Michigan, 12/12/2002. 

Hope you enjoy. If you are interested to perform this piece, please contact me at @eriksantosmusic@gmail.com.

p.s. As a bit of trivia, this piece was mainly composed over many late nights, while sitting in the now-defunct Cafe Expresso on State St. Ann Arbor, MI. It was an exercise to see if I could compose something completely by ear, by hand, in my head, without "fact-checking" notes, and with other music blaring over speakers in the background. We had no laptops in those days. To my surprise, it turned out pretty well!

Guernica Dances... for 2 pianos

Guernica Dances... for 2 pianos (1995)

Lost Time

If we do indeed replace all our bodily cells every 7 years, I am Erik Santos 7.

Pleased to meet you.

Guernica Dances... for 2 pianos (1995)

erik santos

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