STEREO!

A poem, accompanied with original background piano music:

 

The Gyres by William Butler Yeats


The gyres! the gyres! Old Rocky Face, look forth;
Things thought too long can be no longer thought,
For beauty dies of beauty, worth of worth,
And ancient lineaments are blotted out.
Irrational streams of blood are staining earth;
Empedocles has thrown all things about;
Hector is dead and there's a light in Troy;
We that look on but laugh in tragic joy.
What matter though numb nightmare ride on top,
And blood and mire the sensitive body stain?
What matter? Heave no sigh, let no tear drop,
A-greater, a more gracious time has gone;
For painted forms or boxes of make-up
In ancient tombs I sighed, but not again;
What matter? Out of cavern comes a voice,
And all it knows is that one word "Rejoice!'
Conduct and work grow coarse, and coarse the soul,
What matter? Those that Rocky Face holds dear,
Lovers of horses and of women, shall,
From marble of a broken sepulchre,
Or dark betwixt the polecat and the owl,
Or any rich, dark nothing disinter
The workman, noble and saint, and all things run
On that unfashionable gyre again.

The gyres! the gyres! Old Rocky Face, look forth;
Things thought too long can be no longer thought,
For beauty dies of beauty, worth of worth,
And ancient lineaments are blotted out.
Irrational streams of blood are staining earth;
Empedocles has thrown all things about;
Hector is dead and there's a light in Troy;
We that look on but laugh in tragic joy.
What matter though numb nightmare ride on top,
And blood and mire the sensitive body stain?
What matter? Heave no sigh, let no tear drop,
A-greater, a more gracious time has gone;
For painted forms or boxes of make-up
In ancient tombs I sighed, but not again;
What matter? Out of cavern comes a voice,
And all it knows is that one word "Rejoice!'
Conduct and work grow coarse, and coarse the soul,
What matter? Those that Rocky Face holds dear,
Lovers of horses and of women, shall,
From marble of a broken sepulchre,
Or dark betwixt the polecat and the owl,
Or any rich, dark nothing disinter
The workman, noble and saint, and all things run
On that unfashionable gyre again.



Analysis

"The Gyres" by William Butler Yeats explores the cyclical nature of history, reflecting on the rise and fall of civilizations through the metaphor of gyres—spiraling, interlocking patterns. The poem conveys a sense of inevitability and recurrence, suggesting that chaos and order are intertwined. Yeats emphasizes the transient nature of human achievements, hinting at a cosmic order beyond human control, where change is constant and history perpetually repeats itself in a spiraling dance.



Concerning the background music:
 
Neo-Contemporary Ethereal Fusion music is an attempt at an extraordinary and intricate musical journey that incorporates an array of innovative elements and artistic influences. Drawing inspiration from Neo-Classical, Avant-Garde, and Contemporary music, it stands as a tribute to the limitless possibilities to poetic exploration. 

This track showcases relentless commitment for pushing the boundaries of musical expression beyond the musical rules. 

Its Experimental nature invites listeners to embrace the unknown, as it delves into uncharted sonic territories. The result is an intricate tapestry of sound that challenges traditional norms and expectations.

The Gyres By William Butler Yeats

STEREO!

A poem, accompanied with original background piano music:

 
The Host Of The Air by William Butler Yeats

O'Driscoll drove with a song
The wild duck and the drake
From the tall and the tufted reeds
Of the drear Hart Lake.

And he saw how the reeds grew dark
At the coming of night-tide,
And dreamed of the long dim hair
Of Bridget his bride.

He heard while he sang and dreamed
A piper piping away,
And never was piping so sad,
And never was piping so gay.

And he saw young men and young girls
Who danced on a level place,
And Bridget his bride among them,
With a sad and a gay face.

The dancers crowded about him
And many a sweet thing said,
And a young man brought him red wine
And a young girl white bread.

But Bridget drew him by the sleeve
Away from the merry bands,
To old men playing at cards
With a twinkling of ancient hands.

The bread and the wine had a doom,
For these were the host of the air;
He sat and played in a dream
Of her long dim hair.

He played with the merry old men
And thought not of evil chance,
Until one bore Bridget his bride
Away from the merry dance.

He bore her away in his atms,
The handsomest young man there,
And his neck and his breast and his arms
Were drowned in her long dim hair.

O'Driscoll scattered the cards
And out of his dream awoke:
Old men and young men and young girls
Were gone like a drifting smoke;

But he heard high up in the air
A piper piping away,
And never was piping so sad,
And never was piping so gay.



Analysis

"The Host of the Air" by W.B. Yeats portrays a mystical encounter between a man and a fairy host, symbolizing the allure and danger of the supernatural. The poem contrasts the mundane with the ethereal, as the man is momentarily seduced by the fairy queen's beauty and grace. Ultimately, it reflects Yeats' fascination with Irish mythology and the thin veil between reality and the otherworldly, highlighting themes of temptation and enchantment.



Concerning the background music:
 
Neo-Contemporary Ethereal Fusion music is an attempt at an extraordinary and intricate musical journey that incorporates an array of innovative elements and artistic influences. Drawing inspiration from Neo-Classical, Avant-Garde, and Contemporary music, it stands as a tribute to the limitless possibilities to poetic exploration. 

This track showcases relentless commitment for pushing the boundaries of musical expression beyond the musical rules. 

Its Experimental nature invites listeners to embrace the unknown, as it delves into uncharted sonic territories. The result is an intricate tapestry of sound that challenges traditional norms and expectations.

The Host Of The Air By William Butler Yeats

STEREO!

A poem, accompanied with original background piano music:

 
The Indian Upon God by William Butler Yeats

I passed along the water's edge below the humid trees,
My spirit rocked in evening light, the rushes round my knees,
My spirit rocked in sleep and sighs; and saw the moor-fowl pace
All dripping on a grassy slope, and saw them cease to chase
Each other round in circles, and heard the eldest speak:
Who holds the world between His bill and made us strong or weak
Is an undying moorfowl, and He lives beyond the sky.
The rains are from His dripping wing, the moonbeams from His eye.
I passed a little further on and heard a lotus talk:
Who made the world and ruleth it, He hangeth on a stalk,
For I am in His image made, and all this tinkling tide
Is but a sliding drop of rain between His petals wide.
A little way within the gloom a roebuck raised his eyes
Brimful of starlight, and he said: The Stamper of the Skies,
He is a gentle roebuck; for how else, I pray, could He
Conceive a thing so sad and soft, a gentle thing like me?
I passed a little further on and heard a peacock say:
Who made the grass and made the worms and made my feathers gay,
He is a monstrous peacock, and He waveth all the night
His languid tail above us, lit with myriad spots of light.


Analysis

In "The Indian Upon God," William Butler Yeats presents a Hindu man reflecting on the diversity of religious belief and the nature of God. The poem emphasizes a universal spirituality, acknowledging different cultural perceptions of the divine. Through the Indian’s serene acceptance of various religious symbols and practices, Yeats explores themes of religious tolerance, unity in diversity, and the quest for understanding God in multiple forms.



Concerning the background music:
 
Neo-Contemporary Ethereal Fusion music is an attempt at an extraordinary and intricate musical journey that incorporates an array of innovative elements and artistic influences. Drawing inspiration from Neo-Classical, Avant-Garde, and Contemporary music, it stands as a tribute to the limitless possibilities to poetic exploration. 

This track showcases relentless commitment for pushing the boundaries of musical expression beyond the musical rules. 

Its Experimental nature invites listeners to embrace the unknown, as it delves into uncharted sonic territories. The result is an intricate tapestry of sound that challenges traditional norms and expectations.

The Indian Upon God By William Butler Yeats

STEREO!

A poem, accompanied with original background piano music:

 
The Lady's Second Song by William Butler Yeats


What sort of man is coming
To lie between your feet?
What matter, we are but women.
Wash; make your body sweet;
I have cupboards of dried fragrance.
I can strew the sheet.
(The Lord have mercy upon us.)

He shall love my soul as though
Body were not at all,
He shall love your body
Untroubled by the soul,
Love cram love's two divisions
Yet keep his substance whole.
(The Lord have mercy upon us.)

Soul must learn a love that is
proper to my breast,
Limbs a Love in common
With every noble beast.
If soul may look and body touch,
Which is the more blest?
(The Lord have mercy upon us.)



Analysis

"The Lady's Second Song" by William Butler Yeats explores themes of love and its transformative power. The lady reflects on her past passionate relationships, portraying love as both a source of joy and sorrow. The poem captures the fleeting nature of beauty and the inevitable passage of time, emphasizing the bittersweet aspects of love and life. Through lyrical and evocative imagery, Yeats conveys a sense of longing and nostalgia.


Concerning the background music:
 
Neo-Contemporary Ethereal Fusion music is an attempt at an extraordinary and intricate musical journey that incorporates an array of innovative elements and artistic influences. Drawing inspiration from Neo-Classical, Avant-Garde, and Contemporary music, it stands as a tribute to the limitless possibilities to poetic exploration. 

This track showcases relentless commitment for pushing the boundaries of musical expression beyond the musical rules. 

Its Experimental nature invites listeners to embrace the unknown, as it delves into uncharted sonic territories. The result is an intricate tapestry of sound that challenges traditional norms and expectations.

The Lady's Second Song By William Butler Yeats

"Tales of Wonder"
Valhjim

In the quiet heart of the forest, where the trees whispered secrets older than time, there stood a hidden lake that mirrored the sky. Its waters shimmered with a soft glow, as if stars had fallen into its depths and were learning to swim. One moonlit night, a traveler stumbled upon this place, his eyes wide with awe. 

As he approached the shore, he noticed a silver fish rise from the water, its scales glinting like constellations. The fish spoke in a voice like distant chimes, offering the traveler a single wish. In that moment, the traveler realized that wonder was not in the wish itself but in the belief that such magic could exist at all. And with a smile, he simply whispered, "Thank you," and turned to walk away. 

But just before he left, he noticed a bright light coming from the fish, which he now identified as a trout. In a flash, the trout became a golden girl with apple blossoms in her hair. She whispered the traveler's name thrice and disappeared. Since then, the traveler goes around the world, in forests and lakes, looking for his golden girl with apple blossoms in her hair. 

(This tale was inspired by W. B. Yeats' "The Song of Wandering Aengus.")

Hope you like both the tale and the music, folks.

Valhjim - Synthesizers, samplers, bass, and guitars.

Thank you for listening
and for your kind and candid words.

Valhjim

(C) 2024 Jim Valero (all rights reserved).

Tales of Wonder

A setting of Yeats' famous poem - not the first!

Song of Wandering Aengus

Uma conversa de meia-hora sobre William Butler Yeats, muitas vezes apenas designado por W. B. Yeats, um poeta, dramaturgo e místico irlandês nascido em Dublin em 1865 e falecido em Menton, na França, em 1939, que foi galardoado com o Prémio Nobel de Literatura de 1923.

Autores Nobel

William Butler Yeats

Premiered by the University of Louisville Cardinal Singers under the direction of Dr. Won Joo Ahn on November 7th, 2024.

Soprano Soloist: Sarah Byrd

Program Note: What haunts you? Though Protestant in faith, William Butler Yeats was deeply fascinated with and influenced by the mystical folklore of Ireland, particularly with spirits that resided in Ireland’s lush natural beauty. In “The Everlasting Voices,” Yeats is not merely referring to these external spirits; he’s also referring to his inner anxieties and doubts. He implores the “voices” to return to the natural landscape where they belong and be found in the wind and on the shore instead of driving him insane.

In today’s digital, algorithmic age, we are bombarded with continuous media and online voices showing us all of the atrocities the world has to offer and “influencers” with all the answers for how to fix our own lives while revealing nothing of their own. We are more connected than ever before, and we are more disillusioned with our sense of self as a result. In this piece, I sought to evoke the rich natural landscapes Yeats vividly portrays along with the anxieties he implores to leave him and the digital anxieties we all encounter today. Despite a vastly changed world since Yeats’ passing, I imagine his advice would be unchanged: engage with the natural world around you. Find a creek, or a shore, or a mountain, or a plain, or a cave, and leave time for wonder. May your everlasting voices be still.

The Everlasting Voices 
-by William Butler Yeats 

O sweet everlasting Voices, be still; 
Go to the guards of the heavenly fold 
And bid them wander obeying your will, 
Flame under flame, till Time be no more; 
Have you not heard that our hearts are old, 
That you call in birds, in wind on the hill, 
In shaken boughs, in tide on the shore? 
O sweet everlasting Voices, be still.

The Everlasting Voices

I know there are people in the world who do not love their fellow human beings and I HATE people like that

Give Me The Plant (Slight Return)

Endless

Dracula

Dracula(Vlone2)

I was flipping bricks for Mansa Musa before ya'll even became a type-1 civilization.

Composer, Conductor, Pianist, Vocalist, UofL BM ‘23, UofL MM ‘25

Valhjim is a music composer with an eclectic approach to different genres: rock, pop, folk, New Age, and experimental electronic music. Greatly driven by imagination and poetic imagery, he combines multiple instrumental textures to fire the imagination of his listeners. 

His more experimental ambience and electronic music is built with layers of suggestive sound textures, rhythms, and melodic lines that stir the imagination into suggestive imagery and worlds unseen, true architectures of sound that open up limitless spaces to explore. Often Valhjim's melodies sail through genre thresholds, crossing over from one genre to another, from neo classcal to electronic, or from jazz to rock or new age.

New tracks tagged #Yeats