Sonato and Fugue

If I could have attained artistry early in life, on an instrument

I think I would have led a life of music, and married

A viola, or flute, or even bass-viol player

As it is, I am grateful to have learned piano

(better late, than never)

I learned up to seventh hand position on cello

And was in the Junior State Orchestra

I never claimed to be a virtuoso at all

no Pablo Casals or Yo-yo Mah

(When your instrument is neither German, nor Italian

But a four hundred dollar “Kay”, carried around in

A cheap cloth carrying case

Its hard to think of your next career move as music fated.)

I’ve studied music from a score,

and have even waved a baton, in a conducting class --

Though conducting in front of a Panasonic

is not quite the same thrill, I’m sure.

Of leading the Bolshoi opera or ballet, or even the Philarmonic.

Nonetheless, I freely admit, writing music is the most

Beautiful thing I’ve done with my life, and with that I am elated.

Alphabeticization and the Automation of Grey Space

Alphabeticization and the Automation of Grey Space

A few preliminaries. When counting to the number eight in English, the following words are used:

one two three four five six seven eight

The word "seven" has two syllables. Logically, it takes longer to say a word of two syllables, than a word of one. Adopting French words, and using "cat" for quatorze, and "can" for quinze, the way I count aloud to fifteen is as follows:

"one two three four five six sept huit nine ten onze douze treize cat can"

It does not take a long while to satisfy yourself that one can, indeed, count faster and more evenly by substituting one syllable words for words of two syllables, (or more).

Somewhat similar in spirit, I have substituted symbols for two digit numbers.

Using the Hindi symbol ४ for 23, (it is the symbol for 4 in the Hindi writing system for numbers), and the Spanish symbol ¡ for 25, , here are my symbols up to thirty:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 < ! = ( ) . + : [ ] > / V ४ - ¡ ≠ * % @ ^

They're use is more for alphabeticization, which shall be explained, than for counting.

In what follows, I do not attempt to prove the value or truth of what I say, but try to simply describe what I have done.

I have spoken about the interaction between our consciousness and imaginary space, suggesting that the act of consciousness occurs in this imaginary space. Evans in his textbook, "Biophysics", describes our physical bodies as having a biochemical-electrical energy output equivalent of approximately 40 watts. When the spacecraft Voyager was at a distance of a billion miles from Earth, it relayed a signal of approximately 1/10 of a watt. It is easier for us to think in terms of interacting with space, if we think of consciousness as having a physical means -- that is, a form, in this case, energy, directed in some manner. It is less easy for us to think of an object, or a construction -- an inanimate object,  as interacting with space.

Zen Buddhism teaches, among other things, that all things in the universe are connected, and that, further, all things have consciousness. In Buddhism, there is great importance and significance, as well,  attached to the idea of order.

The Earth is basically a sphere, or more precisely, a spheroid. The discipline of Spherical Trigonometry is an invaluable, and perhaps, incomparable, tool for ordering points on the surface of sphere. With it, we are able to locate points in space, on the surface of our planet, and determine the distance and (apparent) direction between points. In other words, using Spherical Trigonometry, we are able to order points on the surface of the Earth, the space that we live in.

(As an aside, there is a formula for locating objects on a Spheroid, derived from Spherical Trigonometry. Beautiful in appearance, it is a bit beyond the realm of Trigonometry, and more in the realm of Calculus of Variations, (third or fourth year calculus)).

A construction that I have found useful in my past, is something I refer to as a "stack". Quite simply, a stack is a construction using index cards, each card referred to as an element, representing a point on the Earth. The stack elements are arranged according to distance from the base, which is the first element in a stack.

Our names are labels, and a name is an incredibly important bit of information about a person. Names are used to identify us, address us, get our attention, refer to us, title for reference any relevant data about us.

Our phone numbers also, are important. They do not simply allow specific communication between telecommunication devices, but, like a name,  can also be thought of as an address, locating a person in space. A Social Security number can be thought of the same way -- not just as an identifying number, but as a location, or address,  in space.

In the stack constructions I used, anything can be used as an element, but, simply put, I used the phone number of the Criminal Court of a geographic and political unit at the equivalent level of a county, and that by using these phone numbers as elements to a stack, written in an alphabeticized manner to order space, I found I was able to reduce or eliminate stress.

Sounds simple, but in practise, I found that a stack would need about six or seven hundred elements, before I found it to be effective. By "effective," I mean that the grey space in the field of my imagination -- that is, my sensory apparatus directed towards imaginary space -- appeared stable, and self sustaining. It is in this sense, that I refer to grey space as being, "automated," though, the action is performed by a simple stack construction, and not a "machine". At one point, I maintained about fifteen to eighteen stacks, that is, stacks with a different base.

 "Alphabeticize" -- is a word I coined to describe the process I use for converting text to an expression which allows control over the way it interacts with imaginary grey space.  It is a process I use to this day, and is at the core for what I describe as "automating grey space". It is somewhat abstract, but not terribly difficult to grasp.

It will be more convenient at times to refer to its form as a program -- and its action as programming.

We take a lettered phrase, and group all like letters with each other.

Jack and Jill went up the hill.

aacdeehhiijjkllllnnpttuw

(A good way to check for completeness is to compare the total letter counts of both lines).

We then assign numbers to indicate the number of times the letter occurs in the phrase -- the frequency of occurence.

Jack and Jill went up the hill. (24)

2   1  1  2  2  2 2 1 4  2  1 2  1 1

aa c d  ee hh ii jj k llll nn p tt u w (24)

We then order the groups from highest number to lowest, keeping alphabetical order within the subgroups:

4 2  2  2  2  2  2  2  1  1  1  1  1  1 

k a  e  h  i   j    n  t  c   d  k  p  u   w

We define the highest number as zero, and assign letters in sequence as follows:

0 A a B b C

4 3 2 1  -  +

Alphabeticization, in the long form, consists of two lines, coupled. Each letter in the bottom line, has a corresponding value in the top line, represented by zero, or a letter. It may have either a positive or negative value, depending on the "value" given the letters not in the phrase.

0aaaaaaaBBBBBBCCCCCCCCCCCC

kaehijntcdkpuwbfgmoqrsvxyz

Though this line has a positive value, it is a positive value of the negative "image" of the phrase, much like a footprint in the sand is a "negative image" of the foot that made the print.

In the short form, or label form, numbers are assigned to the letters beginning with one as follows:

1 2 3 4

A a B b

AAAAAAaaaaaaab

cdkpuwaehijntk

Let me explain the same thing, a different way.

If we allow the letters of the alphabet to represent digits, (as they are in many languages), assigning "one" to the first letter, "two" to the second letter, "three" to the third letter, and so on, we have a system where a letter may represent either a letter or a number.

In English, and many other languages, a letter will have a corresponding "small case" letter. We assign "one" to the first letter, and "two" to the small case letter, "three" to the second letter, and "four" to the small case of the second letter.

A  a   B   b

1  2   3   4

If we take a word, say, "remedy", we arrange all of its letters in alphabetical order -- d ee m r y.

We then assign letters representing the frequency of occurrence of the letter in the word, (or phrase).

1   2  1  1 1

d  ee m r y

We then substitute the letter for the number in the frequency line:

A  a  A  A  A

d  e  m  r  y

We then put the elements in order, from lowest to highest frequency:

A A A A a

d m r y e

This is the short, or label form.

For the long form, when we put the elements in order, we go from highest to lowest frequency. We then add the letters of zero frequency, (in order):

2  1  1  1   1  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

e  d m  r   y   a b c  f g h  i  j  k  l n o p q  s  t u v w x z

We then assign letters representing the frequency of occurrence to the letter in the bottom row, assigning the highest number the value of zero, as follows:

0 A

2  1 

0 A A A A

e d m r y   a b c  f g h  i  j  k  l n o p q  s  t u v w x z

The value of the expression is determined by the assigned frequency letter over the "excess", or the letters not in the expression. If the letter is the next letter after the letter with the value of one, the expression is considered to have a negative value. If the letter over the "excess" letters is the second letter after the letter with the value of one, the expression is considered to have a positive value.

0 A a  B

2  1 -  +

0 A A A A  a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a

e d m r y   a b c  f g h  i  j  k  l n o p q  s  t u v w x z  is the negative form of the alphabetization of the

word, "remedy".

0 A A A A B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B

e d m r y   a b c  f g h  i  j  k  l n o p q  s  t u v w x z      is the positive form of the alphabetization of

the word, "remedy".

As an actor, I have used both positive and negative forms. Both have worked, but I invariably use the positive form.

When dealing with text as a composer, I will generally use the negative form. Here is an example in Russian:

Раковый корпус носил и номер тринадцать. Павел Николаевич Русанов никогда не был и не мог быть суеверен, но что-то опустилось в нём, когда в направлении ему написали: "тринадцатый корпус". Вот уж ума не хватило назвать тринадцатым какой-нибудь протечный или кишечный.

00АБГгддеЁЁёЖЖжжЗЗззИИЙЙЙЙЙЙййййй

аноиетврклуспыдмйьбчгцёжзхшщфъэюя

Early Biography

Early Biography

I was born in Porter Hospital in Denver Colorado, part of the Rocky Mountains of the Western United States. Possibly because my mother was Japanese, and because I was an avid reader as a child, I grew up regarding the mountains as spiritual beings, with whom I communicated as friends. My mother had remarried a Japanese American, my stepfather, Jim, who introduced me to the Great South West, on trips that he, my mother and I, would take during holidays. I believe my mother, who, among other things, loved geology, loved the South Western Desert of the United States; I, as well, have come to regard this area as, 'magical'. My fondest memories of my mother are of her, wandering off the road by herself on foot, and disappearing into the desert....she would return after a long while, stepping carefully, and she always seemed, at these times, to be part of other worlds. ....

It was my stepfather who told me the legend of Red Rocks. I am fond of claiming that he taught me how to hunt and fish. Trout fishing, yes, perhaps, but hunting would be a far cry, though the imagination of a young child with a pellet gun can be forgiven its excesses. The guns my stepfather had in his gun cabinet were impossibly big and heavy for a child. He was an army corpsman, who had fought in Sciliy and Italy. His parents were from the city of Nagasaki. The legend I remember being told, was that an indian warrior could go to Red Rocks, to ask the meaning of life. But the warrior who did so had to be deemed worthy of this revelation, or else there was a terrible penalty inflicted of madness and death by the Gods. There is an area near Denver called Red Rocks....it is a natural amphitheatre carved into the mountains, just outside of Boulder, and is a venue for, among other things, concerts. ....

As a child, I prayed, oh, perhaps a handful of times. One of these few times, I had hot tears down my face. I was listening to Tchaikovsky, his sixth symphony, and asked God that I would be able to write such music. I am fond of thinking to this day, that God thought, "Well, if you are going to learn how to write music like Tchaikovsky, then you will have to learn how to suffer like Tchaikovsky." ....

My mother, perhaps rightly, felt my educational opportunities were better with my father, and so I met my father when I was ten years old. However, it was actually his younger brother, my uncle Jess, who confirmed what my mother had told me about my heritage on my father's side. My grandfather, an emmigrant tailor from Kiev, Ukraine, whose name was 'Bardovsky--with fourteen letters after it', (my uncle's words), arrived at Ellis Island in New York; and, as with many emigrants at that time, he was given a new name, perhaps to 'americanize' him, perhaps simply so that they could fit his name on a nameplate. The name that was on my grandfather's nameplate was 'Lieberman'. ....

And so, much to my amazement, I was to learn that I am Japanese with a trace of very old Dutch on my mother's side, and Ukrainian Jew on my father's, bearing a German name. It is ironic, that you are not considered Japanese unless your father is Japanese, and you are not considered Jewish unless your mother is Jewish. Most people are neither of both....I am both of neither.....

It would not be difficult to pinpoint a critical, or turning point in my life. While going cross country on a bicycle, I was hit by a truck. It occured near Sterling, Colorado, on highway 76, a two lane highway with unpaved dirt shoulders, not far from the border of Nebraska into Colorado. Hearing an unusually loud sound of a truck engine, I glanced over my shoulder to see a truck passing traffic -- on the dirt shoulder. What was alarming, was the fact that the wheels were spinning so fast, they were skidding over the dirt shoulder. It was very possible that this driver was not aware that he did not have control of his vehicle.

As an actor, I had once read a brief description of the technique of stuntmen, when they are about to receive an impact. "You take a deep breath, relax, and slowly expel the air from your lungs".....turning back towards the direction my bicycle was moving, I took a deep breath, and calmly, slowly expelling the air from my lungs, I heard the loud blast of a truck horn...and then another. My next sensation was of my body being slowly lifted off the bicycle...while my field of vision narrowed down against a black background to points of light, and then out. There is a sensation of a flow of energy from deep down in the earth, and what I can only describe as a visual sensation -- with the eyes closed, a heightened perception of the eyes "swimming". I opened my eyes....to be looking up into the faces of three men, staring down at me.

The fear of paralysis is a very real fear. Whether ill-advised or no, my first impulse was, quite simply, to get up and see if I could still walk. What one does automatically, however, now turns into acts that must be evaluated carefully beforehand. I did a slow sit up -- and stopped, literally holding my position midway into a sit up. Disregarding the pain in my head, (think volcanic), I carefully digested the information that my back was telling me -- my physical excellence, of which I had been so proud of as a youth, and as a young adult -- was gone. Forever. I continued my sit up, and slowly got to my feet, unable to turn or move my head, because of the pain, and fear of hurting myself further. To distinquish the difference between fear and pain requires an intellectual distinction simply not worth the effort, when you are severely hurt.

When I was on my feet, there was a smile on my face. I looked across the highway. There, a truck burned. A voice behind me, simply said, "The driver in that truck was killed." Realizing that there was more than just my life that had come to a critical turning point that day, I said, "Oh my God, "....and got back to the ground, on my back, and waited for the ambulance. I was first taken to Sterling Hospital. Reality has a filmic quality, as your consciousness blacks out from time to time, much like a film that is edited with bits of film left out. This wasn't pleasant, but the crisis, in terms of my attitude, and perhaps, my life, actually came that first night, after I had been taken to Lutheran Hospital, in Denver. Your body expends a prodigious amount of energy when you are hurt. Exhausted, I knew that sleep was going to be upon me soon. The sensation in my head, was like a knot -- highly tightened. A fear came upon me, that with sleep, this knot would loosen, and I would bleed to death. I noted, before I slept, that there was a nurse, sitting on a chair across from the door entrance to my room. She was reading a book. I took comfort in her presence, as I went to sleep. The first night of many I went to sleep, not knowing if I would be alive the next morning or not. ....

It seems incredible to me, that I did not learn until several days later, that the highway patrolman first arrived on the scene of the accident gave me mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. It may just be the way that I remember it; at any rate, I take this opportunity to thank him, again, for saving my life.

I have experienced pain, pain that was....boundless, without bottom, day in and day out. For nine years of my life, I went to bed, not knowing if I'd be alive the next morning or not. With unremitting pain, the body expends great amounts of energy....exhausted I would lie down to sleep, and lying down, craving sleep, my head would make loud gurgling noises....I'm sure it was the effect of damaged nerves in my head, but the noises felt like they were in the center of my head. They could not be meditated away, and they not only deprived me of sleep, they made me feel helpless and would throw me into despair.

There is no real threshold of pain.... you merely go through whatever strategies you have for dealing with more than you can cope with. And Lord help you, if you or your body have no strategies.........

After time, I gained weight, because eating food became an outlet, a form of release. I became unattractive, but not just because I was overweight. After a few years, the pain had distorted my face....to other people it appeared I was constantly angry and unpleasant. And so I became more isolated. Pain eventually coarsens your personality. Sex takes on a particular quality, I think related to the prodigious amounts of energy your body is expending, perhaps to the fact that the physical act becomes no longer an expression of love, but a hunger....it is like a bright intense light inside of you, that somehow catches people....I didn’t so much meet people with whom later I had sex.....it was more like colliding with them on the street....one could actually sense the change of life-paths.....

With pain, after a long while, what you regard as your mind becomes reduced to a mechanical level....you filter ideas, and people, with a single criteria....does this help you alleviate pain?....does this help you live?.........

There are pictures of myself with the beautiful mountains of Yosemite in the background. I'm 57 now....I was 26 or 27 when these pictures were taken, some thirty years ago, and two to three years after my accident....I was in ferocious pain.....

Link to audio files to the complete opera, "Cancer Ward."

The audio files use synthetic voice patches, and are unable to sing words. The opera is in Russian, but, the following link will take you to the English translation of the libretto by scene, if you click through to the Music Page, and select "full information" for each audio file. (Each audio file is a complete scene of the opera).

 http://www.soundclick.com/operacancerward

If you are interested in examination of the score, my email address is:

Opera, "Cancer Ward" : Composer's email address.

Opera, "Cancer Ward" : some remarks on Scenes 6 and 7

Sixth and Seventh scene from the opera, "Cancer Ward."

I am currently working on the seventh scene, which corresponds to the sixth chapter of the book, "History of an Analysis," the meeting between Dontsova and Kostoglotov. When I first began to sketch out a plot, it was this scene, which I regarded as my first "objective" to reach, when I began to write the music. I had thought of this scene as somehow concluding the first portion of the opera, in plot terms. Having studied script writing for movie and television, the corresponding place it would take is the rising action, where characters in a script begin to encounter the obstacles and difficulties,that lead to the climax, or, halfway point, (in a film or television script). It is gratifying to finally have reached this first objective. It is not difficult to believe, that, the envisionment of a work, is different than the work as it becomes experienced in actual finished form. Theory, is different than practise. How we imagine something is different than how we perceive the reality. From the beginning, I have imagined the length of the opera as three hours, and, I imagined the sixth scene as occurring around the 40-minute mark of the opera. The way the opera stands now, this scene actually now occurs at the 1 hour and 15 minute mark. The music bed for this scene runs well past 14 minutes. This running time will invariably increase, when the singing parts are added, running past the one and a half hour mark -- the halfway mark to a three hour opera. This is a very large discrepancy, between the way the opera libretto was imagined, and, the way that the score is being manifested, in practise. (I should add, that in American Films, the standard script is for two hours of film. So the 40-minute plot point in a two hour film, would correspond to a one hour mark in a three hour opera, if one allows similarity between the film script, and opera libretto. This is by no means a convention-- I simply employ the structure of the written standard film script as one means to help analyze and evaluate my libretto writing)

.

Counting the Overture and Chorus as the first scene, one and a half hours divided by seven scenes, roughly averages to just about 13 minutes per scene -- a startling change from the experience of my first two operas, where scenes of seven to eight minutes, were considered, "long." Because I identified what is my seventh scene as an objective, I first approached the scene before it, with some impatience. This is the scene which is the 4th chapter in the novel, and is titled in the book, as, "The Patients' Worries." It is my sixth scene, and I title it as, "First Rounds." The scene is about as exciting as a doctor examining a patient. And, as a matter of fact, the scene has Dr. Dontsova examining not one, but six patients on the ward. I included it in my opera, because it sets up the meeting between Dr. Dontsova and Oleg Kostoglotov, a scene which I considered pivotal, from a plot standpoint. One of the pleasures of being intimately involved with creating an opera from Solzhenitsyn's, "Cancer Ward," is the ability to make discoveries, which might otherwise have gone by unnoticed. The stubborness of Oleg Kostoglotov, and the outburst of Pavel Rusanov, both might be considered as being the "heart" of this scene -- if one bothered to think of this scene as having one. But it is Dr. Dontsova's meeting and encounter with Azovkin which, for me, as the composer of this scene in an opera, which provides this scene with a remarkable human quality of sadness, and irony. (I should be careful to say, that I am commenting on how I interpet this scene musically as a composer, and, not, as an expert of Literature -- Russian, or otherwise!). Solzhenitsyn writes how Dr. Dontsova's mood of frustration and irritation carries over, from both Rusanov and Kostoglotov. Solzhenitsyn writes of Dontova: "Dontsova, weary of the argument (with Rusanov), hoped to be cheered up at the next bed, (Kostoglotov). And, Solzhenitsyn writes of Dontsova, after her unexpected clash with Kostoglotov, "She was now looking at Azovkin. She had not yet been able to switch the annoyance from her face or voice." This "carry over" of emotions is reflected in the music. But the emotions of Dontsova, as she recovers from her anger and frustration with Rusanov and Kostoglotov, and begins to engage with the hapless youth Azovkin, convincing him that some time away from treatment will give him time to "rest," -- when actually, he is being dismissed because he is incurable, and his dismissal will reflect in more favorable hospital statistics -- provides, for me, the "drama" of this scene, making the "fireworks" between Dontsova and Kostoglotov, and Dontsova and Rusanov, simply, "dramatic." One more word about this scene, (the opera's scene six, chapter 4 in the book). Despite the threat of Pavel Rusanov to act officially against Dontsova, I find Dontsova fighting for Rusanov's life, even though her words might seem to convey indifference to his life. It is because of Dontsova, and, only because of Dontsova, that Rusanov remains in the hospital to treat his lyphoma. A profound glimpse into the dedication and heart of Dontsova.

Opera, "Cancer Ward" : some general questions asked

(The Questions posed by this blog were kept in mind by the composer throughout the creation of the opera. They were considered "important" in the sense that they might have a bearing on the "tone" adopted by the composer, in writing the music. However, the questions can't really be said to have been resolved in any way -- although, to my mind, Solzhenitsyn strongly suggests that "truth" is something which lies outside of the realm of rational thought).

"Cancer Ward" : More Questions from the Composer to research....

“…Words are but the images of matter, and except they have life of reason and invention, to fall in love with them is all one as to fall in love with a picture.” Francis Bacon, from his treatise, “The Proficience and Advancement of Learning,” (1605).

Solzhenitsyn’s Chapter 32, from “Cancer Ward,” is titled, “The Other Side of the Coin”. It deals with Dontsova, a doctor, who is now being examined and treated as a patient. The chapter jumps ahead in time two days, to her last day of making rounds on the Ward. The chapter ends with Kostoglotov speaking with just released Ahmadjan, who, it turns out, was a prison camp guard and warder. Ahmadjan knows that Oleg is in exile, but does not know that Oleg has been in the camps, as well.

Chapter 33 of, “Cancer Ward,” is titled, ‘Happy Ending…’ It is followed by Chapter 34, titled, ‘…and One a Bit Less Happy.’

‘Happy Ending,’ is Pavel Nikolayevich Rusanov re-uniting with his family, after his discharge from the ward. Oleg receives word from Mita, a nurse, of German extraction, that a general pardon for all exiles is definite. Oleg, who is making arrangements for his discharge, receives invitations from both Vera and Zoya, to stay with them, as their ‘guest’. And, finally, Nellya, once a floor orderly,  is celebrating her promotion to food orderly.

The next chapter, Chapter 34,  ‘…and One a Bit Less Happy,’ deals with Oleg’s meeting with Elizaveta Anatolyevna, and her problems raising her son alone, and the grief exile has meant for her, and her family. The chapter ends, with Oleg visiting Shulubin, who is in pain, in his bed. At first, Oleg thinks Shulubin is delirious, but Shulubin is reciting verse of a Pushkin poem, reminding Oleg of their conversation they had, before Shulubin’s operation. Solzhenitsyn writes, “He (Shulubin) had said, ‘Sometimes I feel quite distinctly that what is inside me is not all of me. There’s something else, sublime, quite indestructible, some tiny fragment of the universal spirit. Don’t you feel that?”

What is interesting about these words which conclude Chapter 34, is, that, there is no reference of it at all in Chapter 31, ‘Idols of the Market Place,’ which is the chapter where Oleg and Shulubin have their conversation on the bench, outside the ward. Shulubin is in pain, and his words have anger, guilt, and frustration to them. He is emotional, but it is a negative passion, dealing with his frustrated life with family, and his career as a scientest. Their discussion is philosophical.

There is, however, I feel, a connection to the end of Chapter 34, and the end of Chapter 30, ‘The Old Doctor,’ dealing with the meeting of Dontsova and Oreshchenkov, Dontsova requesting Oreshchenkov to preside over her examination the coming Monday. This Chapter ends with Oreshchenkov sitting alone in his study, after Dontsova has left. Solzhenitsyn writes (Quotations from Nicholas Bethell and David Burg's translation, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, NY, 7th Printing, 1999):

“…At such moments an image of the whole meaning of existence – his own during the long past and the short future ahead, that of his late wife, of his young granddaughter and of everyone in the world – came to his mind.  The image he saw did not seem to be embodied in the work or activity which occupied them, which they believed was central to their lives, and by which they were known to others. The meaning of existence was to preserve unspoiled, undisturbed and undistorted the ijmage of eternity with which each person is born.

            Like a silver moon in a calm, still pond.”

There is some similarity between the ending of these two chapters, Chapter 30 and Chapter 34, to the ending of Chapter 6,  an ending that has given me some thought. Solzhenitsyn writes of Oleg, who is leaving Dr. Dontsova, in the short-focus apparatus room, after their discussion of his case history, and his proposed treatment: “As he left the room it seemed to him that he was walking between two eternities, on one side a list of the living, with its inevitable crossings out, on the other – eternal exile. Eternal as the stars, as the galaxies.”

However, the reason why I am writing this particular blog, is, that, I am curious about  whether Chapter 31, ‘Idols of the Market Place,’ has a relationship to Chapter 32, suggested by its title, “The Other Side of the Coin”.

This turns out to be a pretty hefty undertaking. The English philosopher and statesman, Francis Bacon, (1561-1626), who coined the phrase, “Idols of the Marketplace,” in his philosophical work, titled, “Novum Organum,” argued for a process of inductive reasoning to interpret and examine nature. The work is considered to be important and critical in the historical development of the scientific method.

Bacon’s use of the word, “idol” is not in a theological sense, of false God, but, is, (we are told), used in the philosophical sense of the Physics of Epicurus, who developed his views shortly after Aristotle. Epicurus is a key figure in the development of science and the scientific method because of his insistence that nothing should be believed except that which was tested through direct observation and logical deduction.

Epicurus' theory of sensory perception postulates that external objects send off emanations or "idols" (eidola) of themselves that travel through the air and impinge upon our senses, leaving behind trace versions of the external world (auditory and olfactory as well as visual) that can be apprehended and stored in memory.

Bacon’s doctrine of “idols,” is found in Book I of the Novum Organum (Aphorisms 39-68). One aspect of the work that I find interesting, is that the work is written in Latin.

It is not clear to me, at this stage of my preliminary investigation, whether Epicurus himself talks about "idols," or whether it is something which was used by the Roman poet and philosopher, Lucretius, in describing the philosophy of Epicurus. Because only a few fragments and letters remain of the written work of Epicurus, Lucretius is considered to be our primary source of information on Epicurean physics,which is the topic of his single known work, the philosophical poem, "De Rerum Natura". ("On the Nature of the Universe").

The poem's purpose is to free mankind of superstition and the fear of death, and Lucretius argues Mankind owes Epicurus for delivering it from unfounded terrors and an empty, joyless and servile life.

Lucretius was the first Philosophical poet to write in Latin, (as opposed to Greek). The opening hymn to Venus as the force inspiring birth and life, is considered to be among the best examples of the Latin Literature.

There is a direct reference to Epicurus in Chapter 19, "Approaching the Speed of Light," where the young geologist, Vadim Zatsyrko, contemplates his ability to accomplish his work in the calculus of Cancer. Solzhenitsyn writes:

"....In his musings during the past few weeks Vadim had discovered an important and at first glance paradoxical point: a man of talent can understand and accept death more easily than a man with none -- yet the former has more to lose. A man of talent craves long life, yet Epicurus had once observed that a fool, if offered eternity, would not know what to do with it."

This is a reflection thematically, to the end of the Second Chapter, «Образование ума не прибавляет», (Translated by Bethell and Burg, as: "Education Doesn't Make You Smarter"),  where Yefrem Podduyev tells the Uzbek, Ahmadjan, the anecdote about Allah, granting creatures the number of years to live.

One other interesting thing regarding Epicurus and his thought should be mentioned, and, that is, that, the Doctoral Thesis of Karl Marx, accepted by the University of Jena in 1841, was titled: "Differenz der demokratischen und epikureischen Natur-philosophie" -- that is, "The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature". I am left with the impression that it was submitted in a dual language form -- Greek and German.

To resolve the question, whether the chapter with the title ‘Idols of the Market Place,’ has a relationship to the chapter with the title, “The Other Side of the Coin” might depend more on the argument of Lucretius, however, than Epicurus, or, even, Marx.

The arguments of Lucretius are, summing broadly, that, 1) the operations of the world can be accounted for entirely in terms of natural phenomena -- the regular but purposeless motions and interactions of tiny atoms in empty space -- instead of in terms of the will of the gods. 

And, 2) according to Lucretius, the fear of death is a projection of terrors experienced in life, of pain, that only a living mind can feel.

My main online sources for the subject of Francis Bacon, were two, often quoted liberally, without quotation marks:

1. Wikipedia

Web address:
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon

2. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP)

Web address:
http://www.iep.utm.edu/bacon/
Author: David Simpson, DePaul University, (Chicago, IL)
Email: dsimpson@condor.depaul.edu

My main online source on Epicurus, and Epicurean Physics, also often quoted word for word, without quotation marks:


http://www.philosophy.ucdavis.edu/mattey/phi143/epiphys.htm
Author: G. J. Mattey, University of California, Davis, c. 1999

Opera, "Cancer Ward" : some relationships examined

To me, as the composer of the opera, "Cancer Ward," it is fascinating, that, the music I had intended for the character of Yefrem Podduyev, is music that fits very well to the character of Pavel Rusanov. Podduyev is, in a very real sense, a "shock"-worker, (that is, a worker of incredible capacity and ability), but, one who has lived life hard and fast, with a devil may care attitude towards his responsibilities as a social human being. The treatment for his Cancer has entailed pain, which can only be described as exquisite torment.

Rusanov is, indeed, -- as the character Oleg calls him, to his face,-- a bureaucrat, "...a Party Member from the year zero." He is somewhat cowardly, but he is a man who sees his power to cause unhappiness in others, as proof of his own superiority. If we were able to look into his head, and others like him, it is doubtful whether he even considers himself human. He treats people with contempt.

Through the lens of their disease, there is something which makes them become very like the other, although, their 'story' within the timeline confines of the book are different. Pavel wins a reprieve -- he believes it a victory and the natural outcome of his superiority as a 'Soviet Man.' Podduyev goes under. In the novel,  they both have become helpless, and they share an indignation that this lightening-strike occurrence has occurred to them, but it is the quality of irony that they struggle against that seems to make them mirrors. They both think, that, there is something dis-believable about dying this way.

There is another 'twin' relationship I am exploring that I find interesting, and that is between Vera's love -- the young man she loved, who was lost in the war -- and, Solzhenitsyn himself, before he was arrested, while serving as an artillery officer in the Red Army. Fascinating, that Solzhenitsyn seems to suggest that there is a gentle fate which keeps the feelings of Vera and Oleg from connecting with each other. This is an exploration, simply as a long time admirer of the Solzhenitsyn book. The way the opera is being written at this point, however, suggests that Vera’s character is not going to  bei explored or examined in depth.

These relationships do not exist as understated relationships in the book -- perhaps,  skillfully alluded to, or inferred by the writer. In terms of the author pointing out these relationships to the reader, they simply do not exist. To me, they are as real as Rusanov's fear of being punched in the face.

Gogol's "Dead Souls" and Solzhenitsyn's "Cancer Ward"

The Russian word, «корпус», (“corpus”), from the Latin, plural of corpora, is used in the sense of building, when «Раковый Корпус» (“Cancer Corpus”)  is translated, “Cancer Ward”. However, its first meaning, as in Latin, is ‘body’.

It is easy for one to assume that the character of Oleg Kostoglotov represents Solzhenitsyn himself. However, I’ve never really been comfortable with the simplicity of this view. The composer has taken the view, that although there are biographical similarities, that Kostoglotov is not Solzhenitsyn, nor, is he representative, necessarily, of his views and beliefs.

It was with interest, when I picked up a paperback edition of Nikolai Gogol’s “Dead Souls,” (translated by Christopher English, Oxford University Press, 1998), and read in the Introduction by Robert Maguire, about one of the characters in the book, Konstantin Fyodorovich Kostanzhoglo.

It struck me, that the resemblance of the name Kostanzhoglo to the name Kostoglotov might not be accidental. And so I’ve spent the past few weeks reading “Dead Souls,” and wondering about the relationship between it, and “Cancer Ward.” Not wondering what the relationship was – but IF there was one. The result is somewhat indefinite. I believe that there is a conscious relationship -- but it is very abstract, and practically intangible. It is somewhat like arguing for the relationship between the titles, "Dead Souls" and "Cancer Corpus".

What follows is not an argument, or a dissertation, but some notes and quotes, which might or might not be formalized as part of an argument at a future time.

‘Kost’ in both names means ‘bone’.

(Dead Souls) Kostanzhoglo   -oglo is a common Turkic suffix

(Cancer Ward) Kostoglotov     Kostoglot ‘bone-swallower’

“Dead Souls” (Platonov, to Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov) (Quotes from translation by Christopher English, Oxford University Press, 1998)

‘Would you object if we drop in for a moment? I’d like to take leave of my sister and her husband.’

‘With the greatest pleasure,’ said Chichikov.

‘If you’re interested in estate management,’said Platonov,’you’ll be very interested to meet him. You won’t find a better-run estate anywhere. In a mere ten years he has brought this estate, which used to yield barely thirty thousand a year, to the point where it now brings in two hundred thousand.’

‘Indeed, he must be a most estimable man! It would be most interesting to make the acquaintance of such a one as he. After all—I mean, when you think of it…What is his name?’

‘Kostanzhoglo.’

‘And his first name and patronymic?’

‘Konstantin Fyodorovich.’

‘Konstantin Fyodorovich Kostanzhoglo! I shall be delighted to make his acquaintance. It will be most instructive to get to know such a man.’

Chichikov inspected with interest the dwelling of this remarkable man….But he was disappointed. The rooms were all simple, even bare….in short, everything bore witness that the man who lived here spent the great part of his life not within the four walls of this room, but in the fields outside, and that even his thinking was not conducted at leisure, in sybaritic fashion, reclining in a soft armchair before a blazing hearth, but out there, where his ideas were to brought to life – that was where the thought came into his mind, and that too was where they were put into effect. Only here and there, in the appointments of the rooms, could Chichikov detect a woman’s touch: clean limewood boards had been placed on the tables and chairs and flowers spread out on them to dry.

“What’s all this rubbish lying around, sister?’ asked Platonov.

“What do you mean: rubbish?’ said their hostess. ‘That’s the best cure for a fever. We used it last year to cure all our peasants. These here are for liquors, and these for syrups. You may laugh at any mention of making jam and pickles, but when you taste them you’ll be full of praise.”

‘Aha! There he is! He’s on his way here! said Platonov. Chichikov also hurried over to the window. Walking towards the porch was a man of some forty years, lively, and swarthy in appearance, wearing a camel-hair coat. He had no thought for his attire. He wore a velveteen peaked cap.

Then Kostanzhoglo appeared in the doorway of the drawing room. Chichikov was amazed by the swarthiness of his face, the crispness of his black hair, prematurely grizzled in places, the lively expression in his eyes, and a suggestion of bitterness, the print of his provenance from the fiery south.

(Kostanzhoglo is speaking)‘….This is work that elevates a man’s spirit. Whatever you may say, on the farm a man walks side-by-side with nature, with the seasons of the year, he is both participant and interlocutor in all the processes of creation….in the vegetable gardens the spade is hard at work and in the fields – the plough and harrow. Then there is the planting, sowing and winnowing. Do you know what that means? You think it a small matter? Sowing the future harvest! Sowing the bounty of all God’s earth! Sowing the nourishment for millions….No, nowhere in the whole world will you find another such pleasure! It is here, precisely here, that man works in God’s image: God has reserved to Himself the task of creation as the supreme delight, and He demands of man that, like Him, he too should be the creator of prosperity and beneficence all about him…..

“Cancer Ward”

(Quotes from the translation by Nicholas Bethell and David Burg, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, Seventh Printing, 1999)

Oleg to Zoya

‘….When you graduate, why don’t you apply to come out? I shouldn’t think they’ll refuse. They wouldn’t refuse anyone who applied to join us.”

‘Is it that bad?’

‘Not at all. Only people have distorted ideas about what’s good and what’s bad. To live in a five-story cage, with people banging about and walking to and fro above your head and the radio blaring on all sides, is considered good. But to live as a hardworking tiller of the soil in a mud hut on the edge of the steppe – that’s considered the height of misfortune.”

He wasn’t joking at all, his words had the weary conviction of people who have no desire to strengthen their argument even by raising their voice.

‘But is it steppe or desert?’

‘Steppe. No sand dunes. But there’s a bit of grass. Zhantak grows there, camel thorn, you know. It’s thorn, but in July it produces pinkish flowers and even a very delicate smell. The Kazakhs make a hundred medicines out of it.”

“It’s in Kazakhstan, then?”

“Uh-huh.”

“What’s it called?”

“Ush-Terek.”

“Is it an aul?”

“Yes, if you like, an aul, or a regional administrative center. There’s a hospital. Only there aren’t enough doctors. Do come.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“Doesn’t anything else grow there?”

“Oh yes, there’s agriculture, but under irrigation. Beets, maize. In the kitchen gardens there’s everything you could wish for. Only you have to work hard, with the bucket. In the bazaar the Greeks always have fresh milk, the Kurds have mutton, and the Germans pork. They’re such picturesque bazaars, you should see them! Everyone wears national dress, they come in on camels.”

Kostoglotov in Chapter 4, to Ludmilla Afanasyevna Dontsova:

“Ludmilla Afanasyevna.”…..”Discussions about the sanity or insanity of contemporary man will take us far from the point…I am really grateful to you for bringing me into this enjoyable state of health. Now I want to make use of it a little and live…..In fact, I don’t want to pay too high a price now for the hope of a life some time in the future. I want to depend on the natural defenses of the organism….”

And in Chapter 6:

“Obviously there’s no logic.” Kostoglotov shook his shaggy black mane. “But maybe there needn’t be any, Ludmila Afanasyevna. After all, man is a complicated being, why should he be explainable by logic? Or for that matter by economics? Or physiology?

“…I just want you to let me go. I want to recover under my own resources. Then maybe I’ll just get better. Isn’t that right?”

There are also strong affinities between the philosophy of Kostanzhoglo, and the "old doctor" Oreshchenkov. And because Dontsova is a protègè of Oreshchenkov, there are relationships here to explore and examine, as well. 

When one considers the pervasiveness of the time-frame, or flashback as a narrative device used by both authors, then, one must admit, that there is certainly a relationship between the two books. If we say, that,(arbitrarily), 85% of poets and 95% novel writers employ the time frame, or flashback, in their work, this does not invalidate a relationship between "Dead Souls" by Gogol, and "Cancer Ward" by Solzhenitsyn.

Further, when Chichikov draws up his deeds, with the list of the dead souls that he has purchased, this has some physical resemblance to the scene in Chapter 12 of  "Cancer Ward", where Oleg helps Zoya fill out the patient's card history. This physicality of a person's name to a list, history card, or even an X-Ray -- suggesting a reduction of a whole person's life to a word, or chart, or object -- is something which is not exclusive to either work, and, in a broader sense, suggests the actual function of words in the consciousness, something more readily attributed to Gogol, (his exploration of words and meaning), than to Solzhenitsyn.