Basta Audiovisuals 
Gurdjieff : Oriental Suite
- the complete orchestral music 1923-1924- (RU,pub.2006)****'
The book :
The same compiler as last 'book + CD' release, Gert-Jan Blom, has once more released a true historical document. After having heard the previous release, Gurdjieff/De Hartmann’s music for me still remained a mystery to me, so I hoped that this book would reveal more. At a first quick browsing, I could not find the explanatory schemes I was expecting to reveal some of the theory behind it. But after having read the book, I must say I now have a much clearer idea what it all was about, also spiritually. The new book gives, like the previous release, a pretty complete view with different witnesses on the events, and also documented all available photographs and related articles and newspaper publications, giving a rather complete background providing the reader also a historical visualisation of how the demonstrations must have been in those days.
When Gurdjieff bought his institute near Paris, in Fontainebleu, the castle was still not big enough for the dance sessions, so he constructed a study house in the garden built from a silo bought from the army. It was transformed into a huge temple-like stage for the demonstrations. The dances were only one part of a conscious plan of teachings based upon what he had learned from his 20 years of learning in the east. These dances can be regarded as gymnastics as well as ritual movements (he collected a system of over 6000 different movements). These movements had the purpose to harmonize man with a practical method. One witness, Cliffor Sharpe, explains well the thought structure Gurdjieff used in his “harmonious development” He explains how man has three different centres with a mental, an emotional and a motoric system of control. The motoric or instinctive centre of movement can be automatic or semi-automatic movement, (-like walking-). He explains that the motoric control works quicker than mental control, while the emotional centre works most quickly. However, when a person learns to use these centres as one centre only, an extra energy appears which can accumulate everything much quicker and more directly. Gurdjieff simultaneously used methods to get people closer to their own essence, apart from their personality, and then tries to combine them to transform them into the development and the birth of an inner process towards the progression of an inner wisdom. The original brochure from the institute, with a proper introduction on the method explains this once more : it describes clearly how for each individual, the inner developments are very personal and different.
Also interesting is that, at certain moments, Gurdjieff stopped the demonstrations unexpectedly, making a surprising bewildering moment where the witnesses and dancers were forced to reconsider everything from that moment, and to break the vicious circle of automatisms, allowing a conscious self observation on that point.
While ‘movement’ was one part of the teachings, music was another part, and there was also the plan to explain what he called “tricks and half-tricks” of all kinds of religious phenomena from the ancient east, something which became part of the demonstrations, without that they were really fully explained.
The music :
De Hartmann and Gurdjieff worked very close together on the music. While Gurdjieff gave the impression he did not know anything about music, everything was in fact rather orchestrated. Gurdjieff's father was a musical bard and also Gurdjieff himself must have had an incredible musical memory, because only 13 years after his travels, he started to recollect this. When they compared a Kurdish melody for instance with Gurdjieff’s version it seems that he remembered each detail in the correct rhythm and intonation. Sometimes he also arranged the different voices and parts.
De Hartmann was a pupil of the pianoteacher of Sjostakovitsj and of a pupil of Wagner. His orchestrated style follows very much the European tradition, but with a Sjostakovitsj touch. More known are De Hartman’s piano pieces for Gurdjieff, which sound very much balanced and to the essence of melodies. But also his orchestrated pieces are worth discovering. The melodies sound more often like exotic camel-caravan music for stage presentation, and with a Middle Eastern touch. In reality the melodies originate more often from ancient Middle Eastern compositions, while the context remains the stage for a western audience.
The orchestrated music was presented in various places in Europe as well as America, and he also had his demonstrations in Turkey like in Constantinople (now Istanbul), with a Turkish orchestra.
The book with music provides a rather complete experience from a musical viewpoint. I only hope that one day, also a DVD with the movements, or some theory book with practical teachings on the movements themselves will be added to be available, to complete this material to inspire future generations.
Info on Oriental Suite :
