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Seekers of the Truth: The Complete Piano Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann, Volume One
Cecil Lytle
Seekers of the Truth: The Complete Piano Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann, Volume One
Genres: Dance & Electronic, New Age, Classical
 
  •  Track Listings (19) - Disc #1
  •  Track Listings (18) - Disc #2

This three volume compilation is tribute to the genius of three uniquely talented men--a philosopher, a composer, and a pianist-musicologist. These works began with the philosophical searchings of Georges Ivanovich Gur...  more »

     
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All Artists: Cecil Lytle
Title: Seekers of the Truth: The Complete Piano Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann, Volume One
Members Wishing: 3
Total Copies: 0
Label: Celestial Harmonies
Release Date: 1/23/1992
Genres: Dance & Electronic, New Age, Classical
Styles: Ambient, Meditation, Sacred & Religious
Number of Discs: 2
SwapaCD Credits: 2
UPC: 013711402025

Synopsis

Album Description
This three volume compilation is tribute to the genius of three uniquely talented men--a philosopher, a composer, and a pianist-musicologist. These works began with the philosophical searchings of Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff, an Armenian intellectual at the turn of the 20th century. His homeland was the crossroad for the diverse cultures that ringed the Black, Caspian and Mediterranean Seas. His fascination with the human spirit and his searching for the truth took him on vast journeys through India, Tibet and China. A keen observer, Gurdjieff, began to accumulate bits and pieces of musical traditions. These he combined with his provocatively inspired visions as a universal symbol of his philosophical beliefs. Gurdjieff, however, did not have the musical ability to transform his abstractions into reality. Fortunately, one of his disciples was a gifted and successful composer in St. Petersburg, Thomas Alexandrovich de Hartmann, whom he met in 1917. As a fellow searcher for the truth, de Hartmann was eager to transform the raw musical utterances of Gurdjieff into sophisticated piano compositions. Those scores, sadly, were left in a state of disarray in the estate of de Hartmann. Decades later, musicologist, professor, and pianist Cecil Lytle, became the final element of the equation. In the mid 1980s, he and a team of researchers began a three year quest, scrupulously studying the scattered files of de Hartmann's scores, assembling the first truly accurate arrangements of the Gurdjieff/de Hartmann legacy. A man in touch with the philosophical, as well, as the musical nature of the works, Lytle performs them with deep emotion and unsurpassed skill. The three volumes vary in their nature. Seekers of the Truth presents the reflective, ceremonial music of Gurdjieff/de Hartmann's majestic suites. Reading of a Sacred Book contains some of their dance and character pieces of a more lively nature. Words for a Hymn to the Sun completes the trilogy with the final works of the great spiritual teacher, Georges Gurdjieff. Truly, these dramatic piano performances serve as the highest praise to three remarkable individuals.

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CD Reviews

Objective art; this is true music
Fred Vagle | 08/24/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone interested in music which has the power to stimulate the emotions simply must listen to this disk. Gurdjieff's composition have a quality lacking im most modern works. This collection has the ability to arouse the same state of emotion in each listener. This is what sets this apart from the majority of compositions which move one subjectively. I would strongly suggest this to any student of music. The music on this disk was the result of his travels to remote countries at the turn of the century. This may very well be one of the last samples of "Objective Music" we will hear for genrations to come."
Transforming Music
Fred Vagle | Minneapolis, MN | 12/10/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the mid 1980's, I was seeking to align my outward life with my inner most desires and longings. My wife and I were reconstructing our marriage based upon truthful living and sharing. Some nights we would listen to the radio program Hearts of Space. This program presented alternative comtempletive music, mostly electronic but sometimes we would hear a magical transforming work. In 1986, we heard Seekers of the Truth. It spoke to both of us, and literally played a part in our healing process. Even to this day, this CD is a most treasured part of our music collection."
The first volume of my favorite "Gurdjieff" set.
Frederick II of Hohenstaufen | right here | 05/28/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not many years ago, it was difficult to find many recordings of this music. Now one may find several "complete" sets of this music by Gurdjieff/DeHartmann as well as many single disc recordings of selected pieces.



This set, by Cecil Lytle, is one of the first "compete" sets. Lytle plays the "Janus Edition" of these works, which were originally prepared and superivsed for private distribution by DeHartmann himself.



I have several "complete sets" of the Gurdjieff/DeHartmann music, and this is the one that I listen to most often. The other "complete" set (some might say more complete) can be found in the "classical" section of amazon.com; this other set follows the new "Schott Music" edition, the only sheet music readily available. While this Cecil Lytle set is by far my favorite, I also highly recommend the "other" complete set on the Wergo label, usually found under the "classical" music department."