- The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. [attributed to the Greek poet Archilochus]
Some people cast their attention to many things, the Renaissance Man for example. Others focus on one thing. Neither approach necessarily is right or wrong. Each person is challenged to find the mix that best suits her.
Today’s topic is focus, whose meaning here is concentration on a narrow band of concerns, often one concern. The research scientist who spends a lifetime on one project, the football coach who dedicates his life to the sport and the parent who spends many years devoted to a child’s upbringing are examples of focus.
Real
True Narratives
Vince Lombardi
Tanshu Terayama, Zen Brushwork: Focusing the Mind with Calligraphy and Painting (Kodansha International, 2004).
Technical and Analytical Readings
Photographs
Documentary and Educational Films
Imaginary
Fictional Narratives
Novels:
- Markus Zusak, The Book Thief (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2006): Amid the grand and terrible events of World War II and the Nazi holocaust, and the tragic personal events in a 10-year-old girl’s life, this story is organized around a series of petty book thefts that are barely that. The juxtaposition illustrates how our internal lives can make small events large and large events small.
Poetry
Music: Composers, artists, and major works
Minimalist composer Morton Feldman titled several of his works as though they were being dedicated to particular people. Each has its own character but their common element is the careful, focused attention required to listen to and absorb them.
- For Franz Kline (1962) (approx. 12’)
- For Philip Guston (1963) (approx. 288’)
- For Frank O’Hara (1973) (approx. 18’)
- For John Cage (1982) (approx. 72’)
- For Samuel Beckett (for 23 players) (1987) (approx. 43-55’)
- For Christian Wolff (1986) (approx. 203’)
- For Bunita Marcus (1985) (approx. 71’)
- For Stefan Wolpe (1986) (approx. 35’)
Salvatore Sciarrino is a contemporary avant garde composer whose music demands careful, focused attention. “His music is intimate, focused and refined, sustained by microvariations in sonic structures comprising rich timbres and breaths. He developed a sonic universe which is transparent, rarefied and near silence (or ‘sound zero,’ which, for the composer, is also music); it is built upon a multitude of microscopic sounds and almost imperceptible noises, and is reduced to only what is absolutely essential.” “(It) often utilizes unconventional methods of tone production such as harmonics, percussive sounds, and silence.” “There is something really particular that characterizes this music: it leads to a different way of listening, a global emotional realization, of reality as well as of one’s self.” Albums of his music include:
- “Musiche per il ‘Paradiso’ di Dante” (1993) (66’)
- “Live at Ars Musica 2000” (72’)
- Roberto Fabbriciani, “Sciarrino: Fabbrica degli incantesimi” (2012) (68’)
- Ensemble Opificio Sonora, “Sciarrino: Chamber Music” (2022) (78’)
“Gro Marie Svidal is a well-established and renowned performer and interpreter of the traditional Norwegian Hardanger fiddle music.” Her scrupulous focus on this musical tradition shines through in her albums.
Other works:
- Giacinto Scelsi (1905-1988): Quattro Pezzi per Orchestra (1959) (approx. 17-19’); Anahit (1965) (approx. 15’); Uaxuctum (1966) (approx. 23’)
- Raga Kaunsi Kanhra (Kaunsi Kanada; Kaunsi Kannada; Kausi Kanhra; Kausi Kanada; Kausi Kannada; Kaushi Kanhra; Kaushi Kanada; Kaushi Kannada) is a Hindustani classical raag for after midnight. It presents one slowly-developed theme. “Kaunsi Kanada highlights the exceptional sophistication of the Hindustani Raga system of 'colouring our minds'.” Performances are by Nikhil Banerjee, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma, and Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan.
- Jordan Dykstra, “Orbits” (approx. 15’)
Albums:
- Steven Halpern, “ADHD: Mindful Music for Enhanced Focus” (2019) (69’)
- Steven Halpern, “Clutter Clearing at the Speed of Sound” (2016) (71’)
Music: songs and other short pieces
- Grateful Dead, “Ripple” (lyrics)
- Rob Thomas, “Little Wonders” (lyrics)