Album cover design by Frank Perry from the original release on David Toop’s !Quartz records label in 1980. The following words were included with the release as a booklet.
Sound sample - click HERE
DEEP PEACE
The
following words are offered in the hope that they will enhance the enjoyment of
this work for those who wish to know more about the ideas and inspiration
behind it. However, I would suggest that this be saved until after listening to
the music in order that you come to experience it for yourself first.
COVER
MANDALA
"Read, not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and
take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and
consider." Sir Francis Bacon
(Essay of studies).
The cover picture is actually a mandala that I have drawn for the
Planet Jupiter. It is in a 9" square with a circle 7" diameter with
each side of the larger Star being 6" long. As a mandala serves as a focal
point for the concentration upon the energies, principles, and qualities
associated with the nature of the subject matter of the mandala through its
symbolism, so this music has the same purpose of centring one's energy through
concentration within sound forming a bridge between the past, present and
future, or between the visible and invisible realms of Life. Jupiter is the
Contemplative part of the Soul and this is the power of Understanding - in that
sense it is That which 'stands Under'; that which preserves; That One Reality
which is 'beneath' or supporting our Soul and which leads it ever onwards and
upwards expanding our consciousness through sudden flashes of oneness which
bring a greater faith in God. Paracelsus related Jupiter to the AURIC EGG.
Jupiter is the
planet which exalts in the sign of Cancer. This means that it finds here its
freest form of expression. The sign of Cancer can be likened to the whirling
eddies in a stream; its influence thus symbolises for us this focussing of the
consciousness through concentration. As the eddy takes from the stream that
which it wants for its own purposes and is content to allow the rest of the
stream - of Life - to flow past, so when one's mind is focussed upon a form
attuned to a certain level of consciousness, or to a particular aspect of
Creation, it is possible to enter into That which has its centre everywhere,
circumference nowhere.
Jupiter
is also a planet which is connected with the art of healing and this music is
designed to have a healing effect. Jupiter is the planet of Order and this is
represented by placing the Arabic origin of the first 9 numbers within the
central six-pointed star. Within this central star are also 7 small circles
each one being one third of the diameter of the circle bordered by the 12 signs
of the Zodiac with their Decanates and the Dwadasamsas (symbolising the
expansiveness of this planet through the 12 signs/disciples) thus linking 7
with 9; the trinity within the quarternary and the triune manifestation of the
primal trinity - holistically and
cyclically demonstrated in these two numbers. There is a pictorial
representation of the relationship between Jupiter and the other planets with
which it associates through the Elements of Fire and Water derived from the
colours and numbers given by my Teacher.
The
3 coloured circles at the tips of the upward pointing triangle represent the 3
Trans-Saturnian planets to which the spiritual expansiveness of Jupiter
naturally aspires: - Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. This triangle pointing upwards is symbolic of Man aspiring
towards God-consciousness, for these 3 serve as mediators between the galactic
realms beyond and our solar system. Uranus is depicted in the lower left as the
empty dot within the coloured circle - as octave Sun its foundation is within
the central White Light; Neptune is found at the lower right and here shown as
the Cross within the Circle of God's Universal Love - as octave Moon it shows
the twin forces equalised and thus harmonised together at the centre revealing
the Fifth Element of Ether, and this brings association with the Buddhic plane
of consciousness where all are known to be as One through that growing Child
within the very Centre of each and every one of us; and Pluto is seen at the
top centre with the purple six-pointed Star of Christ - the SEED/ATOM ‘born of the
Father' from out of the Virgin Space of repotentialisations. These 3 can be
related to Body, Soul, and Mind or again to Son, Mother, and Father - with the
Father/Son aspects interchangeable. As these outer planets can be seen to be
sun-directed their 'order' is the reverse to those within the Ring of Saturn so
that Pluto, as the Father, "enters" within the orbit of Neptune, as
the Mother, thus fecundating the Child: Uranus. Uranus as the Son/Sun opens the
gates beyond Saturn and reveals/unveils the hidden Light within the Silent
Centre of one's Being; Neptune leads one into the "Soul" of this
hidden realm of spiritual Light through compassionate and unconditional Love;
and Pluto prepares one for Work with the denizens of this 'Inner World', as
from the depths of one's inmost Being the Cosmic SEED of God is released or
reborn/regenerated from That Archetypal Sphere of Truth.
That great man Sir Francis Bacon urged men to
acknowledge God as being the First Cause of all phenomena manifested in the
universe, and he reminded them of the chain of natural causes linking heaven to
earth which, in the Advancement of Learning, he referred to as the chain of
nature tied to the foot of Jupiter's chair:
"It is an
assured truth and a conclusion of experience, that a little or superficial
knowledge of philosophy may incline the mind of man to atheism, but a farther
proceeding therein doth bring the mind back again to religion; for in tile
entrance of philosophy, when the second causes which are next unto the senses,
do offer themselves to the mind of man, if it dwelleth and stay there, it may
induce some oblivion of the highest cause but when a man passes farther and
seeth the dependence of causes, and the works of Providence then, according to
the allegory of the poets, he will easily believe that the highest link of
nature's chain must needs be tied to the foot of Jupiter's chair.''
THE
STRUCTURE AND MEANING
OF THE MUSIC
"The place of
communion, as we have said again and again, is the temple within your own
being, of which the Master Jesus spoke; and which all Masters through all ages
have taught their pupils to seek, a communion in which you eat the bread and
drink the wine of life. The Holy Grail, my brethren, is here within the heart;
it is also the Universal Cup. May you patiently pursue your path; you will
surely get there and you will know the joy of life, for all the mists will
clear and happiness will be your crown.” – White Eagle.
Musically
speaking, the format of the piece has certain similarities to the “Eucharist”
music from Wagner’s Parsifal. In that music, there are two ‘waves’ of sound,
each starting from silence, reaching a swelling yet calm climax, and returning
to silence again. These two ‘waves’ become the basic structure for the two
sides/halves although the climax here is more of an internal intensity or
presence.
The piece is structured in such a way as to integrate and
synthesise the seeming opposites of life so that there is a ‘backing track’ of
pre-recorded musical material, very
accurately timed and detailed - which serves to channel the musical inspiration
or improvisation in harmony with the intended purpose of responsibly
stimulating those energy centres which open one to the inner worlds. This pre-recorded material may be likened
unto a Temple; a definite and substantial structure with a precise purpose and
aim, and the improvisation can then be likened to the inspiration of the
spiritual service within that Temple; so that Freedom and
Restriction work together to produce a precise objective; and in this sense the
music is constructivistic, purposive and composed. It is interesting also to
note that whilst the 'backing track ' provides a ‘Horizontal’ linear unfoldment
to the piece yet the parallel purpose behind the music of expanding the central
consciousness utilises a ‘Vertical’ approach so that these two together form
the ancient symbol of the Cross-within-the-Circle (cycle) of musical activity.
The piece lasts a
little over 40 minutes linking it with the period of gestation of the Child -
product of Father and Mother or the Bread and the Wine of Christ. Thus on Side
A: "DEEP PEACE OF THE FLOWING AIR TO YOU', we represent the Cosmic Bread,
or Body of the Archangelic Christ being - LIGHT - as having affinity with the
Sun and its octave' Uranus and also to Leo and Aquarius so bringing 5th, 7th,
1st and 3rd Ray energies to bear, whilst on Side B: "DEEP PEACE OF THE SON
OF PEACE TO YOU"', we refer to the Cosmic Wine, or Blood of the Cosmic
Christ - LOVE - the Universal Christ consciousness, as being attuned to the
Moon and its ‘octave’ Neptune and so to
the sign of Cancer and its polarity Capricorn utilising 3rd, 7th,
2nd, 6th and 1st Ray principles. Both sides
arc thus seen to meet upon the 3rd, 7th, 2nd
and 1st Rays – the Rays of ACTIVE INTELLIGENCE, “RITUAL &
CEREMONIAL MAGIC, LOVE / WISDOM” and WILL or POWER.
In reality, both sides are part of a total Whole yet each is capable of individual definition and interpretation. For this reason, there are evidences of so-called Feminine qualities on the Masculine side and vice versa. It is thus somewhat ‘self-contained’ and symbolises the union of masculine and feminine attributes or elements within the Soul, which has entered into at-One-ment with his/her true Source; into what the mystics called the ‘mystical marriage’.
The keynote of
this music is as the OM. In the East, this is said to be a symbol of the
expression of the Spirit as Love within the soul; or the Word of god: “Om. This
syllable is all. Its interpretation is that which has been, that which is, and
that which is to be. All is Om, and only Om, and whatever is beyond trinal time
is Om, and only Om.” Mandukya Upanishad. It has also been called the ‘sound of
All Nature.’ Accordingly, the beginning of the total piece consists of just one
instrument, which produces a sound most similar to this OM, and this remains
unaccompanied for well over one minute. The last minute of Side A is also a
single instrument. The former is a rather large Japanese resting bell (Kei)
whilst the latter is a Tibetan hand bell (Drilbu). Side B continues the piece
by starting in silence from out of which a Tibetan meditation cymbal is struck
7 times, joining with other instruments after its 4th stroke. The
drone as at the beginning of Side A finishes the work.
Side A begins
attuned to Leo, the Heart centre, and as the music progresses we experience a
transition towards Aquarius so that the principles of Universal Love and
Brotherhood are inculcated on this side. The drone at the beginning lasts some
12 minutes and five gongs are struck during this time at 2 mins, 5 mins, 6
mins, 8 mins, and 11 mins. These gongs are attuned to the keynote of Service
and they represent the central consciousness and aspiration behind this work
and their function is partly to draw us towards this Centre; amidst the
activity of the improvisation and the piece-as-a-whole. The boss at the centre
of the gong serves to make its appearance like unto the astrological
symbol for the Sun, namely the dot-within-the-circle. As all of the planets
revolve around the central Sun, so these huge, deep gongs represent this
Central Son/Sun around which the whole music revolves and evolves.
When a gong is
struck at its centre, it produces its fundamental Tone whilst the several
harmonics and sub-tones are related to and contained within this central Tone.
As we move away from this centre towards the circumference of the gong the
harmonics become greatly accentuated and this complexity continues until a
discordant state is reached – the ‘Centre’ is lost. This has reference to our
own psychic well being, for when we live upon the ‘circumference’ of our
consciousness it becomes easy to lose that ‘Central’ note of our lives – the
OM, the living Master within.
Bells and gongs
can be seen to be r representative of some of the most spiritual of
music. The many tones which resound around the One Tone can indicate a
Brotherhood of Tones; each tone attuned to the Fundamental and Central Tone;
the Christ; the Master within – even as LOVE unites all souls together as one
brotherhood within the great White Robe of the Cosmic Christ consciousness
giving Life to the form producing Light, born of the Sun at the Heart of Love
and permeating, like a great Gong, the space of the Solar system and producing
the White Temple of Man’s Spirit; Circular and Domed. Within one single gong is
a whole ‘community’ or brotherhood of living tones. We may see the Bell as
indicative of Descending energy and the Gong as demonstrating the Ascending
energy of the Spirit. The Arya teaching is that God is Light and Wisdom and we
may liken this to the Gong and to the Bell respectively.
After the gong, struck thrice at 5 minutes, there follows
an improvisation upon a variety of small bells – Chinese Buddha gongs, bell
trees/Japanese bell trees and some glass and crystal – which is based upon a 7
note descending phrase – actually played but once in the height of the
improvisation. After the gong at 11 minutes there follows an 11 note ascending
phrase leading to a ‘bridge’/transition constructed upon a 49-beat cycle upon
two Japanese bells (Densho and Kei) which
is broken down into the numerical cycle of 7,6,7,6,6,8,9 repeated three
times. This cycle links 7 with 2 and 6 with 3 and therefore is to be considered
as a Hymn to the Great Mother. At the end of this ‘bridge’ a small pair of
Tibetan invocation cymbals are struck 3 times and this is a motif which appears
twice in the total piece, which effectively breaks the work into three sections
so that there is a symbolical link with the Masonic teachings of the 3 degrees,
which fundamental three hold the key to all 33; there is also a link with the
early Christian sects which spoke of the process of Preparation, Purification,
and Perfection.
On side B the
improvisation is struck instruments until the 7 beat gong pattern when
bowed playing continues through the 'Neptunian Music of Thought’ until the last
3 or 4 mins. The side starts off attuned to Capricorn and leads to Cancer. Therefore, it begins in silence - for
Capricorn appears at that time in Nature’s cycle, in the Northern
hemispheres, where energy has returned to the Source, or to the “Roots”, and
therefore to the Archetypal condition or realms of being. Three strikes of the
Tibetan meditation cymbal imply an invocation of the Holy Trinity then
gradually the music unfolds and builds in power and prepares the way for
glorious return of the Ascended Central Sun/Son in Cancer and this through the
natural expansiveness and all-inclusiveness of this Cardinal Water sign; sign
of the Great Mother.
The drone is
upon another Kei and enters at 3 mins continuing for another 11 minutes. The
twice-repeated 7 beat gong pattern is followed by an ascending phrase played
upon 5 rubbed hand bells leading into the bowed section which stimulates the
higher energies, particularly in the head region, and is attuned to the
planetary Ray of Neptune and the Moon.
The Uranian
influence on Side A refers to the more refined quality of this planetary Ray
which is to say the use of the mind in the service of the Whole and the
alignment of the self-will with the Will of the One which leads to greater
degrees of service within the great brotherhood of Spirit. It is the seed-like
ray, which may be likened to the Incarnation of the Self into matter, which
means truly the conquest of matter - we see this in the penetration of the many
successive layers of the soil by the ‘root’. This ray it is which has its
source in the sun, the spiritual Sun, and we may liken this ray of Uranus unto
the process which prepares the ‘Individual’ to become increasingly responsive
to the incoming Ray of his/her own Spiritual Being which is one with That
greater being in God. The word individual has been seen to originally be
derived from INDIVISABILITY, and this brings quite a new attitude to the idea
of being an ‘individual’ which awakens qualities inherent in some of the less
familiar qualities of the Uranian Ray.
The Neptunian
influence on Side B relates to the ability which this planet has to 'dissolve'
all things into One, so that once the Uranian ray has enlightened the
‘individual’ with a more universal sense of self-identity it becomes possible
for Neptune to raise this consciousness even more towards entrance into a
Cosmic Ocean of Being where divine at-one-ment is found to he The Reality and
thus the aspiring heart realises its Oneness within the Heart of God and enters
into the Sea of Cosmic Love.
On
Side A the Fire of the Divine Light burning deep within each one leavens the
bread of the material life until the Sun/Son shines forth in all His splendour,
grace and joy and That which had 'individualised' from the Original Seed has
been transformed into a new union with 'other' Seed/Cells an Octave higher
creating the spiral motion. On Side B the Water of the Divine Mother in its
absolute Peace and Tranquillity reflects the Perfect Form of the Six-pointed
Star of Christ from out of the sky of Infinite Space. For we live surrounded by
the Breath of God as in the Ocean of a cosmic womb. The learning of this truth
demands the crushing of the 'skin' of our separate egos or individual selfhood
that the Universal ''Substance '' of the Spirit of Christ consciousness may
flood our inmost being - that each one becomes part of WE the "Global
Community '' is born from the Light of a New Day.
Some sub-titles for the sides may prove
helpful or illuminating to the listener: -
SIDE
A:
0-5
From the very Centre of Life comes the Call.
5-11 Upon
Wings of Love the spirit descends into the Chalice of the Heart.
11-14 From
the “Mother Lodge” brothers of the Light draw around us.
14-20 From
the library window, in the Halls of Wisdom, countless mountain
peaks
stretch out before our vision…….All tread the path toward the ONE.
SIDE
B:
0-3 A Ray of Light
from the giant Star.
3-5 Within
the stillness of the heart we know Thy Presence.
5-7 The
Abode of Spirit.
7-17 He
that is All-Love takes form within the Company of the brethren and
we are at-one in
the Cosmic Christ…We commune…there is nothing
but God…All Love.
17-20 We
return…The angels rejoice that Man has responded to the blessing
of the Holy Grail.
FRANK PERRY
‘‘A conscious regard for
spatial records will provide an approach to different higher energies. The
harmonisation of various vibrations will institute perfect physical
relationships between thought-forms. The essence of the relationship will be
affirmed as a conformity between the Subtle World and the Earthly. Refinement
of forms depends upon striving for beauty; therefore each more refined concept
of a form draws beauty nearer. Therefore they are right who affirm that the
path to the Fiery World lies through the heart and beauty. Therefore Cosmic
Construction is being refined by manifestation of spirit-cognition”. -
FIERY WORLD 111 (Mahatma Morya)
For
some 14 years now I have pursued my researches into the potential uses of sound
to induce or represent certain deep states of consciousness. The approach has
been inclusive of Inductive and Deductive philosophical principles and
techniques of enquiry, although it is to be admitted that pre-eminent among
the latter has been the study of the written works of various authorities who
have likewise researched this subject usually with the aid of certain psychic
and spiritual gifts.
Some 16 years ago l found that I had inherited mediumistic
abilities from my father and these gifts had the immediate effect on returning
from the inner worlds of awakening the desire to reflect within the world of
musical form something of these experiences.
Certain spiritual disciplines have been practised these last 11 years or
so under the guidance of the Spiritual Teacher, White Eagle. This means that my
music has its origin in these spiritual experiences therefore it has more
relation to internal than to external forms of stimulus. The essential element
of oneself involved in such explorations is the consciousness. Consciousness is
not confined to the realm of Earth-time alone and this fact has led to the
removal of those percussion instruments whose nature is more intrinsically
oriented around time (i.e. drums, woodblocks, cowbells - everything of short resonance)
and a greater inclusion of those which have a long duration as well as richer
harmonic resonating qualities as these better suit the awareness of time
experienced by my consciousness/soul when freed from objective
sense-observations as originating from a material environment. As such it
essentially becomes the music of an exteriorisation of inner experiences and
states of consciousness and feelings - responses to an 'invisible' environment.
Without any previous explanations whatsoever, several sensitive souls have each
experienced a similar effect from this music thus substantiating the 'Reality'
of this 'invisible' environment.
The
music is intrinsically correlated to several disciplines and areas of service
and activity which I embrace: Astrology, Numerology, Ancient Wisdom/Philosophy,
Spiritual Healing, Group Work, Meditation, Communion and other paths of service
to the Brotherhood. Research/meditation/aspiration have thus led to an
understanding of the correspondences and interdependence found to exist between
these several subjects: e.g. between Planets/Signs; Sounds/Music; Colours;
Numbers Rays; Chakras; Angels; Cosmogonies and the Physical body of Man - with
a variety of potentialities resulting from this synthetic approach and these
findings are used to determine the parameters of the music (especially in
'live' performances), e.g. Pitch, cyclic and non-retrograde Rhythmic
structures, Amplitude, Duration and so on.
The
rhythms and tones of this music are attuned to the subtle psychic energies
within the soul and also to certain conditions of consciousness most usually
produced through techniques of meditation, particularly those working with the
golden triangle in man. However, it is perhaps only right to add that the
musical content of the piece is not lacking and that whilst the creativity must
adhere to the Central Theme and Purpose (remembering that the 'keynote' is the
OM) yet it can still be appreciated and enjoyed simply as music in itself.
Many
of the instruments used come from the Far East - from temples of a
predominantly Buddhist persuasion - and were designed to create a specific
sound and not necessarily to enter into a 'community of sounds' - such as in an
'orchestral' discipline - but rather were intended to be heard singly or alone;
for they were built to induce quite a precise psychic and/or spiritual state of
consciousness in the hearer which in turn implies that they must therefore
embody to quite a high degree something of these definite, basic and
fundamental principles of Being. These instruments appear in both contexts
during the piece.
The
predominantly Idealistic or Neo-Platonic philosophy I strive to embody leads me
to consider myself a co-creator and thus a mediator between the invisible and
the visible realms of life; a consciously unfolding 'instrumentality' of Life.
My predominant musical 'technique' for some 9 years now has been constituted
around the source of inspiration and the unfolding of its most perfect material
reflection - thus Integration (a reducing of the gap between Intention and
Result through the spiritualising of the Personality; Physical, Astral and
Mental vehicles of expression). Therefore, any formalistic preconceptions as to
what 'music' is may best he laid aside by the listener that he/she may the more
fully enter into the world of sound; to the Living Tones - within That greater
Being in Whom we live and move and have our being - God.
"There dwelleth in
the heart of every creature, 0 Arjuna! Ishwara, the Master, whose magic power
causeth every thing and creature to revolve mounted upon the universal wheel of
time." - Bhagavad-Gita.
For
the maintenance of well being each one of us is in need of a constant
attunement or alignment with that deep peace at the Centre of all Life. This
music is designed to provide a means, a 'bridge', towards this condition and
the "World of Tones" can attune the aspiring soul to the very Centre
of its Being, which, as the Pole Star, is completely at-One with God, the
Universal Being. This may sound like theorising but it is actually the result
of direct experience gained through the practice of deep meditation over the
years alongside of my spiritual service to life guided by the Elder brothers
who Know, see and understand the Way. Life is infinite and eternal. My search
for Truth continues into the horizons of infinity accompanied by the Heart of
Truth and following the Light of the Star of Christ.
What
is known as the Pythagorean "Music of the spheres" can be seen to
emphasise the world of relationships and the truth of the interrelatedness of
all the several facets of life; the worlds within worlds; the microcosm within
the macrocosm; or the many mansions of the heavenly Father's house. Music can
thus be said to have an affinity with those formative powers or principles, the
angelic brethren, and there are indeed angels of music whose 'form' embraces
all of the areas of the Pythagorean school of discipline and this becomes
apparent as we study or contemplate the metaphysical aspects of musical form.
For instance; in the principle of Emanationism expounded in the Pythagorean
philosophy we find a close resemblance to the inherent Hierarchical
relationship existing within the harmonic progressions (called in music Natural
Intonation) of any one gong or bell producing a whole world of living Tones
communicating and filling the spaces between the focal points which contrasts
with the 'empty' spaces between the intervals emphasised (called Equal
temperament) in the relationship between separate and isolated pitches/notes in
modern Western music.
Alignment with the creative powers behind and within my
inspiration necessitates that I work alone if the intrinsic purpose is to reach
its maximum realisation through a material musical form. Yet the need for a
wider combination of sound textures and relationships, than can be attained by
myself alone (i.e. as in 'live' performing situations), plus the highly complex
and vast range of tones and sounds within the physical space in which I work,
brings the advisability of recording certain instruments by themselves for the
sake of greater clarity and quality and these several factors contributed
towards the desirability for a pre-recorded backing-track, which then comes to
serve as a ritual pattern upon and within which the meditational inspiration
and aspiration/ improvisation takes place. Yet the two are One; interchangeable
- even as the Sun and Moon principles, which form the basis of this work, are
each dependent one upon the other in their inseparability; being here representative
of the Eucharistic Christian Sacraments. It is also interesting that this
recording is being released at that time when we have ended a 36-year Moon
cycle and are commencing a 36-year Sun cycle.
The
music on this album is not to be approached as if it were a 'solo’ album - it
is MUSIC, first and foremost. That it is played by one individual alone is of
secondary importance. Admittedly
percussion is not a field of instrumentation or sound-source most usually
associated with meditational music but I have spent half of my life in refining
the potential usages and in overcoming the initial restrictions imposed by this
musical medium of percussion. Therefore, please forget any idea that this is an
album of a percussionist performing solo - it is, I repeat, simply the
''music" which flows through this particular individual vehicle or
channel.
© Copyright by Frank Perry 1980. All rights reserved.
© Frank Perry, 1980. All of these articles are copyright. They may individually be copied and shared with others in a spirit of knowledge-sharing and fair play, but they may not be sold, printed or reproduced in quantity or changed in form without the permission of the copyright holder. None of this material may be reproduced in workshops or lectures of any kind unless quotes are credited or properly attributed.
Magazine and other editors may
e-mail me for permission to reprint. E-mail:
Taken from the original blue on white booklet accompanying
the !QUARTZ RECORDS (007) release of DEEP PEACE in 1980 and now included
in the joint booklet with the CELESTIAL HARMONIES (007) release of the
double CD DEEP PEACE / NEW ATLANTIS.
To check out the CD go to DEEP PEACE.
For more on spiritual Philosophy from inspired thinkers check out
