PAINTING AND MUSIC

 

 

 

From time to time I am inspired to create a piece of music from one of the paintings of Russian artist Nicholas Roerich (1874 - 1947). I began to give public performances of improvisations featuring a selection of coloured transparencies of Roerich's artworks based upon a common theme in 1977 with an extra set of coloured transparencies leant to myself by Kenneth Archer. I also lived in an upstairs flat above a shop in Hornsey, North London, with my young family (from 1976 - 1983) and had my musical equipment set up permanently in what would have been the living room with three large sash-cramp windows facing onto the road outside. I would often wake in the middle of the night and feel inspired to play and would often record these improvisations. In February of 1978 I was inspired to improvise upon the painting Pink Mountains by Professor. Roerich. This might have been the first time that I chose one painting for an improvisation - I'm not entirely sure. Certainly, from this time onwards such occurrences grew.

Below the sequence of paintings from 1983 starting with AGNI YOGA were for a project entitled SOUL EMANATIONS OF A GREAT ONE. For that I loosely grouped Roerich's paintings around the theme of the 12 signs of the Zodiac. For more on that project please click HERE

 

NEW

If you would like to explore this idea further there are six audio-visuals each featuring a selection of the paintings of Nicholas Roerich alongside the mediation music of Frank on his Tibetan Singing Bowls, Tibetan Bell's, Gongs, etc on youtube free to view. 

Either click on youtube here or visit their site and Search for Frank Perry.

 

If you have an interest in the relationship that musicians or composers have found between particular paintings or the works of particular artists and their own musical creativity then you may wish to follow the links below where you will be able to view the paintings concerned alongside a short clip of the music as this manifests itself in my own work.

 

PINK MOUNTAINS (1978) 

FROM BEYOND  (1982) 

UNKNOWN SINGER  (1983)  

AGNI YOGA  (1983)   

BUDDHA THE CONQUEROR  (1983)     

COMMAND OF THE MASTER  (1983)      

MOTHER OF THE WORLD  (1983)      

SIGNS OF CHRIST  (1983)      

MOHAMMED ON MOUNT HIRA  (1983)      

FROM BEYOND  (1983)      

NAGARJUNA CONQUEROR OF THE SERPENT  (1983)      

OIROT, MESSENGER OF THE WHITE BURKHAN  (1983)      

BURNING OF DARKNESS  (1983)      

KRISHNA  (1983)      

COMPASSION  (1983)  

FIRE BLOSSOM (1984)

MOST SACRED (TREASURE OF THE MOUNTAIN) (1995) 

NORTHERN MIDNIGHT (1996)

LUMEN COELI (1999)  

ARHAT (2004)

BEDA THE PREACHER (2004)  

MAITREYA ON THE ROAD (2004)

BASGO - STRONGHOLD OF TIBET (2004)       

SISSU (2004) 

MAITREYA. TIBET (2004) 

THANG-LA (2004)   

GUARDIAN OF THE DESERT (2004) 

OM in the Mountains (?) (2004)

BOOK OF LIFE (2005)    

MILAREPA, THE ONE WHO HEARKENED (2005)   

STRONGHOLD OF TIBET (2005)    

TIGER'S NEST (2005)   

ON THE HEIGHTS (TUMO) (2005)  

MORNING PRAYER (2005)   

IN THOUGHT (2007)

LOTUS (2007)

SHARUGON MONASTERY (2007)

rDORJE THE DARING (2007)

KALKI AVATAR  (2007)

CHRIST (2007)