Beethoven, César Franck, Wagner, and Bach: The Mother's observations

 

Beethoven in 1823 by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller

Among the great modern musicians there have been several whose consciousness, when they created, came into touch with a higher consciousness. César Franck played on the organ as one inspired; he had an opening into the psychic life and he was conscious of it and to a great extent expressed it. Beethoven, when he composed the Ninth Symphony, had the vision of an opening into a higher world and of the descent of a higher world into this earthly plane. Wagner had strong and powerful intimations of the occult world; he had the instinct of occultism and the sense of the occult and through it he received his greatest inspirations. But he worked mainly on the vital level and his mind came inconstantly to interfere and mechanised his inspiration. His work for the greater part is too mixed, too often obscure and heavy, although powerful. But when he could cross the vital and the mental levels and reach a higher world, some of the glimpses he had were of an exceptional beauty, as in Parsifal, in some parts of Tristan and Iseult and most in its last great Act.

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There is a domain far above the mind which we could call the world of Harmony and, if you can reach there, you will find the root of all harmony that has been manifested in whatever form upon earth. For instance, there is a certain line of music, consisting of a few supreme notes, that was behind the productions of two artists who came one after another—one a concerto of Bach, another a concerto of Beethoven. The two are not alike on paper and differ to the outward ear, but in their essence they are the same. One and the same vibration of consciousness, one wave of significant harmony touched both these artists. Beethoven caught a larger part, but in him it was more mixed with the inventions and interpolations of his mind;Bach received less, but what he seized of it was purer. The vibration was that of the victorious emergence of consciousness, consciousness tearing itself out of the womb of unconsciousness in a triumphant uprising and birth.

- The Mother

Source: Excerpts - 28 July 1929, Questions and Answers, Collected Works of the Mother, Volume 3, Pages 110-113

(The above text is not exhaustive of the Mother's words on the musicians.) 

Image: 1823, Wikipedia. (Beethoven composed the Ninth Symphony between 1822-24)

Hero by Mariah Carey

"Mariah Carey is the best-selling female artist of all time with more than 200 million albums sold to date and 19 Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles (18 self-penned), more than any solo artist in history. Mariah is a singer/songwriter/producer recognized with multiple Grammy Awards, numerous American Music Awards, Billboard's 'Artist of the Decade' Award, the World Music Award for 'World's Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium' and BMI's 'Icon Award' for her outstanding achievements in songwriting, to name a few – with her distinct five-octave vocal range, prolific songwriting, and producing talent, Mariah is truly the template of the modern pop performance. " (Excerpt from the description on Maria Carey's YouTube channel.) 

Mariah's "Hero" is regarded as one of her most inspirational songs. The core message: the hero is not someone to be found outside but within oneself. He is neither a world-saving superman nor a genius who builds a business empire like Steve Jobs or destroys a world-threatening evil project like James Bond. Heroism is in everyone who finds the inner strength to keep moving towards the realisation of one's dream, feeling also the presence of the Divine. Love is also not to be found outside but by searching within. The spirit of the song is to emphasise a soul-centric inner life to transform the external life. 

Interestingly, the concept of transformation of life by the discovery and influence of the soul within a human being is an essential aspect of Sri Aurobindo's (1872-1950, India) vision of human evolution. The Mother (1876-1973, born in Paris, France), who created Sri Aurobindo Ashram and founded Auroville in India, while encouraging the publication of a book titled "On the Way to Supermanhood" written by an Ashram inmate, Satprem, observed in 1971: "I personally have the feeling there is a close and invisible connection between America’s aspiration, as it is now, and the book." Mariah Carey's song of 1993 might be inspired by that aspiration. 

Released on 19th October 1993, "Hero" was a creation of Mariah Carey and record producer Walter Afanasieff and was part of their album "Music Box". The song was a global success, reaching the top five in Canada, France, Ireland, New Zealand and Norway, the top ten in Australia and the United Kingdom, and number one in America. 

The "Hero" video posted on "Timeless Music and Talks" now is Mariah Carey's rendition on 29 September 1993, in the year of its release. However, perhaps the best Mariah Carey rendition of "Hero" is the one posted on her channel 15 years ago. It's stunning to see the vast improvement in the singer's presentation of the song – theme articulation, smoothness of singing and hold over the audience – compared to the launch year renditions. This is the link to that: https://youtu.be/0IA3ZvCkRkQ?si=6ZdO3_L8XlkWvz3w 

The lyrics of the song are displayed on the video as subtitles so that the wider audience can understand and appreciate it better.

Click the link to watch the music video: https://youtu.be/sa7YbaXKZng