Sacred Beauty, Human Being
Professor Reynaldo Reyes, piano

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Sacred Beauty, Human Being         dedicated to Craig Benjamin Stevens in memory  I asked myself the question, "What is Beauty?"  I have now spent nearly a year of my life considering the answer.  What a journey it has been! I believe that beauty cannot be objectified.  We say, "Oh, flowers are beautiful."  "I just love this painting, it's so beautiful."  We use beauty as a way to comment on objects.  How we deceive ourselves, and from what wonders!!  We forget that the flower, the painting, the object exists in time, as do we.  What we share when we see beauty, and particularly when we find a deeply rooted beauty that touches something in the core of ourselves, is an experience that exists in time.   Beauty is not the object itself, but is the time, the experience, that we as observers relate to the world around us in such a way that it resonates deeply within us; and, at the same time, that the world relates to us. What does that mean for this piece?  First, I wanted this piece to embrace a process of discovery.  Therefore, all of the fully notated music at the end of this piece stems from improvisations that I recorded and then transcribed, edited, and then used as the foundations for the composition.  Second, I wanted the performer to have a world in which he could interact constructively, to contribute and resonate.  I wanted the piece to provide an open dialogue between my thoughts and the performer so that realm of experience where beauty lies may be exposed.  It was for this reason that I chose to use an open form (free improvisation).  In the open form, I've attempted to lay out multiple paths of ideas to inspire and direct the performer.  Third, while meaningful and beautiful relationships are easy to identify all around us, they are difficult to maintain.  It takes work and effort to actively be aware and attentive to the world around you.  It takes work to know beauty.  It is for this reason that I have chosen a trajectory for the piece that moves from the easy freedom of open form to a disciplined and difficult notation by the end.  And the paradox is that what is difficult work is at the same time natural and pure; is at the same time, beautiful. So, with that, I say to you: May this piece go with beauty.  May beauty come with peace.  And May You go with a peaceful beauty...