G. I. Gurdjieff
Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff (January 13, 1866? – October 29, 1949) was a Gr… Read Full Bio ↴Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff (January 13, 1866? – October 29, 1949) was a Greek-Armenian mystic and self-professed ‘teacher of dancing’. He called his discipline "The Work" (connoting "work on oneself") according to Gurdjieff's principles and instructions, or (originally) the "Fourth Way". At one point he described his teaching as "esoteric Christianity".
At different times in his life Gurdjieff formed and closed various schools around the world which followed his teachings. He claimed that the teachings he brought to the West from his own experiences and early travels expressed the truth found in ancient religions and wisdom teachings relating to self-awareness in people's daily lives and humanity's place in the universe. One could express the essence of his teachings in the title of his third series of writings: Life Is Real Only Then, When 'I Am', while his complete series of books goes under the name "All and Everything".
Gurdjieff was also a composer. The Gurdjieff music divides into three distinct periods. The first period is the early music, including music from the ballet Struggle of the Magicians and music for early Movements, dating to the years around 1918.
The second period music, for which Gurdjieff arguably became best known, written in collaboration with Russian composer Thomas de Hartmann, is described as the Gurdjieff-de Hartmann music. Dating to the mid 1920s, it offers a rich repertory with roots in Caucasian and Central Asian folk and religious music, Russian Orthodox liturgical music, and other sources. This music was often first heard, and even composed, in the salon at the Prieure. Since the publication of four volumes of this piano repertory by Schott, recently completed, there has been a wealth of new recordings, including orchestral versions of music prepared by Gurdjieff and de Hartmann for the Movements demonstrations of 1923-24.
The last musical period is the improvised harmonium music which often followed the dinners Gurdjieff held in his Paris apartment during the Occupation and immediate post-war years, to his death in 1949. A virtually encyclopedic recording of surviving tapes of Gurdjieff improvising on the harmonium was recently published.
In all, Gurdjieff in collaboration with de Hartmann composed some 200 pieces.
Recordings:
* G.I. Gurdjieff Sacred Hymns, by Keith Jarrett (ECM, 1980)
* Seekers of the Truth: The Complete Piano Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann, Volume One, by Cecil Lytle (Celestial Harmonies, 1992)
* Reading of a Sacred Book: The Complete Piano Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann, Volume Two, by Cecil Lytle (Celestial Harmonies, 1992)
* Words for a Hymn to the Sun: The Complete Piano Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann, Volume Three, by Cecil Lytle (Celestial Harmonies, 1992)
* Gurdjieff's Music for the Movements, by Wim van Dullemen (Channel Classics, 1999)
* Thomas de Hartmann: Music for Gurdjieff's '39 Series' , by Wim van Dullemen (Channel Classics, 2001)
* Chants, Hymns and Dances, by Anja Lechner and Vassilis Tsabropoulos (ECM, 2004)
* Melos, by Anja Lechner, Vassilis Tsabropoulos and U.T. Gandhi (ECM, 2008)
At different times in his life Gurdjieff formed and closed various schools around the world which followed his teachings. He claimed that the teachings he brought to the West from his own experiences and early travels expressed the truth found in ancient religions and wisdom teachings relating to self-awareness in people's daily lives and humanity's place in the universe. One could express the essence of his teachings in the title of his third series of writings: Life Is Real Only Then, When 'I Am', while his complete series of books goes under the name "All and Everything".
Gurdjieff was also a composer. The Gurdjieff music divides into three distinct periods. The first period is the early music, including music from the ballet Struggle of the Magicians and music for early Movements, dating to the years around 1918.
The second period music, for which Gurdjieff arguably became best known, written in collaboration with Russian composer Thomas de Hartmann, is described as the Gurdjieff-de Hartmann music. Dating to the mid 1920s, it offers a rich repertory with roots in Caucasian and Central Asian folk and religious music, Russian Orthodox liturgical music, and other sources. This music was often first heard, and even composed, in the salon at the Prieure. Since the publication of four volumes of this piano repertory by Schott, recently completed, there has been a wealth of new recordings, including orchestral versions of music prepared by Gurdjieff and de Hartmann for the Movements demonstrations of 1923-24.
The last musical period is the improvised harmonium music which often followed the dinners Gurdjieff held in his Paris apartment during the Occupation and immediate post-war years, to his death in 1949. A virtually encyclopedic recording of surviving tapes of Gurdjieff improvising on the harmonium was recently published.
In all, Gurdjieff in collaboration with de Hartmann composed some 200 pieces.
Recordings:
* G.I. Gurdjieff Sacred Hymns, by Keith Jarrett (ECM, 1980)
* Seekers of the Truth: The Complete Piano Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann, Volume One, by Cecil Lytle (Celestial Harmonies, 1992)
* Reading of a Sacred Book: The Complete Piano Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann, Volume Two, by Cecil Lytle (Celestial Harmonies, 1992)
* Words for a Hymn to the Sun: The Complete Piano Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann, Volume Three, by Cecil Lytle (Celestial Harmonies, 1992)
* Gurdjieff's Music for the Movements, by Wim van Dullemen (Channel Classics, 1999)
* Thomas de Hartmann: Music for Gurdjieff's '39 Series' , by Wim van Dullemen (Channel Classics, 2001)
* Chants, Hymns and Dances, by Anja Lechner and Vassilis Tsabropoulos (ECM, 2004)
* Melos, by Anja Lechner, Vassilis Tsabropoulos and U.T. Gandhi (ECM, 2008)
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G. I. Gurdjieff Lyrics
Interlude I B.I.G. is making this cream Bitches always say what the hell…
Interlude II Walking to the apartment, it's hard to get in I'm sloppy…
Meditation You talkin' hard but you're baby soft They callin' but I…
Prayer 대체 너는 어디 있나 (uh uh) 아무리 찾아봐도 난 모르겠어 (hush) 아무나…
The Waltz Day alone in house A corpse of dead mouse Trying not to…