Message-ID: <alpine.NEB.2.20.1601211313320.18527@panix3.panix.com>
From: Alan Sondheim <sondheim@panix.com>
To: Cyb <cybermind@listserv.wvu.edu>, Wryting-L <WRYTING-L@listserv.wvu.edu>
Subject: Sad and Hopeful Song for Ossi the Cat
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2016 13:17:21 -0500 (EST)
Sad and Hopeful Song for Ossi the Cat Ossi http://www.alansondheim.org/ossi1.jpg http://www.alansondheim.org/forossi.mp3 http://www.alansondheim.org/ossi0.jpg http://www.alansondheim.org/ossinow1.jpg Guzheng http://www.alansondheim.org/insts01.jpg The guzheng is a Chinese zither, plucked on the right-hand side, which is tuned with both pegs and bridges. The left-hand side is 'out of tune,' and the strings are pressed down on the left to raise the pitch on the right. Think of the left-hand side as a support structure, an abject cacophony of potential sound, an existence in the depths, played when the soul is deeper than scales and perfect tuning. (I play back and forth, among the fields in this piece.) But the left is also, I think, the field of spirit, of universal cosmology, of dark matter, and here I play for our cat, Ossi Oswalda, who is doing poorly now, but still with us, after ten seizures over four days three months ago, and those numbers are meaningless as we stay close to her and hope for the best. The piece is a threnody of hope, listen, (she did, but then she had no choice!), thanks.
