We live in a complex and contradictory age but sometimes we can be surprised by beautiful and poetic stories and thanks to the internet we can cancel the distances and share them in every corner of the world.
Paul lives in Thailand with his Khwan and a lovely little girl who was born of their love. Like me, he plays the piano, and for many years he has made me happy, performing my music with care and passion. Some time ago he brought his piano to an elephant sanctuary there in Thailand experiencing the effect of music on these giants. From this experience has been realized a beautiful documentary full of engaging images. Paul has played for them music by Debussy, Beethoven, Ravel, Joplin …. and also some of my compositions. You can not imagine my joy in seeing the reactions of Koko, an orphaned puppy still wild, rolling in the mud happy while Paul plays my “dear to me”

Info: https://www.timezones.it/

Sunday July 1st Alessandra Celletti will be guest on Battiti – Radio3 where she will play live some compositions from her latest album “Sacred Honey” .

https://www.raiplayradio.it/programmi/battiti/

Ho appena saputo che il mio amatissimo istruttore di volo, Ferdinando Verde è volato in cielo….questa volta senza l’aliante….Lui ha rappresentato tanto per me e gli volevo profondamente bene. Mi ha insegnato tante cose e soprattutto a superare la paura del vuoto….Era sempre allegro e molto affettuoso. Ora che è volato via… vola via con lui anche un pezzettino di me…ma non il desiderio di volare. E’ bello che venne ad ascoltarmi suonare quando portai il mio pianoforte sul camion in giro per l’Italia. Una delle tappe fu a San Cesareo (dove lui abitava negli ultimi anni)….Era commosso e anche io molto felice di rivederlo e ricordare i tanti voli che avevamo fatto insieme….Eccolo qui, al minuto 41’38″….ciao Verde! Buon volo….mi batte il cuore come prima del decollo

Gentile, elegante, bello….con una collezione di dischi da mille e una notte e una delicatezza che mi catturava ogni volta che avevo la fortuna di passarci un po’ di tempo insieme. Parlare di musica con Paolo era sempre come aprire uno scrigno di perle preziose, di suoni incantati… Sarò sempre grata a Paolo per avermi fatto partecipe delle sue tante conoscenze musicali, e anche per quel suo articolo su “Musica di Repubblica” che, quando ancora non ci conoscevamo, parlava proprio di me….io ero solo una giovane pianista un po’ timida e lui invece mi presentava con grandi apprezzamenti, quasi orgoglioso della sua “scoperta”. Avevo appena inciso un album di musiche dedicate a Gurdjieff e Paolo ne parlava con parole bellissime che a me sembrarono “troppo”, ma che ora vorrei condividere con voi, senza nascondere, in questo momento particolare, un miscuglio di gioia, di nostalgia, e di profonda tristezza. Più di una volta abbiamo trascorso lunghe ore negli studi rai di saxa rubra, condividendo il microfono dei suoi indimenticabili “Notturni Italiani”. La sua conduzione era originale e imprevedibile, ma sempre ricca di contenuti colti e mai lasciati al caso. Quando mi intervistava, sempre con garbo e fantasia, mi raccontava ogni volta qualcosa di me che ancora non sapevo… Proprio qualche giorno fa c’eravamo sentiti…Gli avevo appena spedito il mio nuovo album ,,,un altro disco dedicato a Gurdjjieff, l’autore che, 20 anni prima, ci aveva fatto conoscere. Non so se Paolo abbia fatto in tempo ad ascoltarlo perchè qualche giorno dopo mi ha avvertita che era in ospedale….poi non ho saputo più niente da lui. Ci sarebbero mille cose da dire di Paolo…mille sfumature, quelle stesse mille sfumature che lui amava tanto nei suoni… Grazie Paolo, grazie del tuo amore per la musica, grazie di averlo condiviso con me e con tutti noi.

Hidden Sources: Gurdjieff De Hartmann (Alessandra Celletti, piano)

Screenings:

5 June Rocca di Sassocorvaro – Premio Rotondi 21.00
7 June Sassocorvaro – auditorium mattina 10.30
8 June Roma – Cinema Farnese 15.00 – 17.30 – 20.30
11-12-13 June Roma – Cinema Barberini 16.00 – 17.30 – 19.00
11 June Milano – Cinema Oberdan 19.15
12 June Mantova – Cinema Mignon 21.00
12 June Ancona – Cinema Italia 21.30
12 June Pesaro – Cinema Solaris 21.00
12-13 June Pisa – Cinema Arsenale 12/6 18.30 – 13/6 20.30
13 June Roma – Cinema Farnese 17.15
16 June Milano – Il Cinemino 14.30
18-19 June Mantova – Cinema Mignon 20.00
19 June Firenze – Cinema La Compagnia 19.00
19-20 June Padova – Cinema Multisala Pio X 18.45 – 21.15
20 June Roma – Cinema Farnese 20.00
20 June Napoli – Cinema Modernissimo 21.00
21 June Bologna – Biografilm Festival – Cinema Galliera 19.00
22 June Urbino – Cinema Ducale 21.00
21-22-23-24 June – Cinema Farnese 16.00
25 June Civitanova Marche – Cecchetti 19.00 – 21.15
27 June – 4 July Firenze – Spazio Uno 27/6 21.30 P – poi orari vari
28 June Perugia – Cinema Zenith 19.30 – 21.00
29 June Taranto – Sala Bellarmino 21.30
4, 8, 9 July Festival di Spoleto – Sala Pegasus 4/7 16.00 – 8/7 22.15 – 9/7 20.00
13 July Genova – Arena Ducale 21.30

In the name of Antea is a documentary film of 2018, directed by Massimo Martella.
Duration 75 minutes.
Produced and distributed by Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Original music by Alessandra Celletti

The story of the cultural rescue mission of a group of young Italian officials of the fine arts during the Second World War who, despite their courage and dedication, remained in the shadows until recently. It is thanks to these brave people that today we can admire and show the whole world Caravaggio, Giorgione, Raffaello and many others. Making war in Italy was like fighting in “a bloody museum”; yet, that museum has survived and it is witness to the history of our identity, transmitting the universal value of beauty every day.

from June 5th the film-doc “Piano Piano on the road” will be available for free on youtube

SACRED HONEY

Gurdjieff / De Hartmann |||| Alessandra Celletti

CD [Bleriot 2018]

More than 20 years have passed since the release of “Hidden Sources”, the first album that I dedicated to the music of Gurdjieff and De Hartmann.

Yet, after so many years, I still remember the emotions I felt in the daily immersion in the study of such intense and profound melodies.

At that time I was living in Prague and the mysterious and hypnotic landscapes of Central Asia evoked by these compositions, mingled with the snow and the bitter cold of the Bohemian capital.

It was a strange alchemy.

So this year, after a long time, I thought of going back into the sacred atmospheres that Gurdjieff managed to explore during his countless journeys and brought to light thanks to the collaboration with De Hartmann.

This time, however, my piano is not alone.

For “Sacred Honey” I tried to imagine and recreate the exotic and esoteric sounds of the movements, hymns and sacred dances of Gurdjieff and I involved the multi-instrumentalist Daniele Ercoli who honored me with his participation with the sound of the double bass, the kaval and of the flugelhorn. In many of the compositions I created the electronic sounds myself and played the harmonium (an instrument very dear to Gurdjieff), that I bought in a small shop in Mumbai during one of my concerts in India.

I would like this new work to have the strength to transport into soundscapes full of charm and enchantment.

on the title: why Sacred Honey?

The word Sarmoung means “bee” and there are traces of a Confraternity of Sarmoung whose origins are lost in the mists of time; signs are found in Babylon since the days of Hammurabi.

The Sarmoung taught that objective knowledge is a material substance that can be harvested and stored like honey. It is believed that the Sarmounis (the bees) possessed teachings antecedent to The Flood.

Once again comes the metaphor of the Ark and although it is certainly possible that no real universal flood has ever occurred, it is probable that the Sarmoungs referred to their responsibility to keep safe the Ark of ancient wisdom through the floods of time.

It seems that this confraternity had recorded the destructions and periodic rebirths of humanity believing that its tradition represented an eternal and unchanging nucleus of wisdom to which humanity could always draw.

At critical moments in history, the Sarmoungs distributed their “honey” throughout the world through duly trained agents.

The traveler, scholar of metaphysics and of ancient religions John Bennett, believed that the symbol of the enneagram at the base of Gurdjieff’s teaching, as well as the knowledge of the Law of Seven,

the law which according to the mystical Armenian, regulates every process of change and many of his sacred dances, had arisen from the Sarmoung Brotherhood. [*]

The cd album will be released on April 2018

Listen to Sacred Honey here

[*] http://ggurdjieff.it/