The Australian composer, Peter Sculthorpe (1929-2014), who has just passed away (photo courtesy ABC)
Sad news comes from musician Graham Ranft about the death of the famed Australian composer, Peter Sculthorpe at the age of 85.
Graham writes that ‘His music is about the earth, the dreamtime and the Australian landscape.’ Clearly the following passage was underwritten by similar sentiments, and as someone with Viking roots myself, I find myself very much in sympathy with his statement… (taken from this page):
“I stayed in a Zen Buddhist monastery and soon discovered it wasn’t for me. I had to divest myself of possessions, and I had previously bought a wonderful ancient gilded Japanese Buddha, which I had to put in a locker in the Kyoto railway station. Often I’d sneak out to the railway station just to have a look at it.
While in Japan I discovered Shintoism, a wonderful religion that is concerned with the sacred in all things. I was easily able to relate it to my own pantheistic beliefs. There was a famous garden at the Buddhist temple I stayed at in Kyoto, and if you looked carefully, all the plants and trees were pulled into shape with little wires.
At the Shinto shrine everything grew as nature intended”…
Thanks for sourcing the above quote to Graham Ranft, who adds, ‘He was a wonderful speaker and I heard him speak live at least twice..witty and civilised with a lovely speaking voice.’
Another aspect of Australia that I’ve learnt about from Green Shinto, in addition to the 70th anniversary of the Japanese escape at Cowra. You can understand why I read each post with interest! You never know what you might learn. Unlike the Cowra anniversary, we have heard of Peter Sculthorpe’s passing in the media, especially as he was born in Tasmania. I wasn’t aware of his interest in Shinto though. It makes sense given his strong connections to Indigenous Australians and nature. There’s another quote from Peter I really like that brings these elements together “While on the surface it might appear to be painting a picture, I mean what I’m really doing … is seeking the sacred in nature,” Thank-you to John and Graham once again.