A Little Bit of Astrology

Over the past few years, I've unexpectedly got a bit into astrology. Many songs on this album, and even the title, refer to it. Actually, this is something that for half of my life I disregarded as nonsense, even anti-science. However, personal experiences, encounters with special people over the years, and personal observation in this field, have made me let go of this prejudgement. I came to realize that it is a very old tradition which is rooted in centuries of observing patterns. It simply sees us humans, not as detached from the universe, but as an interconnected part of it, and puts our lives in relation to the cosmos around it. It seems that only the detached, modern and egocentric human mind is willing to see itself as this free-willed individual that can’t possibly be influenced by the time, the place, by all of the circumstances present, when it came into existence.

Over the past few years, I've unexpectedly got a bit into astrology. Many songs on this album, and even the title, refer to it. Actually, this is something that for half of my life I disregarded as nonsense, even anti-science. However, personal experiences, encounters with special people over the years, and personal observation in this field, have made me let go of this prejudgement. I came to realize that it is a very old tradition which is rooted in centuries of observing patterns. It simply sees us humans, not as detached from the universe, but as an interconnected part of it, and puts our lives in relation to the cosmos around it. It seems that only the detached, modern and egocentric human mind is willing to see itself as this free-willed individual that can’t possibly be influenced by the time, the place, by all of the circumstances present, when it came into existence.

It is striking that two of the true classics in English orchestral music were composed within the short space of some fifteen years around the turn of the previous century. Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations have charmed as well as fascinated listeners since the first performance in 1899. In 14 remarkably diverse variations Elgar demonstrates his compositional mastery while creating miniature portraits of his closest friends, as well as of his wife and himself.