Greetings, Dumas, and fellow Achaeans.

First, to congratulate you on this month of Scarlatan - oh, what a month
to be talking of arts and music - on your posts on the Arts of
Scarlatti. Bringing forth light upon the ways of Scarlatti and the Arts
in Achaea is our duty, and you've been doing it very well.

On the essence of Art, I have a couple thoughts.

The musician plays, sitting on the bridge somewhere. He is putting forth
his essence into the world. He is giving up his own emotions into a
melody that comes straight from his soul, through his fingertips and
into the world. Is he really losing essence if no one comes to hear it?
Or does he feel stronger if the emotions that trouble his mind leave him
with it?

People come, brought by the distant sound of a Lute. They pay attention,
their eyes and ears turned only to the musician and his song, his
essence pouring forth into the air and making they feel. The Bard puts
his emotion into the song, and into the people listening to it. He
gently pulls them closer to him and to his own thought. Can he make the
feeling so strong as to overcome the audience's conscience? Methinks it
would be against Scarlatti's wishes to ensnare people in one's own music
agai

People turn away, or worse, throw rotten vegetables at a musician (it
could happen:). They can't hurt the artists essence, but can they hurt
his will to play?

If there's no essence in one's soul... the musician feels empty and
overcome by fatigue. Then he is struck by a flash of inspiration, and
out of his own soul he produces the essence he needs, in a mad attempt
to catch an image that the Muses set in his head - What is this energy
that comes out of nowhere and lifts one's soul, when he's all out of
will, to find within himself the essence he needs to proceed? Is it like
death, when Sarapis blows into our hearts the life essence we need,
Would it

If one makes of music an instrument to ensnare and dominate, as I
believe such evil possible, is the essence he gets of a dark matter? If
one instills fear, he can only receive fearsome thoughts in response,
and these will never become music bright and joyful, for one that sings
of sorrow only puts sorrow into the world. Scarlatti never stated his
art as good
or evil, and we know he can sing of sorrows as well as he can of joy.

So, Music is essence pouring forth from us, into the world. It reaches
folk and sets on them its essence, which is returned in the form of a
good or bad response of the audience.

I'd have a little comments on your account of the instrumewnt, Dumas
(specially on others you did not talk of), but my time is short today.

I welcome your comments and critiscism with open arms, yeknowe.
Soon I'll post my thoughts on the ways a follower of Scarlatti can put
forth his essence in a most lasting, but static form - paintings,
sculpture, and those.

Scarlatti Bless your Days with Colours Many,
~ikiepu


Penned by my hand on the 4th of Scarlatan, in the year 346 AF.