Monthly Archives: May 2015

May 28

Inter-instrumentality in J.S. Bach

By Lars Rosager | Music

Hi everyone, hope you’re well. For my lecture-concert on July 12 at Forest Hill Concerts in San Francisco I will be discussing the idea of inter-instrumentality in the music of J.S. Bach. Along with performances of pieces arranged for the seven-string guitar, an instrument for which Bach did not specifically compose, there will be an in-depth discussion of how Bach worked across idiomatic divides.

Pleasing the tastes and understanding the limitations of instrumentalists has long been an aspect with which composers struggle. Iff you are interested, please consider attending this event or pass on the information to someone you know may enjoy it. Many thanks!

May 16

Private Students

By Lars Rosager | Music

Hi, everyone. Many thanks for following my activity through the various online media we have at our disposal. I am looking to take on private students in music, language arts, astrology, or any combination of the above. It would be a great pleasure to work with new people in voice, guitar playing, composition, theory . . . the list goes on, really. My historical research has been inspiring me to reach out to those who could benefit from an experienced teacher. If what I do seems like it could benefit your learning in music, writing, astrology, a combination thereof, or some related field, please be in touch with me or pass my name and information on to those you may know who are looking to learn. Thanks again. Bless.

May 12

Andy Warhol’s “Stringed Instruments”

By Lars Rosager | Uncategorized

How may the painting “Stringed Instruments” by Andy Warhol be seen to correlate with spiritual systems in which the painting’s color progression plays a central role (e.g., Indian chakras, astrology)? To observe the red (infrared) move into purple (ultraviolet), and finally open up into a black-and-white phase is a reminder that similar colors have been used in representing the ascent of the spirit through the seven heavens.

Warhol’s employment of instruments, particularly stringed instruments, interests me greatly. As a scholar of the history of the guitar and its humanistic implications, I am drawn to the notable absence of any bow in Warhol’s painting. While the subjects appear to be bowed stringed instruments, it must be remembered that prior to the delineation between plucked and bowed stringed instruments, the medieval period saw a single instrument that could be sounded with a plectrum, a bow, or the hand.

Was Warhol’s color scheme just chance? Was he aware of a history of stringed instruments that places them within the context of significant spiritual development? I have not researched the specifics of this piece by Warhol, but I find it could be significant in showing the longevity of cosmologies that hold the precursors of the guitar to be instruments that lead the human spirit toward enlightenment. Picture Picture