Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin

[Steven]

Hi,

Just came across a video of Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin performing "Jinbo Sanya."
Here's the link to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4HXTEOR4Jc .

Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin will be an interview guest on the WCHE Entertainment and Culture Show on March 25, 2011 at approximately 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time U.S. The interview will stream at:
http://www.wche1520.com/entertainmentandculture.htm .

[Diane]

Hi Steven. Good as always to see you around here. I listened to your Percy Sledge interview with as much interest as your one with Sharon Robinson - your warm and sincere manner with your guests is marvellous.

I have never heard of Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin before, and much enjoyed the link. Bamboo, and other reeds, fashioned into flutes, must have been amongst the earliest of musical instruments. I see that the bamboo flute/shakuhachi was used by zen monks in Japan for centuries in "blowing meditation".

I would love to hear the show, but will likely miss the live broadcast. If it's available, would you be so kind as to put up the direct link afterwards?

The sound is so beautifully sad. I am put in mind of Rumi's idea of the sound of a flute being the cry of mankind being separated from god:

Listen to the story told by the reed,
of being separated.

"Since I was cut from the reedbed,
I have made this crying sound.

Anyone apart from someone he loves
understands what I say.

Anyone pulled from a source
longs to go back.

At any gathering I am there,
mingling in the laughing and grieving,

a friend to each, but few
will hear the secrets hidden

within the notes. No ears for that.
Body flowing out of spirit,

spirit up from body: no concealing
that mixing. But it's not given us

to see the soul. The reed flute
is fire, not wind. Be that empty."

A craftsman pulled a reed from the reedbed,
cut holes in it, and called it a human being.

Since then, it's been wailing a tender agony
of parting, never mentioning the skill
that gave it life as a flute.

Rabindranath Tagore comes to mind too. He imagined us as flutes for god to blow upon e.g:

"O master poet, I have sat down at thy feet. Only let me make my life simple and straight, like a flute of reed for thee to fill with music."

[Steven]

Hi Diane,

Thanks for the kind words and for posting the words from Rumi and those of Tagore. The Rumi and Tagore words
bring Genesis 2:7 to mind, where God is said to breathe "the breath of life" into Adam. Breath is primal,
God or spirit is Source and the reed as an instrument can possibly... Wouldn't want to parse this line of thought, though.
If the interview becomes available on podcast, will post a link.

[Diane]

http://wche.podomatic.com/player/web/20 ... 6_43-07_00

Thanks everso Steven! A marvellous interview with Ronnie NYS. I am replaying the piece you played at the end, that you dedicated to the people of Japan.

The sound is deep and sorrowful and exquisite.

[Steven]

Hi Diane,

Thank you.

Ronnie Nyogestsu Reishin Seldin is scheduled to revisit the WCHE Entertainment and Culture Show
on Friday, April 15, 2011 at approximately 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time U.S. The interview will stream over
the internet via: http://www.wche1520.com/entertainmentandculture.htm.

[lizzytysh]

Look at what I've been missing.
I'll follow up on all of this when I get home.

[lizzytysh]

Well, getting home didn't goes as quickly as I'd planned. Your caring for your guest really comes through in the way you interview him and so graciously allow him all the time he wants to promote his work and activities. So rare that someone from our culture would grab hold with so much tenacity as to have stuck with this endeavour so long and to such an extent of development. I hope he continues to do as well as he clearly has been and that he plays a strong part in keeping his art alive. It's a unique sound and presentation and carries much history with it. Wonderful interview. When I saw its length, I wondered "Do I have the time right now?" but decided to at least start it, and I was very surprised to see how quickly the time went and I listened to it all in one sitting, without giving it a second thought. I love how he was named and how he has gone on to name others. Well done, Steven ... and it's so GOOD to finally hear you !!

[Steven]

Hi Lizzy,

Thank you for the kind words and for having listened. The podcast you heard has come down, and, in its place,
a new one is currently accessible with yesterday's revisit by Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin to the show:
http://wche.podomatic.com/player/web/20 ... 8_53-07_00.

[lizzytysh]

Oh! I'm glad I got there in time for it, Steven! Thanks for the new link, too. I'll listen to that, as well.