You have written a great deal of music, have you experienced Joy while doing this?
I have always had interest in all the Arts. My approach to God, in a sense, has been artistic.
The Twentieth Century was a time of chaos in the Arts. You see the work of Picasso with eyes “like this” which seems schizophrenic. The only thing good about Picasso that I know is that he did have a good sense of humor. One time, somebody placed a painting of his and he said “That is fake Picasso.” The person replied “But it has your signature on it.” “Well, I can paint a fake Picasso as well as anyone else!”.
I enjoyed that humor but I cannot say I enjoyed his paintings because they seem to me psychologically skewed. Modern painting: They first thought that everything should be impressionistic, then realistic, then surrealistic. To me, there is no “ism” in the arts, but it should express something that will inspire you to be a better human being.
I do like paintings in my house that I would either like the painter – the artist or I would like what he did; I would like his subject – something that inspires, something that uplifts. I think the purpose of art is to improve life by giving us a deeper enjoyment of life itself. Any other kind of art is a complete distortion, an insult to our intelligence and a very unfortunate direction which indicates, to my mind, a complete lack of faith.
When there has been faith, there has been great art. The ugliness of most art today is an indication that people see everything as meaningless and life itself is meaningless…no happiness, no love, no uplifting qualities of any kind. I have done my best, in my life, to counteract.
On the surface, your music has a simple style, yet many find it deeply spiritual. How do you explain this?
Jesus Christ said, “Suffer little children who come unto me, for as such, is the Kingdom of God.” We have to understand that there is a great difference between wisdom and complexity.
God, who created this vast and infinitely complicated universe, is, at the same time, childlike. How is this possible? I have asked myself this question. I have found the answer in myself. The more I can reduce my sense of ego, of “doerism” or “doership”, the more I find that he can express through me.
My music, is not so much simple, as it is childlike and divinely inspired. I don’t write it myself. I have a desire to write something about something, I ask a question. “Give me a melody that says that.” All of a sudden, there it is.
To me, simplicity and beauty go hand in hand. Simplicity is not stupidity. It is not false innocence. It is a stripping of oneself – of every personal wish, desire and attachment. You find the more you can reduce yourself to that level, the more real inspiration comes to you.
Sometimes the inspiration I have been given has been entirely the opposite of what, I myself, was expecting. When it came, there it was and I just wrote it. One time – you know, god is not always serious – sometimes the inspiration he gives you is quite humorous. I had been to Romania and seen the castle Bran which was not Dracula’s castle but Romania makes a lot of money on tourists coming to see it so they say ‘O.k. Here is Dracula’s Castle.’
I took photographs of Castle Bran when I went to Romania and decided to have music for it. When I got to Dracula’s Castel, I thought “Well this is going to be a tough one!” I didn’t know what to do so I just put my hand on the piano and I said “God, give me a good melody.” Suddenly it came .. “Bmm, Bmm, Bmm, bmm..” I laughed so hard…But it was perfect for that piece of music.
I have seen that when I ask God for help, I go to the heart of what it is that I am trying to express and it is there. And, it is simple. In fact, I would go so far to say that if it were complex, I would suspect it.
Beauty is always…there is something childlike about it because it comes from the heart. True beauty is not rational. It is not something we work out with reason. It is something we recognize.