Phase3 – composition and sharing
Phase3 of “Following the monk seal” is now happening! I’m writing new music ad starting to share it in open rehearsals…
The writing process has been deeper and broader than I expected. I must thank the direct field experience for this, and the support of such an inspiring community as Creature Conserve’s, but also the timing of these experiences, coming after quite a long pause in music making.
Getting to this point hasn’t been all easy. I come from a time of needed healing, and new challenges can still sometimes trigger me back to anxious dynamics. As I read back through my notes from the field, I found a worried feeling underlying my reflections, and a lot of self-doubt.
I was preoccupied not to be up to the tasks, of getting in the way of the researchers… This lasted for most of my stay, despite the support I received; I was worried to let it show, so I tried to manage these thoughts in my alone time instead of talking about them. I hope I’ll be more open to embrace my vulnerability in the future, as I am trying to do now, writing about this 🙂
Something happened towards the end of my journey which apparently had not much to do with seals…but ended up being a turning point for me.
Because of a little mess I had made weeks before, not registering properly for my University entrance exam, I ended up having the take a test online while in Kefalonia. Unfortunately weather conditions made it so that the most exciting field day of all -the one of the boat-based surveys- happened on the day of my test.
So I had to miss that trip. But I ended up giving a lift to Aliki Panou, the project co-ordinator and Dr Luigi Bundone to the harbor, on the opposite side of the island.
I guess driving started shifting my perspective things: I was back in the pilot’s seat… after dropping Aliki and Luigi off, I was on my way back to Trifilli with a couple hours to spare. I planned to mentally prepare for the exam and take some quiet time before it started -and probably end up staring at the screen until the link was activated. But I decided to go and conduct a cave observation instead!
Why the change of heart? well, singing had something to do with it…
I knew where to go: we had been visiting that cave a couple of times, and I could roughly predict timings to get there and back to Lourdata in time for my test; but I needed to be precise, because if I missed this exam, I would have missed the opportunity to start Uni this year.
I also knew there was no guarantee I was going to see any seal. All trips considered, I was going to have just under an hour of observation.
I went for it, and it was one of the best decisions lately. I spent a blissful 40 minutes observing the cave from above, noting down hikers presence, changes in wave height and the iridescent passage of a beautiful kingfisher.
As I prepared to call it a day, I thought I saw a tiny dark shape quickly exiting the grotto and submerging straight after. It then came up again, closer to where I was standing. It was a monk seal pup, a tiny one 🙂
I changed my position guessing where it was headed, hoping to get a picture or video, a useful proof that that cave was being used for reproductive purposes. After a few minutes, the pup came out again …right below me 🙂
It was the most extraordinary feeling, to be close to such a small individual -later on Aliki would point out that the video shows a glimpse of its white belly patch: it had not molted yet.
The little one dove back into the murky water (you can catch a glimpse of it below). After a few minutes an older individual approached the same grotto from the gulf, and entered. I was so grateful of these encounters and went off to pass my test with a beaming heart 🙂
That sensation stays with me now and when I consider all the new things I have been exploring in the past few months: going back to uni, writing music again, moving to a new city…
I think of that moment when driving on mount Enos I decided not to take the road back to the pension, and go for that spontaneous observation. It made the difference, it made me remember how good it feels to stay in the flow of events, keep the channel open, play. I keep thinking to myself : “welcome back”.
THE PROCESS
So to this new music!
It all started driving on mount Enos, and one key ingredient was -goats!
During my short driving experience around Kefalonia, Goats felt like the undiscussed gods of the road. Jumping up and down the mountain and crossing with nonchalance, they reminded me a bit of wild boars in Italy. Meeting them (and watching out for them) on the road inspired some playful goat-themed vocal improvisation… I recorded it while traveling and this is now transforming into the first minuet of the Seal’s Suite!
Soon after these goat encounters I started “singing my way” as I drove along: I needed to take a specific turn to get back to Lourdata, so I made the directions I received from Aliki into a song, not to get too distracted by the wonderful scenery. But the singing turned out to be a direction in itself… which took me elsewhere – as I mentioned before 🙂
Singing is an instant rooting tool for me – even when I don’t have a cello available, creating vibrations and resonance always brings me back to my body and helps me re-focus in the present moment.
I believe that it was quite important in supporting my decision that day, to take a little risk and follow the flow.
So, this new music isn’t going to be just about the seals… I wish for all these different experiences and layers to be part of it.
As I tried to visualize their point of confluence in a sketch, each journey took the shape of a different path converging -the mood swings, the scientific approach… and a singing road trip, which gave me new perspectives on how I can be myself in both 🙂
I’m still open to new turns in this process but here is what I got so far:
Seals are mysterious creatures… we know little about them, and this is exciting! they represent to me, the beauty and fascination of the mysteries we all embody. The sides of ourselves we don’t know yet, or that have yet to unfurl… The care for these wilder spaces inside us, individually as much as collectively, is of deep importance to me.
So I wish not to assume things about the seals or speak for them; I’d rather share what following them, observing them and being in the same space and medium with them, inspired in me.
Sea caves are deeply evocative spaces: they are intersections between worlds, water and land, darkness and light. They can metaphorically represent places to go, to get in touch with our wilder sides, but also enjoy a deep rest in ways we rarely allow ourselves these days; spaces where to be vulnerable safely and share these sides of ourselves with others. I believe these dynamics are much connected with creativity in our lives; creativity lies in all problem solving done with enjoyment.. from changing a light bulb to writing a symphony and everything in between, that is art to me! And being in touch with our wilder sides has a lot in common with diving into our creative flow.
I wish to support spaces where we can enjoy this beautiful side of being alive together.
I hope this will also inspire us to care for this multidiversity… biodiversity, human and creative diversity, both in our ecosystems and in our communities as well as our inner lives.
Sometimes, other mysterious animals and art can be the inspiration we need to start…
So alongside the Seal’s suite which will be a performative form, I want to develop these new pieces into something more of a workshop structure .
With inspiration coming from the fieldwork, the creative process and these reflections unfurling on vulnerability, diversity and ecology, I wish this music to make a welcoming space for everyone to join, to explore their creative process. That through listening, but also moving, singing, resting together, we may visit our inner sea caves and take care of our wilder sides… follow our metaphorical monk seals towards new creative spaces and practices 🙂
You’ll find more of this here as all the ideas unfurl!
Meanwhile, I had the wonderful opportunity to start sharing the work-in progress Seal Suite pieces at the wonderful FUDDA festival in Catania, Sicily last week!
It has been awesome to share music stories and a lot of laughter with this inspiring, warm community in the spaces of Trame di Quartiere, inside the very special neighborhood of San Berillo. Please read more about this association and how you can support their wonderful work here: https://www.tramediquartiere.org/
Thank you to Trame and Fudda for having me -I had the most wonderful time and I can’t wait to come back 🙂
Another performance of the first Seal’s Suite pieces is happening this Friday at Artspace BIBOX in Biella, for the opening of dear friend Andrea Dalla Fontana’s art show :
I became friends with Andrea and his family during my residency at Ruers, in Valle Cervo a few months ago… you can read more about this magical time here.
Their friendship has been a lovely unexpected side of my mountain hibernation 🙂 After a particularly heavy snowfall, they took me in to stay warm by their wood stove, and that night I finished writing the song “My Winter”… which will be coming out very soon, on December 21, as the first single of my album VIA!
So watch this space for more news about it!
Meanwhile, “Following the Monk Seal” will continue to unfurl as the pieces take more and more shape and new performances opportunities arrive (there are some in the workings for 2025 -hopefully in Venice and Turin!). But I want to take this moment of first “wrap up” to say another huge
THANK YOU!
to Creature Conserve,
to Dr Luigi Bundone, to Aliki Panou, co-ordinator of the project “Monk seal photo-identification in the Ionian Sea”,
and to all those who supported and encouraged me to keep going, for making this journey possible.
I can’t wait to share what’s germinating from it 🙂
