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Maciej's avatar

Ah, but, Antonio, Pan pipe is innocent on its own, it can be considered just like all other musical instruments. It is somewhat strange to me that you associate it with Native Americans. In my mind, its contemporary version is basically Romanian. I remember Gheorghe Zamphir playing it as accompanied by a classical chamber orchestra under Agnieszka Duczmal. These were, very simply, excellent concerts. A virtuoso plus very good strings with an outstanding conductor. Delight to listen.

Your post has reminded me some sort of cult associated with a Polish poet and songwriter Edward Stachura, particularly visible in the eighties and beginning of nineties. Stachura (let me quote just two line from his prose - "we stood (sic) on our knees watching the rise of the Sunlet who is the only one to rival Death the Unrivalled"; "I will fight and defeat Death even though I may die at that") was a self-taught yogin and quasi-buddhist meditator. He died by suicide because "poisoned indeed is the fruit of shallow enlightenment". The cult associated with "guru Stachuru" has soon become sick, and that played some role in repelling many young people from spirituality as such. Of course, there came much more important, earth-shattering political and economical changes of 1989 which brought about the renaissance of the formal and primitive Polish "people's catholicism". But, in any case, it is the cult that was guilty, not Stachura himself. Similarly, please absolve the Pan pipe. :-)

I am, my friend, respectfully yours,

JKiii

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Michael Cameron's avatar

There was a time in my life when it seemed impossible to escape the sound of pan pipes. They were everywhere! I can only imagine the amount of repressed trauma this has produced.

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