This week we find inspiration in a very strange place for Hearts of Space: the world of martial arts film soundtracks.
How martial arts and contemplative music relate...requires a bit of explanation. Chinese words are made of shorter words put together. The normal translation of the Chinese word wu is "fighting" or "military," while shu is "art." Wushu, therefore, means "the art of fighting" or "martial arts."
But there's a more philosophical translation, where wu is not "fighting" but "to stop fighting," and shu means "technique." So traditional Chinese wushu is about the technique of stopping or averting conflict. According to film director RONNY YU, "the better you are at wushu, the better peacemaker you are." Now there's a message that's relevant today.
So if the most skillful form of conflict leads to peace, then the most effective martial arts music should exhibit calm, balance, and serenity. On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE, a journey in the world of Far East contemplative sound called WUSHU.
Music is by TAN DUN, SHIGERU UMEBAYASHI, ZHAO JIPING, XU QING-YUAN, RICHARD HIEBINGER, and THE LUMINOUS WORLD ORCHESTRA.
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