Lecture and Demonstration: Involving Vowel Placement and Dramatic Gesture
There is a ‘sense perceptible- moral substance in the Colour World (sinnlich-sittlich) according to J. W. Goethe and Rudolf Steiner. In his book about the 24 Greek Rhythms, Martin Martens conceives Moral Qualities, expressed in 13 specific Rhythms.
Versatility is an earmark of the actor. Imaginations created by acting can transform temperament and even constitutional types.
Rhythm in time, the relationship between shorts and longs; the faculty of vowel placement in speech, where the breath is directed to a specific place in the speech instrument ( a place which can act as a touchstone); and the various movements of the temperaments- the elements, all come out of etheric development.
But the interpretation or representation of a moral activity like ‘The Moral Qualities of Rhythm’, a creative work or a dramatic role, involves decisions, experimentation, openness to new discoveries, and thus, brings in many soul-world characteristics. The faculties for manifestation, and the versatility of speech and movement, I believe, still lie in the development of our etheric organs.
I believe Steiner’s dramatic gestures portray qualities leading to soul-manifestations – which finally bring forth a sense of the Astral being. Pointing, Timorous, Thoughtful, Antipathy, Sympathy, and Pulling Back into Oneself are the end results leading into Soul World Being, yet it takes our etheric organs to master the communication of these.
In the 24 Rhythms the etheric course of the seasons can be studied. They are very universal. The longs live in the gravity of winter, a combination of longs and shorts lead into the Spring, and in high Summer, the shorts dominate with levity, while another combination of shorts and longs metamorphose, leading through the Autumn, back into the Winter. This application of the rhythms is an etheric circle.
Vowels are also very universal. In ‘The Mystery of Ephesus, Easter’, Steiner gave a key for etheric vowel placement in speech. (See Lecture 23a, for the Mystery School). I will speak it here sounding the vowels:
‘World begotten Being
Thou in form of light:
AU By the Sun empowered,
I In the Moon’s might:
A Thou art endowed with Mars’ creative ringing
E And Mercury’s limb-stirring swinging.
O Thou art enlightened by Jupiters streaming wisdom,
Ah And Venus’ love-bearing beauty
U That Saturn’s world-old spirit inwardness
Consecrate thee to space-being and time-becoming.’
‘Welt-entsprossenes Wesen:
Du in Licht Gestalt
Von der Sonne erkraftet
In der Mond Gewalt:
Dich beschenket des Mars erschaffedes Klingen
Und Merkurs glied-bewegendes Schwingen.
Dich erleuchtet:
Jupiters’ erstrahlendes Weisheit
Und der Venus’ liebe-tragendes Schoenheit,
Das Saturns’ welten-alte Geistinnigkeit
Dich dem Raumessein und Zeitenwerden Weihe.’
All the possible explanations will never demonstrate the reality.
So, remembering the freedom we have to apply our techniques as well as we can, let’s experiment and begin with demonstrating a possible rhythmic poetic development using Herr Martens’ suggestions. My work here involves creating individual meaning out of the Moral Qualities. This I have attempted to do , interpreted by the vowel placements and dramatic gestures which I have chosen
I will go through what I have prepared and then you can give other interpretations if you want and ask questions. Please keep your discussion and demonstrations in mind.