During the climactic battle scene in Kurosawa's "Ran," the camera gazes on soldiers pierced with arrows or thrust against burning battlements. In the castle tower, a patriarch searches in vain for a sword with which to commit hara-kiri. As our eyes take in the tragedy, we hear neither the cries of me

20th-century music, Contemplative, Ethereal, Moody, Organic, Silence

In the new wave of Japanese contemporary music, Akira Nishimura is the front-runner for the "heterophonic concept." Using droning melodic variations, Nishimura creates a spacious kind of zen spikiness that can either calm the soul or mystify the mind. Nishimura exhibits a particular concern with t

20th-century music, Contemplative, Eclectic, Ethereal, Hypnotic, Layered, Silence, Spiritual

A decelerated and aware contemplation. A slow introspection that arises in response to a meticulously wrought aesthetic object. Walter Pater asked, "What is this song or picture, this engaging personality presented in life or in a book, to me?" To discover Hiroshi Sugimoto is to answer that question

Contemplative, Empty, Ethereal, Minimal, Serene, Silence

The music of Estonian-born German composer Arvo Part is often labeled with the rather meaningless term Minimalist. His work can be situated within the lineage of Erik Satie, John Cage, and Henryk Gorecki on the one hand, and Philip Glass, Brian Eno, and Laurie Anderson on the other. Part's is a music

20th-century music, Citational, Collage, Dissonant, Minimal, Minimalist music, Religious, Silence